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Web Communication Robert Frank

Spambot / Ghost Filter Expanded – Deployment Recommended

Google Analytics ghost filter

A dramatic increase in spambot / ghost referral traffic was noticed over the past two months in Google Analytics reports. To block the spambot / ghost data from corrupting your sites’ analytics, a substantially expanded spambot / ghost filter was developed and tested.

The previous filter was designed to stop about 25 of the biggest spambot / ghost offenders. The new filter is designed to stop about 225 of the leading culprits.

Web Communication will continue to monitor GA data/reports for new spambot/ghost offenders, and eventually will create a second filter. (We hit Google’s character limitation with this expansion.)

Website/Google Analytics account managers are strongly encouraged to deploy the updated filter as soon as possible. (Please note: Departments that are partnering with Web Communications to help maintain Google Analytics accounts/properties have already had their spambot/ghost filters updated.)

If you are maintaining your own GA accounts/properties, here are the steps involved. (Estimated time: 1-2 minutes)

  • Log into your Google Analytics account.
  • Select a Google Analytics account.
  • Click on “All Filters.”
  • Select the ‘referral spam bots ghosts’ filter.
  • Highlight and DELETE the old “Filter Pattern.”
  • Copy and paste in the following filter pattern in the same field:

(.*(rich|uptim|websi|money|rank|site-|seo|keyword|sexy|share|search|traffic|porn|-?social-?|-button|o-o-|semalt|Get-Free|buttons-|darodar|cookie-law|compliance-|law-|ilove).*)\.(com|net|org|biz|co|es|online|info)|.*\.(xyz|it|рф|top|xn|me|ga|рф|cf|ro|ru)

  • Check the first and last characters to make sure the entire filter pattern was accepted, and nothing was cut off.
  • Click ‘Save’.
  • Exit the account.

Thank you for your help in keeping WSU analytics accurate.

**Special thanks to Jeremy Bass for his expert coding in creating this filter.

Analytics properties linked to Search Console

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Over the next few weeks, Web Communications will be “associating” Google Analytics properties (within the *.wsu.edu family) with their corresponding Webmaster Tools / Search Console accounts. About 40 associations have been completed so far.

The natural response: ‘So what? What is that going to do for me?’

The Search Console allows website/GA owners to better see:

  • What pages have been indexed on your site
  • What domains link to your site
  • Errors encountered by web crawlers
  • The crawl rate of your site
  • Your website’s performance in Google organic searches
  • More data regarding keywords, landing pages, devices, etc.

Please note: This step, to associate GA properties with their Webmaster Tools/Search Console, is being performed only on Google Analytics accounts over which the site owners have granted Web Communication access and permission to help. Site owners who maintain their own GA accounts, without Web Communications assistance, might want to take this step on their own, in order to benefit from the additional analytics data.

For additional information, see https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/4559176

Protect your Web analytics from spambots/ghosts

google analytics logoWebsite traffic from referral spambots/ghosts has been invading many WSU websites and corrupting the reliability of Google Analytics data – at both the site and universitywide level. As a result, spambot/ghost filters need to be deployed on all *.wsu.edu websites.

To combat spambot/ghost data corruption, WSU Web Communication has developed, tested and monitored several spam filters over the past several months.

Like email spam, the sources of this traffic mutate regularly and eventually get around the newest filters, at which point filters need to be reconfigured.

Spam in Google Analytics can be categorized by two types: ghosts and crawlers. Ghosts comprise the vast majority of referral spam. They are called ghosts because they never access your site, but they do corrupt site data and university’s global data.

On Tuesday, Feb. 23, the newest referral spam filter was deployed/updated to about 50 Google Analytics accounts and their properties. These are Google Analytics accounts which the site owner has granted Web Communication access and permission to help oversee.

However, there are a number of websites and corresponding Google Analytics accounts in the *.wsu.edu family with which Web Communication does not assist. Because the Google Analytics data from those websites negatively affects/corrupts universitywide global analytics, it is requested that those sites install an effective, current referral spam/ghost filter as soon as possible.

If you would like Web Communication to assist you with setting up and maintaining your Google Analytics, please contact Robert Frank, rfrank@wsu.edu, 335-7727. (Note: Ownership of GA accounts/properties always remain that of the site manager/owner. Web Communication is only there to help to the degree desired.)

