Site traffic from data centers and bots

[MarComEB]

Do HubSpot website analytics include traffic from data centers (like Amazon, Microsoft, Google, etc.)? I have bot filtering turned on, but I was wondering if this type of traffic still comes through? If so, does it change much with our data or should I not worry about it? 

[MarComEB · Accepted solution]

Thanks, @Jnix284! Our IT dept. has figured out a way to filter this traffic in GA4, but I was wondering if it's possible in HS too. They're telling me about 25% of our traffic is coming from data centers, which really seems to mess with our analytics.

[johan3]

Addressing site traffic challenges, including potential issues from data centers and bots, is crucial for maintaining a secure online environment. To enhance website security, consider implementing strategies such as CAPTCHA or reCAPTCHA for user verification, deploying Web Application Firewalls (WAF) to filter and block suspicious traffic, and utilizing bot management solutions with machine learning capabilities. Employing rate limiting, user-agent filtering, and IP geolocation filtering can further strengthen defenses against automated threats. Regular monitoring, analysis of traffic patterns, and the implementation of security measures like those found in carXstreet gaming can help create a resilient defense against unwanted traffic and potential cyber threats.

[MarComEB]

Thanks @johan3! I'll pass along your suggestions to our web admins. Very helpful!

[MarComEB · Accepted solution]

Thanks, @Jnix284! Our IT dept. has figured out a way to filter this traffic in GA4, but I was wondering if it's possible in HS too. They're telling me about 25% of our traffic is coming from data centers, which really seems to mess with our analytics.

[Jnix284]

you're welcome @MarComEB! I'm glad your IT team has it sorted in GA - have you confirmed there is a 25% discrepancy between GA and HubSpot's numbers?

[MarComEB]

Hi @Jnix284 - It appears that the 25% difference in users is only in GA4, comparing unfiltered and filtered data center traffic. When I compare filtered GA4 data and HubSpot data, there's only a 9% difference when looking at sessions. 

[Jnix284 · Accepted solution]

hi @MarComEB, with there being a discrepancy between the two, my assumption (based on your results and previous experience with discrepancies between HS and GA) is that the major data centers are being blocked and there are either smaller/newer ones that GA4 can capture that HubSpot isn't.

I don't think there will be anything you can do to further reduce the 9% without manually adding blocked domains from your analytics.

If you have more data about what GA4 is blocking compared to HubSpot that could isolate the discrepancy, it would be helpful to create an idea here for the product managers to review.

[Jnix284]

@MarComEB I'm hoping someone else in the community like @TomM2 or @Mike_Eastwood will have a definitive answer for you if data center traffic is auto-exluded with the bot filtering activated.

It is possible to exclude specific referrers, so you could manually configure HubSpot to exclude them.

Once you exclude them, HubSpot uses a cookie (unassociated with a contact) to track their activity so they are excluded, but it won't go backward to remove past activity.

You could do the same for internal IPs for your team if you want to exclude their activity from your web analytics (I always exclude myself).