How To Stop Google Analytics From Tracking Your Own Visits To Your Website

high_plains_drifter · 01-01-2012, 10:52 AM

I recently created this post on my new blog, and thought i would share it here.
If you want to share the post on your own blog or whatever the link is here - How To Stop Google Analytics From Tracking Your Own Visits To Your Website (i'd much appreciate the organic link building as part of my case study)

Step 1

First log in and open your Google analytics account (http://www.google.com/analytics) and navigate to your site.

Step 2

On the right hand side you will see a cog symbol, click on this to open the settings.

Step 3

You will see the following text just above your default url: Web Property ID: UA-xxxxxxx-x . Copy this code (Just the UA-xxxxxxx-x).
Keep this tab open as we will need it later.

Step 4

Open notepad.

Step 5

Then paste the following code into notepad and replace UA-xxxxxxx-xx with your own UA code.

Code:

<script type=”text/javascript”>
 var _gaq = _gaq || [];
_gaq.push(['_setAccount', ' UA-xxxxxxx-x']);
_gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);
 (function() {
var ga = document.createElement(‘script’); ga.type = ‘text/javascript’; ga.async = true;
ga.src = (‘https:’ == document.location.protocol ? ‘https://ssl’ : ‘http://www’) + ‘.google-analytics.com/ga.js’;
var s = document.getElementsByTagName(‘script’)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
})();
 </script>
<body onLoad=”javascript:pageTracker._setVar(‘test_value’);”>

Step 6

Now click File > Save As

Name the file something obscure and something a user is unlikely to type into their web browser when on your site, I just hit the keyboard randomly to do this. Add ‘.html’ to the end and click save.

Step 7

Now upload this file into the home/public_html directory via ftp. You will know when you are in the correct directory as you will see your standard wordpress folders: wp-admin, wp-content, wp-includes.

Step 8

Now we need to create a custom filter in Google Analytics. Go back to the tab where you got your UA-xxxxxxx-x code from and click on Filters > + New Filter

Step 9

Now enter the same information you see in the screenshot below and click Save.

Step 10

Navigate to the page that you uploaded. For example mine would be something like this -
http://www.internetmarketinghustle.c...-the-file.html

You should just see a blank white page.

That’s it you are done, you have successfully excluded your activity from Google Analytics.

Remember: You will have to visit this page each time you clear your cookies in your browser, so be sure to bookmark the page for future reference

Step 11

Just to double check you have done it right, visit the page a few times, refresh the page 5-10 times. Give it 1-2 hours (it can take up to 24 hours for stats to appear, please bear this in mind) and check that your activity has not been tracked by having a look in the ‘Content’ section of Google Analytics.

lukedidit · 01-01-2012, 12:46 PM

Fanatasic job, I was also meaning to get round to finding out about this.

lukedidit · 01-01-2012, 12:50 PM

Just to add to this - I have multiple sites under my GA account, so you can repeat the process but change the pageTracker var each time:

Code:

<body onLoad=”javascript:pageTracker._setVar(‘site_one’);”>

Code:

<body onLoad=”javascript:pageTracker._setVar(‘site_two’);”>

And then change the filter pattern each time for the new pageTracker.

The only short fall about this is I tend to hit my pages with incognito mode or private mode a lot, so I will still be tracked. To get around this I will bookmark the script pages and just call them up each time.

discustipated · 01-01-2012, 12:52 PM

Thanks. Ill bookmark this and share to my social accounts. I have been meaning to do this for awhile now.

high_plains_drifter · 01-02-2012, 09:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lukedidit

Just to add to this - I have multiple sites under my GA account, so you can repeat the process but change the pageTracker var each time:

Code:

<body onLoad=”javascript:pageTracker._setVar(‘site_one’);”>

Code:

<body onLoad=”javascript:pageTracker._setVar(‘site_two’);”>

And then change the filter pattern each time for the new pageTracker.