Thanks in advance for your time and prompt help.

(Special thanks to Jeremy Bass, who has written the code for the spam/ghost filters.)

** FYI, don’t forget to check out universitywide analytics at https://analytics.wsu.edu

University Taxonomy List and Application Tracking Codes

(Summary: WebCommunications posts universitywide taxonomy list and enhanced instructions on updating the Google Analytics code/settings for websites)

A universitywide list of “taxonomy terms” was developed and vetted last spring, so that everyone could utilize a uniform set of terms to identify campuses, colleges, offices, departments, units, etc.,

Why? Using a uniform taxonomy improves online searches, analytics, and the categorization and sharing of files, stories, photos, and other content, which benefits everyone.

To that end, Web coordinators and IT professionals were asked this past week to make sure the analytics settings on their websites identified their campus, college, parent unit, unit, and subunit correctly. (Many are set at “none,” which makes analytics data less accurate.)

In response, several web coordinators and IT reps have wisely asked for access to the university’s taxonomy list, to ensure they are using the correct terms in their Google Analytics settings. » More …

Website Analytics Code – WSU Sites Need Updating; Instructions Attached

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First, thanks to all of you who have been working with us to update and structure Google Analytics on websites universitywide. It appears we’re about 80+% of the way done. Ultimately, it will provide you with better “wsu-name-based global tracking,” and ensure best practices.

Here’s the reason for the email. We’re finding that a sizable percentage of participating sites have not set up the Google Analytics code on their sites that defines their location, campus, college, department, unit, etc.

Could you please take a few minutes to help correct this situation. It’s a fairly brief, straightforward process, and below are instructions and the code needed to accomplish this.

Everyone’s participation paves the way to much better web analytics for all. See following PDF for instructions. Global Analytics Update Request 11-24-15

Thanks in advance for your prompt help!

Your help requested proofing list of your schools, departments, programs, centers, offices, units

WSU UComm Web Team needs your help and expertise for about 3-5 minutes, please.

Attached is a link (see below) to a rough-draft list of schools, departments, programs, offices and units at WSU. The WSU Ucomm team is trying to create a list that is as current and complete as possible, so that these items can be incorporated into WSU’s universal analytics program, which is about to come online shortly.

Despite many searches, we know there are a number of items missing, so we are asking you to help us catch those that apply to your area.

REQUEST: Please take a few minutes to review this list, to add, delete or edit items that have been overlooked, and/or misnamed. Just insert your corrections, save the document, and email it as an attachment to rfrank@wsu.edu.

Please note, we have intentionally deleted that tags that go with these names, like “office of” or “school of” or “center for.” (The names of Campuses, Colleges, and Extension units are a separate list.)

The MS Word Tracking program has been turned on, so, your edits will appear in color, allowing us to identify and include them.

Thank you in advance for your time and help!

Here’s the link to the file on Dropbox  https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/57009809/wsu%20schools%20departments%20programs%20offices%20list.rtf

Google Analytics naming and structure

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Just a quick heads up regarding Google Analytics.

University Communications is making some minor changes in the naming structure of central  Google Analytics accounts and a few other accounts that we help manage. This will NOT affect any of the data, it will just look slightly different.

For example, the preferred format for college account names will be the name followed by “– College”.   E.g.   “Arts and Sciences – College” or “Voiland – College.”

We’re trying to create a consistent format, so the new universal analytics will work smoothly with the accounts and data, and so the accounts will be grouped and named in a logical order/format.

There has not been a consistent account/property structure in the past, so it’s currently a bit chaotic.  Some are named using only urls http://XXXXX.wsu.edu, some use “WSU College of XXXX”, some “College of XXX”, some just the abbreviated college name, or acronym.

A full description with all the details will be presented next couple weeks, after the details are fully tested. Meanwhile, we just wanted everyone to know there might be some minor changes to central communication account names, and not to be alarmed.

If you manage your own college or campus Google Analytics accounts, we’re hopeful that you will choose follow the preferred naming and organization structure in the future, so we can employ a consistent format universitywide.

Thanks in advance for your help. Have a great week.