In the realm of digital analytics, particularly for those managing websites with a keen focus on Warsaw traffic, understanding the source and nature of your web visitors is paramount.
Warsaw Traffic Origins: Understanding and Exclusion Techniques
Starting from February 14, we’ve observed a significant influx of referral traffic originating from Warsaw, Poland. What methods are available to block referrals based on country or region? Alternatively, if blocking is not possible, how can we exclude this traffic in our reports on Google Analytics 4 (GA4)?
To the best of my knowledge, the originating IP addresses are Russian, with the traffic being routed through Poland.
You can verify this by looking up the IP addresses for news.grets.store, which are known in this context.
It’s important to note that additional IP addresses may emerge. Currently, two specific IPs are identified and confirmed through numerous discussions on this topic. Should you come across new IPs, please share them here.
To mitigate this, you can exclude these IPs in the “Internal Traffic” tag settings: 77.222.40.224/24 and 45.140.19.173/24. Within an hour, you should no longer see traffic from these referrers in your statistics.
However, they might still show up in real-time traffic because they directly interact with the GA4 tag.
Additionally, over the past two days, the GA4 tag has been targeted by increased activity from the following new referral sources, all based in Uzbekistan:
- http:.//info.seders..website/
- http:.//garold.dertus..site/
- http:.//ofer.bartikus..site/
- http:.//trast.mantero..online/
- http:.//game.fertuk..site/
- http:.//kar.razas..site/
For these, you’ll also need to add the IP 38.180.120.84/24 to internal traffic.
Warsaw Traffic: Solutions
Please note that simply excluding these as referral traffic is ineffective, as they directly target the GA4 tag.
It’s crucial to understand that merely excluding these sources as referral traffic may not suffice, given their direct targeting of the GA4 tag. For those utilizing WordPress, attempts to resolve this issue by uninstalling Google Site Kit or removing old tags/properties have proven to be ineffective. Conversely, the creation of a new property/tag has shown to temporarily alleviate the problem, suggesting a potential workaround for those experiencing similar challenges.
Interestingly, the presence of two active properties/tags on a website—one attracting traffic from Polish visitors and the other not—raises questions about data sharing between tags. This phenomenon, observed through Site Kit, highlights the complex nature of managing digital traffic and the need for vigilant monitoring and management of analytics settings.
In conclusion, as the digital landscape evolves, so too do the challenges associated with managing website traffic. For businesses and individuals focused on Warsaw traffic, leveraging tools like Google Analytics 4 with strategic insights and actions is crucial. By accurately identifying unwanted traffic sources and employing effective exclusion tactics, it’s possible to ensure that your analytics reflect genuine visitor interactions, thereby enhancing the integrity of your data and the effectiveness of your digital strategy.