The only short fall about this is I tend to hit my pages with incognito mode or private mode a lot, so I will still be tracked. To get around this I will bookmark the script pages and just call them up each time.

thats a great idea

Henlus · 01-02-2012, 02:06 PM

Again, thanks very much for this tutorial. I'll try it out and if it works I'll post it on my site.

Joseph Denali · 01-02-2012, 02:25 PM

The "old" version of GA allowed you to filter by IP address. I haven't tried this filter with the updated version, so I may give this a shot. Thanks for sharing!

high_plains_drifter · 01-02-2012, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joseph Denali

The "old" version of GA allowed you to filter by IP address. I haven't tried this filter with the updated version, so I may give this a shot. Thanks for sharing!

yes the old 'filter by ip' trick is only useful to those who have a static ip.

Most of us home internet users do not have this, so this is the most effective way of blocking your own traffic.

tristatemedia · 01-02-2012, 04:29 PM

wow, that is wild but risky in my opinion.

StoneWilson · 01-03-2012, 12:30 AM

Nice work. But I don't think Google Analytics data is that acurate, so I won't mind if it counting my visiting data. lol~

high_plains_drifter · 01-03-2012, 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tristatemedia

wow, that is wild but risky in my opinion.

what exactly is risky?

Quote:

Originally Posted by StoneWilson

Nice work. But I don't think Google Analytics data is that acurate, so I won't mind if it counting my visiting data. lol~

If you dont have a lot of traffic already then you own stats can make the overall site statistics very misleading

if you are getting 1000's of visit per day a few from yourself isnt really going to make that much difference.

But for new sites this is a must!

Maraun · 01-03-2012, 02:26 PM

There are also some free Wordpress plugins that don't report visits from certain users to GA at all, so there is no need to filter in GA itself later.

01-01-2012, 10:52 AM	#1
high_plains_drifter Still im untangible War Room Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: London Posts: 559 Thanks: 68 Thanked 52 Times in 36 Posts Social Networking Contact Info	How To Stop Google Analytics From Tracking Your Own Visits To Your Website I recently created this post on my new blog, and thought i would share it here. If you want to share the post on your own blog or whatever the link is here - How To Stop Google Analytics From Tracking Your Own Visits To Your Website (i'd much appreciate the organic link building as part of my case study) Step 1 First log in and open your Google analytics account (http://www.google.com/analytics) and navigate to your site. Step 2 On the right hand side you will see a cog symbol, click on this to open the settings. Step 3 You will see the following text just above your default url: Web Property ID: UA-xxxxxxx-x . Copy this code (Just the UA-xxxxxxx-x). Keep this tab open as we will need it later. Step 4 Open notepad. Step 5 Then paste the following code into notepad and replace UA-xxxxxxx-xx with your own UA code. Code: <script type=”text/javascript”> var _gaq = _gaq \|\| []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', ' UA-xxxxxxx-x']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement(‘script’); ga.type = ‘text/javascript’; ga.async = true; ga.src = (‘https:’ == document.location.protocol ? ‘https://ssl’ : ‘http://www’) + ‘.google-analytics.com/ga.js’; var s = document.getElementsByTagName(‘script’)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); </script> <body onLoad=”javascript:pageTracker._setVar(‘test_value’);”> Step 6 Now click File > Save As Name the file something obscure and something a user is unlikely to type into their web browser when on your site, I just hit the keyboard randomly to do this. Add ‘.html’ to the end and click save. Step 7 Now upload this file into the home/public_html directory via ftp. You will know when you are in the correct directory as you will see your standard wordpress folders: wp-admin, wp-content, wp-includes. Step 8 Now we need to create a custom filter in Google Analytics. Go back to the tab where you got your UA-xxxxxxx-x code from and click on Filters > + New Filter Step 9 Now enter the same information you see in the screenshot below and click Save. Step 10 Navigate to the page that you uploaded. For example mine would be something like this - http://www.internetmarketinghustle.c...-the-file.html You should just see a blank white page. That’s it you are done, you have successfully excluded your activity from Google Analytics. Remember: You will have to visit this page each time you clear your cookies in your browser, so be sure to bookmark the page for future reference Step 11 Just to double check you have done it right, visit the page a few times, refresh the page 5-10 times. Give it 1-2 hours (it can take up to 24 hours for stats to appear, please bear this in mind) and check that your activity has not been tracked by having a look in the ‘Content’ section of Google Analytics.
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01-01-2012, 12:46 PM	#2
lukedidit www.metasmash.com Join Date: Dec 2011 Posts: 300 Thanks: 69 Thanked 47 Times in 32 Posts Social Networking	Re: How To Stop Google Analytics From Tracking Your Own Visits To Your Website Fanatasic job, I was also meaning to get round to finding out about this.
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01-01-2012, 12:50 PM	#3
lukedidit www.metasmash.com Join Date: Dec 2011 Posts: 300 Thanks: 69 Thanked 47 Times in 32 Posts Social Networking	Re: How To Stop Google Analytics From Tracking Your Own Visits To Your Website Just to add to this - I have multiple sites under my GA account, so you can repeat the process but change the pageTracker var each time: Code: <body onLoad=”javascript:pageTracker._setVar(‘site_one’);”> Code: <body onLoad=”javascript:pageTracker._setVar(‘site_two’);”> And then change the filter pattern each time for the new pageTracker. The only short fall about this is I tend to hit my pages with incognito mode or private mode a lot, so I will still be tracked. To get around this I will bookmark the script pages and just call them up each time.
	Are you an Amazon Affiliate? Don't risk having your account shutdown! Use my Free Plugin to insure your website is compliant with the Amazon Affiliate Agreement. Amazon Affiliate Disclosure Statement Plugin

