How to block assistore.xyz referrer spam in Google Analytics

You may notice suspicious referral traffic from assistore.xyz in your website’s Google Analytics data and you’re not alone. Assistore.xyz is one of the latest domain names used to spam Google Analytics data around the world with fake referral traffic. The purpose of this is to catch someone’s attention and trick them into visiting suspicious URLs to promote online services. In this case, when assistore.xyz is visited, the user will be directed to a webpage on Semalt.com. Semalt has been linked to the referrer spam blackhat SEO method for a long time.

According to whois information (https://www.whois.com/whois/assistore.xyz), assistore.xyz was created 021-10-05T00:36:52.0Z, and the owner has chosen to keep their information private which is suspicious for a “business” to do. Additionally, the domain name’s A records (https://viewdns.info/reverseip/?host=ASSISTORE.XYZ&t=1) show that the IP address is shared with other websites, some of which are flagged for similar spam methods. On top of that, most, if not all websites on the same server forward to the same semalt.com webpage (https://semalt.com/?ref=plant).

Is assistore.xyz referrer spam dangerous?

Referrer spam is not dangerous but it can permanently change a website’s Google Analytics data and this can be problematic for website owners and webmasters who seek genuine data that isn’t clouded with fake information. Every visitor from assistore.xyz is registered as a new and unique visitor; therefore, the average bounce rate is 0%, average page sessions are 0, and the average session duration is 0:00. If this erroneous data is compiled over a long period of time it will permanently modify a website’s real analytical data unless taken care of.

How to block assistore.xyz spam

Follow these instructions to block assistore.xyz referrer spam in Google Analytics:

1. Open your Google Analytics account and go to Admin > Filters.
2. Click the + ADD FILTER button.
3. Create a Filter Name such as “assistore.xyz” or “Referrer Spam.”
4. Select the Custom Filter Type.
5. In Filter Field, find and select Campaign Source.
6. In the Filter Pattern text box, add assistore.xyz and click the blue Save button on the bottom of the web page.

To add multiple domain names to the same filter you make a Filter Pattern similar to: “assistore.xyz | apkara.com | example\.com” (include the “|” between each URL)