How to block pecasstore.xyz referrer spam in Google Analytics

Unwanted referral traffic from pecasstore.xyz in your website’s Google Analytics data can be a nightmare because it’s fake yet appears in your data otherwise which can make your data inconclusive. The reason why someone may have sent your website fake traffic is to catch your eye and provoke you to visit the URL. In this case, when you visit the URL in question you will be forwarded to Semalt, a website that has been linked to this blackhat SEO method for a long time.

According to whois information (https://www.whois.com/whois/pecasstore.xyz), pecasstore.xyz was created 2021-10-05, 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=pecasstore.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 pecasstore.xyz referrer spam dangerous?

Referrer spam is not practically dangerous but it is a nuisance and 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 pecasstore.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 pecasstore.xyz spam

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