As someone who spends a lot of time online, I’ve often thought about bots and their effect on our daily web traffic. A report by Imperva found something surprising –¹ 47.4% of all internet traffic in 2022 was from bots, a 5.1% jump from the year before. Only 52.6% of traffic was from humans, the lowest in eight years¹. This shows how bots are becoming more common and could be causing unnecessary traffic, affecting websites, businesses, and users.

But there’s more¹. Bad bots made up 30.2% of all bot traffic in 2022, a 2.5% increase from 2021. Also, 2022 saw the highest level of malicious bot activity since 2013, according to Imperva¹. This not only puts a strain on websites but also costs billions of dollars each year for companies hit by these attacks¹.

Internet Bot Traffic: The digital world is changing fast, and internet bot traffic is key for everyone. Bots do many things online, like scraping data and managing social media. But, they also cause a lot of extra traffic on websites and networks.

Bot-Generated Traffic Issues: Bots are a big problem for online businesses and people. They can slow down websites, steal data, and waste resources. This leads to less efficiency, higher costs, and lost money.

Unnecessary Web Traffic: Bots bring a lot of extra traffic online, affecting businesses and people. By studying bot traffic, we can understand its impact. We can find weak spots and figure out how to fight it.

Internet Bot Analysis: To get a handle on bot traffic, we need to analyze the data carefully. We look at different bots, their actions, and why they do things. This helps us spot trends and understand how bots change.

Bot Traffic Data: Gathering and studying bot traffic data is crucial for keeping the internet safe and running well. By watching bot traffic, we can see how websites are doing. We can also find and fix problems caused by bots.

The effects of bots go beyond just numbers¹. With more people using mobile devices in 2016, bots quickly changed, with mobile Safari being a top user agent. The number of bots pretending to be mobile browsers went up by 42.78%¹. Over the last decade, bots have evolved, focusing more on APIs and application logic, making them a bigger threat in the future¹.

The problem of bots creating unnecessary traffic is getting worse and needs our focus. In the next parts, we’ll look at how bots affect website analytics, how to spot bot activity, and ways to block it. By understanding this issue, we can protect our online spaces and offer a better experience for everyone.

The Impact of Internet Bots Creating Unnecessary Traffic on Website Analytics

For businesses, understanding website traffic and user behavior is key. But, bot traffic can mess with these analytics. Bots, or automated programs, can make website metrics look better than they are. This leads to web analytics distortion and inflated website metrics.

Unusual Increases in Page Views, Visits, and Unique Visitors

Bot traffic often means many bots visiting a site, each counted as a unique visitor. This can cause big jumps in page views, visits, and unique visitors².

Abnormal Increases or Decreases in Page Views per Visit

Bots might visit many pages in one go, changing pages per visit numbers. Or, they might make a site look like it has more bounce rates with “single-page-visits”².

Sharp Decreases in Orders per Visit (OpV)

Bots don’t buy things online, so a drop in orders per visit (OpV) might show bot traffic impact and conversion rate fluctuations².

It’s important for businesses to watch how bot traffic affects their analytics. By finding and blocking bot traffic, they can keep their data real. This helps them make better online strategies.

Identifying Bot Traffic in Google and Adobe Analytics

As a digital analytics enthusiast, I’ve learned that detecting bot traffic is key for accurate website performance analysis. Bot traffic often comes directly to a website without a referrer. This can cause abnormal spikes in direct traffic, which might indicate automated activity³.

Also, large traffic surges from a single location, like Ashburn, Virginia, can hint at bot traffic³. By looking at geo-location patterns in Google Analytics and Adobe Analytics, I can spot these big traffic spikes. These might show bot-driven activity³.

To better detect bot traffic, using custom metrics in Adobe Analytics is helpful³. I’ve created a custom Bounce Rate metric. It targets traffic with a Bounce Rate over 95% and Entries over 50. This helps me identify and segment bot-influenced traffic better³.

