Recently, I’ve encountered a significant issue in Google Analytics 4 (GA4) that seems to be affecting numerous websites.
I was observing a considerable amount of referral spam originating from news.grets.store from Poland, and others like static.seders.website, rida.tokyo and many more.
This isn’t an isolated incident. Discussions across various forums indicate that many are experiencing the same problem. They are pointing to a broader GA4 issue.
Efforts to solve this, like excluding unwanted referrals, IP blocking, utilizing Google Tag Manager (GTM) for blocks, and applying changes to the Firewall have been unsuccessful, professionals report in various forums.
A fellow professional shared frustration on the forum Google Issue Tracker, highlighting the challenge: „Google seem completely oblivious to this issue and told me they don’t have a solution and will have to investigate further, I’m still waiting for a response.“
Why this is important:
This situation generates fake traffic to websites, severely disrupting analytics. The implications extend beyond uncorrect data, potentially harming linked Google Ads campaigns, user experience and compromising data security.
For the Non-Data Specialists:
Imagine when your mailbox is flooded with junk mail every day, making it hard to find important letters. This is what’s happening with the websites’ data. The ‘junk’ visits from spam skew our understanding of real visitor behavior, making it difficult to make informed decisions about improving the website or even evaluating the success of marketing campaigns.
The need for Google to address this issue is urgent.
I encourage all data specialists, marketers and website owners to remain alert, share your experiences.
Let’s start a conversation. Your insights and experiences are important.
Do you need assistance with your data and Google Analytics? I’m happy to help: Contact
Contribute via Google Issue Tracker