Google Analytics has been overrun with spam – there’s no doubt about it. Every time I login to an account I can’t help but notice all the misrepresented data on display. There are a number of different ways to exclude this data in GA but I have found this simple solution will remove the majority of unnecessary referral spam. It will even allow you to view your data historically. So here is the quick fix: Setup a custom advanced segment where the hostname contains the URL.   Here we go, step 1: Under Audience > Overview (the default Google analytics screen) click on the ‘All Sessions’ segment to display the segment options. Then click ‘New Segment’.   Step 2: Rename the segment to something recognisable, for example “Hostname contains yoururl.com”. Under Advanced > Conditions select ‘Hostname’ as the filter, ‘contains’ as the parameter and then enter the URL you are tracking. Then click ‘Save’.   Step 3: You’re done! Just go and select your new segment and click ‘Apply’.   There you have it, a quick and easy way to retroactively filter the majority of your referral spam.   Image Credit: Business