When starting your business for the first time and making your website, one of the first things you should think to yourself is how to exclude my IP address from Google Analytics. The reason you should do this is to actually see what traffic you are getting from external sources, as Google will actually track your own internal ip address and show your website visits. So if you're wondering to how to exclude ip address from google analytics I am going to break it down in some easy steps with pictures.
Another reason you may want to exclude IP addresses from Google Analytics, is if you are building the website for the client or if I am doing SEO consulting. SEO reporting is part of my SEO packages, so I block my ip from my clients' Google Analytics as I am on the website so much.
Also, if my team are working on the website, it is important to exclude their IP address from Google Analytics. You should also think about your team as the client so you have the best data possible. So here is a step by step guide on how to exclude IP address from Google Analytics. It's actually very easy and will take about 5 minutes max.
First of all login to Google Analytics. Then either go to sign into Analytics or hit the get started today in blue. Any of those options will work.
It will take you a page exactly like this. Make sure to check you are in the right account. So check out my red arrow, it will show your domain name.
I would also do a live view test, so in the home page on the right-hand side, there will be active users in the last 30 minutes. Go to your website on a separate browser, and this should come up with 1 like my last screenshot in section 2. You don't have to do anything, and this may take 5 minutes.
Now lets get going to exclude an IP address from Google Analytics. If you hit the home tab on the top left-hand side, more options will appear. If you look at the bottom, you will see tasks and then admin. Click admin.
You should now see a page like this. In the centre, there will be property settings. Look to the right, underneath the data collection and modification area. You will see the data streams button and this is really step 1 on how to exclude ip from Google Analytics. So click data streams.
Now you should see a page like this. Underneath data streams should be your domain, and it should show "receiving traffic in past 48 hours". If you do not see a stream here you have probably not have set up Google Analytics. Get in touch with us and we can do it for you for a small fee.
If you do see your domain, click the arrow button to take you to the next page.
Now it should take you to a page like this. If you scroll down a bit, it will say "configure tag settings", make sure to click that arrow to get to the next section.
Now you are getting closer to excluding your ip address from Google Analytics. It should show you a page like this. There will be some options, and then "allow user-provided data capabilities. Hit the show more button and go down a bit, and you should see "define internal traffic". Click that option.
Now it should take you to this page. Make sure to follow my instructions.
Helpful tip, if you have colleagues who use their phone and go to your website, I would exclude that IP address from Google Analytics as well. So repeat section 9 as many times as you want.
Congratulations, you have finished step 1 on how to exclude IP address in Google Analytics.
We are not finished though, so in the first section we have defined all the ip addresses we want to exclude from GA. Now we need to actually tell Google Analytics to hide that traffic from your reporting.
Head back to the admin section and go back to the same data collection and modification settings, and scroll a bit down, and you will see data filters. Hit the button.
You should see a page like this. Now we are going to create the filter that will exclude IP addresses from Google Analytics. Click create filter.
It's all going to be easy from here. You will see a page like this with 2 options.
Now follow these steps closely. Tick the Internal traffic button. From there go to filter details and add a name to your data filter. Call it something like, Google Analytics filter internal traffic.
Don't stop there, keep going down on the page and you will get to the filter state area. I want you to hit that Active section. But don't stop there, as this is the last step on how to exclude IP address from Google Analytics. Scroll to the top right and hit that Create button.
I would as a precaution to a second test before you go. So make sure to home page in Google Analytics. Go to the live view area, whilst you are on your website from that domain. See if you come up in the live view.
Then go onto a friend's phone, not on the same Wi-Fi, and see if they come up on the live view. If it is only showing 1 user, chances are you have excluded your IP address in Google Analytics.
The mission has been completed, you have now successfully learnt how to exclude IP address from Google Analytics.
Quick Tip about Wifi networks. Occasionally, your Wi-Fi provider may turn you onto another IP address, so you should check this every now and again. You can also sometimes pay for a static IP address to avoid this. If there is a search in traffic this is when I check.
Yes, GA tracks IP addresses and then shows it in your reports. This is why it is a good thing to exclude your own IP address from Google Analytics.
Define your IP as internal traffic in GA4, then create an active Internal Traffic filter under Admin > Data Filters. For more details and instructions see my whole blog above.
In GA4 Admin, go to Data Streams > Configure Tag Settings > Define Internal Traffic, add your IP, then activate a Data Filter. That is the short way but if you need a hand read my whole blog on how to exclude ip address from Google Analytics.
Visit a site like "What's My IP" to find it. Note: your wifi provider may change it occasionally or when you reset your wifi. Consider a static IP to avoid this, this might be chargeable.
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