All of us that use Google Analytics are to one extent or another blighted by bot and spam referral traffic. For those of us which rely heavily on data for business and marketing decisions its a real nuisance.
Whats the problem with bot traffic & spam referrals in Google Analytics?
- It can seriously reduce reported conversion rate
- It can negatively impact reported bounce rate
- It can over-inflate reported traffic volumes
In short it makes analytics data unreliable. It’s particularly frustrating when comparing data for periods of time as inevitably the comparisons can’t be trusted if you suspect data in 1 period is tainted.