How to block chousmall.xyz referrer spam in Google Analytics

Fake referral traffic can be a big problem for many website owners. If you have fallen victim to this type of spam you make want to block referral traffic from the source in order to keep your website’s analytical data clean. Spam can do a number to a Google Analytics account as it intervenes with the collection of data like changing the bounce rate.

The reason why some parties may engage in what is called “referer spam” is to promote something such as a website that contains online services or political messages.

One of the latest domain names being used to promote a self-promoted SEO website named Semalt is chousmall.xyz. Semalt is no stranger to the black hat SEO method and has never made any step to stop the spam from occuring over the years.

According to whois information (https://www.whois.com/whois/chousmall.xyz), the domain name was created 2021-10-04T22:44:02.0Z, and the owner has chosen to keep their information private which is suspicious for a “business” to do. Additionally, the domain name’s A record (https://viewdns.info/reverseip/?host=chousmall.xyz&t=1) shows 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 chousmall.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 chousmall.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 chousmall.xyz spam

Follow these instructions to block chousmall.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 “chousmall.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 chousmall.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: “chousmall.xyz | apkara.com | example\.com” (include the “|” between each URL)