Also, analyzing dimensions like Cities, User Agent, and Tracking Code gives more insights into bot traffic³. By combining these dimensions, I can find more detailed patterns. This helps me understand the bot landscape affecting my website better³.

As I keep improving my bot traffic detection, I stay alert for unusual traffic spikes and analyze geo-location patterns³. I also use the power of custom analytics metrics³. By being proactive and using Google Analytics and Adobe Analytics, I can keep up with bot traffic’s impact on my website’s performance³.

Increases in Traffic with Unspecified Operating System

Seeing a lot of traffic from unknown operating systems might mean bots are visiting your site. Google Analytics and Adobe Analytics can show this by reporting “(not-set)” or “Not Specified” values⁴. Bots try to hide their operating systems, making this a key bot detection metric⁴.

Also, irregular browser traffic could point to bots. They often use special user-agents that aren’t recognized, which can be spotted by looking at browser traffic patterns⁵. Watching for these signs helps website owners understand if bots are visiting their site⁵.

It’s important to have good ways to catch bots to keep your analytics right and make sure users have a good experience. Using advanced methods like interaction checks, challenges, and behavior analysis helps tell humans from bots⁵.

Internet Bots Creating Traffic: A Growing Concern

Internet bots are spreading fast, and businesses need to take notice. The 2024 Imperva Bad Bot Report shows bad bots make up 32% of all internet traffic. This is a big jump from before⁶. It shows how automated threats are affecting businesses and their online presence.

Also, 44% of all account takeover attacks target API endpoints⁷. This means automated threats are a big risk to data and user accounts. As APIs become more important for digital services, protecting them is crucial.

Automated threats are not just a security issue but also disrupt businesses. Bad bots cost companies billions of dollars each year. They affect website performance, API integrity, and user experience⁶. As these threats get bigger and smarter, businesses must be ready to fight back.

The problem of bad bot traffic is worldwide. In 2023, the United States saw 35.4% bad bot traffic, up from 32.1% the year before⁶. The gaming industry is hit hard, with 57.2% of its traffic from bad bots. Retail, travel, and financial services also face a lot of bot attacks⁷.

As the digital world changes, businesses must keep up. They need strong plans to fight internet bots. By understanding the problem, companies can protect their online presence and keep it safe⁶⁷.

The Evolution of Bad Bot Technology

The rise of automated attacks is a big worry in our digital world. Bad bot technology has grown a lot, making this problem worse. The⁸ Imperva Bad Bot Report shows bad bots now make up 32% of all internet traffic. This is up from 30.2% last year⁹.

In 2023, almost half (49.6%) of all internet traffic was from bots. This is a 2% jump from the year before.

These bots are getting smarter¹⁰. They’re using new tricks like SMS toll fraud, which jumped over 2,000% in a year. They’re targeting tech, social media, gaming, and finance¹⁰.

Cybercriminals are using “crime-as-a-service” to make attacks easier. This lets less skilled people join in and help bad bot operators grow.

AI is making these bots even better¹⁰. They can now dodge defenses and avoid being caught⁹. In 2023, simple bots made up 39.6% of internet traffic, up from 33.4% the year before.

The places with the most bad bot traffic are interesting⁹. Ireland, Germany, and Mexico lead the list, with Ireland at 71%⁹. The United States also saw a rise, reaching 35.4% in 2023, up from 32.1% the year before.

As bad bot threats grow, it’s key for businesses and people to stay alert. They need to use¹⁰ good ways to spot and stop these threats. This includes using CAPTCHAs, setting honeytraps, blocking odd traffic, and using bot detection software.

The fight against bad bots is ongoing and changing. But by being careful and using the right tools, we can keep our online spaces safe. This helps stop unwanted traffic and security problems.

Measures to Detect and Filter Bot Traffic

It’s key to spot and block bot traffic to get true website analytics. To do this, create a dashboard that shows bot activity. It should track things like page views and visits to find bots¹¹.