01-01-2012, 12:52 PM	#4
discustipated HyperActive Warrior Join Date: Aug 2011 Posts: 170 Thanks: 62 Thanked 9 Times in 9 Posts	Re: How To Stop Google Analytics From Tracking Your Own Visits To Your Website Thanks. Ill bookmark this and share to my social accounts. I have been meaning to do this for awhile now.

01-02-2012, 02:06 PM	#6
Henlus Active Warrior Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Nigeria Posts: 37 Thanks: 11 Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts Social Networking	Re: How To Stop Google Analytics From Tracking Your Own Visits To Your Website Again, thanks very much for this tutorial. I'll try it out and if it works I'll post it on my site.
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01-02-2012, 02:25 PM	#7
Joseph Denali Dental Insurance Dude Join Date: Dec 2011 Posts: 18 Thanks: 2 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	Re: How To Stop Google Analytics From Tracking Your Own Visits To Your Website The "old" version of GA allowed you to filter by IP address. I haven't tried this filter with the updated version, so I may give this a shot. Thanks for sharing!
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01-02-2012, 04:29 PM	#9
tristatemedia HyperActive Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: newjersey usa Posts: 444 Thanks: 142 Thanked 29 Times in 26 Posts	Re: How To Stop Google Analytics From Tracking Your Own Visits To Your Website wow, that is wild but risky in my opinion.
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01-03-2012, 12:30 AM	#10
StoneWilson Advanced Warrior Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 693 Thanks: 69 Thanked 30 Times in 30 Posts	Re: How To Stop Google Analytics From Tracking Your Own Visits To Your Website Nice work. But I don't think Google Analytics data is that acurate, so I won't mind if it counting my visiting data. lol~
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01-03-2012, 02:26 PM	#12
Maraun Took the red pill Join Date: Dec 2011 Posts: 253 Thanks: 8 Thanked 46 Times in 36 Posts	Re: How To Stop Google Analytics From Tracking Your Own Visits To Your Website There are also some free Wordpress plugins that don't report visits from certain users to GA at all, so there is no need to filter in GA itself later.