Removing yourself from the data, Part II: GA
Here it is: an easy way to remove yourself from your Google Analytics.
Two months ago, I wrote about how hard it is to remove yourself from the data when the web analytics solution only allows you to filter on IP address. My issue is always about having a dynamic address but, as was pointed out to me today, maybe you only want to remove certain computers (not certain IP addresses) from the data.
Since then, this blog gets more hits on “remove yourself from GA dynamic IP” or some variation than any other keyword. I did write the guys at Google and they said, “Really?” But Google is always up to something so maybe they will work on this.
This is why I was so excited today when Justin Cutroni did a post in which he shows you how to create a cookie that takes you out of your GA. You copy his file, paste it into an editor like Notepad, save it with a name that ends like your website does (I had to save mine as filename.asp since I have an asp site, but yours might be .htm or .php or something else) and then use your FTP editor to drag your new file into your website. Then follow his directions. It is really easy, especially after I did it and wrote him twice and he edited his post and now even non-programmers can take themselves (or more correctly, their computers) out of their Google Analytics. Thanks, Justin, for all the help (and of course, thanks for the cookie-generator.)
I just want to end with a plug for blogs that give really concrete “here’s how you do it” advice, like Justin’s and ROI Revolution. (ROI just did a fabulous piece on differentiating links in the GA overlay. And did you all notice that Google had to name their blog, “The Official Google Analytics blog,” because ROI’s is the unofficial one?)
Robbin Steif
LunaMetrics
