According to a recent report, 64% of the internet’s traffic consists of bots. The word ‘Bot’ may come out as a negative term, but it has both a positive and negative impact on the internet. Their actions depend on their goals, whether they are promoting marketing campaigns.
The internet is home to many bots, each with a distinct feature and purpose as varied as the collection. A wise company would create a barrier to safeguard its marketing initiatives.
In this article, we will dive into the world of bots and explore their types and how they are used to harm or help businesses.
A bot or software application that conducts automated operations, mimics human behaviour and may execute various internet activities. Bots are meant to interact with websites, collect data, imitate conversations, and do various other functions. Bots have become indispensable tools for enterprises and people due to their capacity to do specific jobs. Bots can assist in boosting efficiency and production, which are becoming common in our daily lives.
Bots are computer programmes that are programmed to carry out specific activities without the need for human involvement. There are two types of bots – Good & Bad bot.
A good bot is a type of bot that serves a valuable purpose and benefits businesses and users. Search engines, social media platforms, and other legitimate entities often create these bots to index web pages, provide information, or enhance user experiences. Good bots play a crucial role in maintaining the functionality and accessibility of the internet.
A lousy bot is designed to perform malicious activities that can harm businesses and users. Bad bots are responsible for engaging in ad fraud, scraping content, account takeover, spamming, and launching distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. These bots aim to exploit vulnerabilities for personal gain or to disrupt online operations.
Bots are computer programs designed to automate specific tasks. While some bots are malicious or spammy, many good bots help people and businesses save time, money, and effort. Here are some common types of good bots:
You can leverage their benefits and avoid pitfalls by understanding the different types of good bots. Remember to use bots ethically and stay informed about the latest developments in bot technology.
Bad bots can cause a lot of damage to your website, from stealing data to slowing down your site’s performance. Here are the most common types of bad bots and how to identify them:
To stop bad bots, you can use security software or services that can identify and block them. Additionally, regularly monitoring your website’s traffic can help you spot any suspicious activity and act before it causes significant damage.
Preventing the negative impact of bots requires proactive measures. Here are some strategies to consider:
Utilise bot management solutions that can help identify and differentiate between good and bad bots. These solutions employ IP blocking, behaviour analysis, and CAPTCHA challenges to detect and block malicious bot traffic.
Regularly monitor website traffic and analyse user behaviour to identify suspicious patterns or anomalies. Unusual spikes in traffic or repetitive actions may indicate the presence of bot activity. By closely monitoring analytics, businesses can take timely action to prevent bot-related issues.
Use CAPTCHA (Completely Automated Public Turing Test to Tell Computers and Humans Apart) or other verification mechanisms to verify that only human users access your website or services. These measures can help prevent automated bots from performing unauthorised actions.
Stay updated with your website or application’s latest security patches and software updates. Bots often exploit vulnerabilities in outdated software versions. Regular updates help safeguard against known security risks and reduce the chances of bot attacks.
Stay one step ahead of the evolving bot threats and fraud techniques with a ad fraud solution partner. By validating ad traffic, advertisers can identify invalid traffic and eliminate them to reduce the wastage of ad spends.
Understanding the different types of bots and their impact is crucial for online businesses. While good bots contribute to the functionality and user experience, bad bots can cause significant harm, particularly in ad fraud. By implementing effective bot management solutions, monitoring website traffic, and staying vigilant, businesses can mitigate the negative impact of bots and protect their online operations.
Arvind Mathur is a seasoned digital product expert and the Business Unit Head at mFilterIt. With extensive experience in building digital products for media, marketing, and technology platforms, Arvind specializes in validating digital advertising spends and mitigating reputational risk. He has actively contributed to industry committees, including IAB Tech Lab, Media Rating Council, and IAMAI. Arvind’s leadership at mFilterIt has resulted in the expansion of digital product development capabilities, leveraging cutting-edge technologies like ML and AI, leading to significant growth and the establishment of new revenue streams.
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