Exclude an IP Address From Log Import

Site administrators can set up exclusions or inclusions to omit or include specific data in reports by adding Log Processing Rules (previously known as Import Filters). For example, a company may want to exclude their own IP address to ensure that the statistics reported only reflect the activity and behavior of external website visitors. 

Unlike filter sets, which simply hide the data from specific reports, exclusions and inclusions are applied before logs are processed and analyzed. That means SmarterStats acts as if the excluded items do not exist in the logs.

It's important to understand that modifying how a site’s log files are processed can mean that some data is skipped or that certain types of data are excluded from a site’s reporting. Therefore, it’s recommended that, prior to any changes being made to the general settings for a site, that at least ONE site is created that processes all of the log data available for a domain. Then, secondary sites can be created that have log processing rules applied and/or items ignored that offer subsets of the primary data. For example:

• SmarterTools Website – This is the primary website that has ZERO settings modifications so that all log data for the smartertools.com domain is processed. This site can act as a baseline for other secondary sites that have some data excluded.
• SmarterTools - No Office Traffic – This is a secondary site that has a Log Processing Rule that excludes the IP addresses for the SmarterTools office and/or network so that internal traffic is excluded from any reports.

Follow these steps to exclude an item during log import:

1. Log in as a site administrator.
2. Click the Settings icon.
3. Click General Settings.
4. Click the Log Processing Rules tab.
5. Click the Add menu in the content pane toolbar and select Log Processing Rule.
6. In the Type field, select the appropriate action: Exclude an IP Address, Exclude a Range of IP Addresses, Exclude a File, Exclude a Directory (and children), Include a Directory (others will be ignored), Exclude a Host Header or Include a Host Header.
7. In the field below, type in the corresponding IP Address/Range, Path and Filename, Directory or Host Header to be excluded/included from statistics.
8. Click OK.
9. Click Save.

Learn more about how SmarterStats can help you make sense of your website analytics.