11 replies to this topic

[janepoe]

I need some help with negotiating a reasonable truce with my boss. We have one major website (to us it's major, anyway ) and two relatively minor ones. My boss is totally bored and sits on his laptop ALL day and types in keywords and different phrases to see where our placements are, which, I might add are in the top three to five on every keyword. This is okay, but, he is killing my analytics!!! I can't tell what are REAL visits and just his typing stuff in all day. Looks like I have 1400 visits on one page on server's report and when I go to the only one of my analytics pages that I was able to block his ISP from showing up, I find that I only had 180 REAL visits. Can anyone help me solve this issue or tell me in proper language so I can show him your answer and he will believe it? Thank you so much in advance and accept my apologies because my technical language is lacking.

[scotth]

when I go to the only one of my analytics pages that I was able to block his ISP from showing up, I find that I only had 180 REAL visits.

How do you only have one web page blocking his IP Address (ISP)? Which analytics program are you using? You should be able to block the entire site from his IP Address (ISP).

[janepoe]

How do you only have one web page blocking his IP Address (ISP)? Which analytics program are you using? You should be able to block the entire site from his IP Address (ISP).

Guess I should have made myself clearer.... I use analytics on one website that I am able to block him totally but on the other two sites, there is no way to block him out since he uses a different ISP than the one I use on it. I don't think I can call names here or I would tell you the three sites I am talking about so suffice it to say that two of them are not open to the usual analytics program...

[scotth]

I use analytics on one website that I am able to block him totally but on the other two sites, there is no way to block him out since he uses a different ISP than the one I use on it.

Can't you ask him for the IP Address (ISP) that he uses so you can add that to the blocked list?

Or just be straightforward with him and tell him that he is hindering part of your job. It is important to have clear data and his is clearly destroying that data.

[janepoe]

Can't you ask him for the IP Address (ISP) that he uses so you can add that to the blocked list?

Or just be straightforward with him and tell him that he is hindering part of your job. It is important to have clear data and his is clearly destroying that data.

Yes, I can get the IP address from his computer but can find no way to block another address from the other two sites. I have tried to tell him that we need this clear info but he just doesn't get it..Thanks for your input, I really do appreciate it.

[scotth]

Yes, I can get the IP address from his computer but can find no way to block another address from the other two sites.

What analytics program are you using?

[janepoe]

What analytics program are you using?

google analytics on my main website and that is the one I was able to block him from. Just now he came in here and is fussing about my "title" for a set of dime earrings...now, you type in the search "dime earrings" and we get four immediate hits....but, nooooo, he says the "layman" is going to type in "sterling silver dime earrings" so my title isn't good enough. Now, my title is "mercury dime sterling coin bezel earrings"...He has cost me over 30 hits on that one item today in the last 30 mins just typing stuff in. ARGGGGHHHH!!! I'm losing it...Guess it's his sites, if he wants accurate analytics he will stop..or not. scotth, I sure do thank you for at least letting me "vent" a little.

[scotth]

google analytics on my main website and that is the one I was able to block him from. Just now he came in here and is fussing about my "title" for a set of dime earrings...now, you type in the search "dime earrings" and we get four immediate hits....but, nooooo, he says the "layman" is going to type in "sterling silver dime earrings" so my title isn't good enough. Now, my title is "mercury dime sterling coin bezel earrings"...He has cost me over 30 hits on that one item today in the last 30 mins just typing stuff in. ARGGGGHHHH!!! I'm losing it...Guess it's his sites, if he wants accurate analytics he will stop..or not. scotth, I sure do thank you for at least letting me "vent" a little.

Wait....why does he even click on the links to your sites (or is he)? Isn't he just looking at placement?

If he wants placement of certain keywords, why doesn't he use Google's Ad Preview Tool? https://adwords.goog...;__c=1000000000

This allows him to search with being able to click on the links, but gives him the results like a normal search result. Have him use that. Plus it doesn't count against keyword searches either.

[janepoe]

Wait....why does he even click on the links to your sites (or is he)? Isn't he just looking at placement?

If he wants placement of certain keywords, why doesn't he use Google's Ad Preview Tool? https://adwords.goog...;__c=1000000000

This allows him to search with being able to click on the links, but gives him the results like a normal search result. Have him use that. Plus it doesn't count against keyword searches either.

Yes, he is looking at placement but he thinks the computer's memory banks mess with Google's Ad preview tool (which I've begged him to use) and he invariably clicks onto whatever link or picture he pulls up from our site..like I said though analytics takes care of the main website but we also run stores on two other sites and those are the two he's killing me on, their analytics programs don't let you block other ISP (or even log on for changes from a different one than the one you normally work with) and the stores have gotten big enough that I need to run correct analysis on them to see if they are "paying their way"/

[Jill]

Just show him the reports and let him know that if he's clicking through that they may not be accurate and that he should just subtract the number of times he's clicked from the number it shows.

[scotth]

Why not switch the other two sites to use Google Analytics? Then you can block him..

[rolf]

bit of a brute force work around, but as GA is a script within the page code you could create a 'log in' system that notices when he is logged in and doesn't call the GA script. This is something I do to avoid logging my own activity on one of my sites

This does rely on persuading him to log in and stay logged in for it to work, but it could be worth a shot.

<slight rant>I have had clients like this, who just don't 'get' computers and no matter how I try to explain their unintended sabotage they say something like "I don't really understand what you're saying but I trust you to solve whatever problems we have" and carry on blindly making my job harder.

My only solace in these situations is that they don't have a slippery SEO Snake-oil Salesman telling them that they need INSERT-OUTDATED-NONSENSE-HERE and repeatedly asking if I would save him the expense by doing it for him cheaper, even though I've repeatedly explained that it's outdated nonsense and it would be unethical for me to do it. Sometimes they even pay the slippery salesman when it becomes clear that I won't do the required alchemy, at which point I head for the door...</slight rant>