Exclude proxy traffic from all stats

What is proxy traffic?

Proxy traffic refers to web requests that come through intermediary servers (proxies) rather than directly from a user's device. This can include VPNs, TOR networks, data center traffic, and various types of web proxies. While some proxy usage is legitimate, it can also be associated with bot traffic, scraping attempts, or other non-genuine visits that can skew your analytics data.

Why exclude proxy traffic?

Excluding proxy traffic helps ensure that your analytics data more accurately reflects genuine user behavior. This can be particularly important for:

• Getting a clearer picture of real user engagement

• Improving the accuracy of conversion rates and other key metrics

• Preventing artificial inflation of traffic numbers

• Focusing your analysis on legitimate visitors

How to use the "Exclude proxy traffic from all stats" feature

To access this feature:

1. Go to Workspace Settings

2. Navigate to the "Exclude Traffic" section

3. Find the "Exclude proxy traffic from all stats" option. Toggle the switch to enable the exclusion of proxy traffic.

When enabled, Usermaven will filter out traffic from detected proxy sources before it appears in your analytics reports.

Selecting proxy types

You can choose which specific types of proxy traffic to exclude:

• VPN (Virtual Private Network)

VPNs are services that encrypt a user's internet connection and route it through servers in different locations. Many users employ VPNs for privacy, security, or to access geo-restricted content. In terms of analytics, VPN usage can mask a user's true location, potentially making them appear to be from different countries than they actually are. While excluding VPN traffic can lead to more geographically accurate data, it's worth considering that this might remove some legitimate users who prioritize privacy in their browsing habits.

• TOR (The Onion Router):

TOR is a volunteer-operated network that provides anonymous communication, often used by individuals seeking extreme privacy and anonymity or those attempting to bypass censorship. From an analytics perspective, TOR traffic makes it nearly impossible to track user behavior or origin accurately. TOR users are typically highly privacy-conscious and may not represent typical user behavior. Excluding TOR traffic can help focus your analytics on more standard user patterns, but it may also remove a segment of users who are particularly concerned about privacy.

• Data-center:

Data-center traffic refers to requests originating from IP ranges associated with cloud services and data centers. This type of traffic is often linked to automated processes, bots, or large-scale scraping operations. In analytics, data center traffic can artificially inflate traffic numbers and skew engagement metrics. However, it's important to note that some legitimate B2B users might access your site through corporate networks that use data center IPs. Carefully consider your target audience before deciding to exclude all data center traffic.

• Public Proxies:

Public proxies are openly available proxy servers that anyone can use to route their traffic. Users often employ these for anonymity or to bypass geographic restrictions. In your analytics, public proxy usage can lead to inaccurate geographic data and potential inflation of unique visitor counts. Compared to VPNs, public proxies are more likely to be used for non-genuine traffic, making them a common choice for exclusion in many analytics setups.

• Web Proxies:

Web proxies are browser-based services that users can access to hide their IP address. They provide a quick and easy way to bypass simple geo-restrictions or workplace filters. Similar to public proxies, web proxy usage can result in inaccurate geographic and visitor data in your analytics. While some users might use these for legitimate purposes in restrictive environments, web proxies are often associated with attempts to circumvent access controls or mask user identity.

• Search Engine Robots:

Search engine robots are automated bots from search engines that crawl websites for indexing purposes. While essential for SEO, these bots can significantly inflate traffic numbers and skew engagement metrics in your analytics data. Excluding search engine robot traffic can provide a clearer picture of actual human user behavior. However, if you're actively working on SEO, you might want to keep this traffic visible to monitor your site's crawl rate and search engine visibility.

Select the checkboxes for the proxy types you wish to exclude.

Considerations when using this feature

• Legitimate users: Some genuine users may use VPNs or other proxies for privacy reasons. Excluding all proxy traffic could potentially remove some real user data.

• Geographic accuracy: If you rely on geographic data for your analytics, note that excluding proxy traffic may impact this, as VPNs and other proxies can mask a user's true location.

• B2B traffic: Some businesses route their traffic through corporate proxies or data centers. If your target audience includes B2B users, consider this when deciding which proxy types to exclude.

• Search engine visibility: While excluding search engine robots can clean up your user metrics, you may want to keep this traffic visible if you're monitoring your site's crawl rate or SEO performance.

Best practices

When you start using proxy traffic exclusion in Usermaven, it's best to take it step by step. Begin by blocking only the most obvious non-human traffic, like data centers and well-known public proxies. This way, you clean up your data without accidentally excluding real users.

After you turn on proxy exclusion, keep a close eye on your numbers. Look for any big changes in your metrics. This helps you see how the exclusions are affecting your data and lets you make adjustments if needed.

For even better results, use proxy exclusion along with Usermaven's other filtering tools. Combining it with bot traffic and internal traffic filters can give you the most accurate picture of your real users.

Don't forget to check your settings regularly. Every so often, review your proxy exclusion choices. Make sure they still match what you need from your analytics and still fit your current group of users.