Look for big jumps in page views and visits. Also, watch for odd changes in pages per visit and drops in orders¹¹.

Setting Up a Bot Traffic Dashboard

Keep an eye on these analytics-based detection signs to find bot traffic fast¹¹. This dashboard helps you tackle any odd activity right away. It makes sure your website data shows real human interaction¹¹.

Filtering Out Automated Visits

After spotting bot traffic, block the automated visits. Find out what bots look like, like their location and browser, and ignore that traffic in your analytics¹¹. Using good ways to fight bot traffic keeps your data real and useful¹¹.

By acting early to catch and block bot traffic, your website analytics will show real user behavior. This helps you make smart choices, improve your marketing, and give your visitors a better experience¹¹¹²¹³.

Increases in Traffic with Low Monitor Resolution

One of the signs of bot traffic is unusual monitor resolutions¹⁴. Bots show up in analytics with odd resolutions, like not-set or impossible values. The lower the resolution, the more likely it’s a bot¹⁴.

Bots don’t have a fixed screen size like humans do. They might be set to look like older devices.

Watching your website’s traffic can help spot bot activity¹⁴. Low-resolution visitors might be scraping content or trying to take over accounts¹⁵. They could also be flooding your site with automated requests¹⁵.

To fight this, create a bot traffic dashboard¹⁴. It should track your site’s traffic, including screen resolution¹⁴. This way, you can spot and stop suspicious activity fast. Your site will stay safe for real visitors¹⁵.

Understanding low resolution signs helps you see bot traffic patterns on your site¹⁴. This knowledge lets you protect your site and improve your analytics data interpretation for better insights¹⁴.

High Volumes of Strange Browser Traffic

Strange browser traffic can hint at bot activity on your site. Bots often use custom user-agents that aren’t classified or show up as unknown in¹⁶. By analyzing the browser dimensions in Google Analytics and Adobe Analytics, you can spot these unusual patterns. This helps you understand the impact of bots on your site.

It’s key to keep an eye on your website’s browser traffic. In 2022, bots made up about 47% of global web traffic, while humans made up only 52%¹⁶. This heavy bot traffic can mess up your data and harm important metrics like page value¹⁶. Luckily, tools like Google Analytics 4 block known bot traffic automatically¹⁶, keeping your data accurate.

To boost your bot detection, use Google’s research and the IAB/ABC International Spiders and Bots List¹⁶ to spot known bot patterns. By staying alert and using user-agent analysis and other bot detection techniques, you can make sure your analytics show your human visitors. This helps you make better business choices.

Conclusion

The internet is facing a big problem with bot traffic, with over 49.6% of all internet traffic being bots in 2023¹⁷. While some bots are helpful, like search engine crawlers, 32% are malicious¹⁷. These bad bots can harm websites, search rankings, and the accuracy of data¹⁸.

Businesses can spot bot activity by looking at website traffic patterns and using analytical tools¹⁹. They can see signs like sudden increases in page views and visits¹⁹. They can also watch for traffic from unknown areas and with unclear operating systems¹⁸.

To fight bot traffic, businesses should use bot management and API security solutions¹⁷. They should also set up dashboards and filters to block automated visits¹⁷. By doing this, they can make sure their data is accurate, improve their online plans, and give their customers a better experience¹⁹.

Source Links

1. https://securitytoday.com/articles/2023/05/17/report-47-percent-of-internet-traffic-is-from-bots.aspx – Report: 47 Percent of Internet Traffic is From Bots — Security Today
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3. https://baresquare.com/blog/the-ultimate-metric-for-bot-traffic-detection – The ultimate metric for bot detection in Adobe Analytics | Baresquare
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12. https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/security/detect-and-block-advanced-bot-traffic/ – Detect and block advanced bot traffic | Amazon Web Services
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14. https://twooctobers.com/blog/how-to-identify-bot-traffic-in-ga4/ – How to Identify Bot Traffic in GA4 | Two Octobers
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16. https://datadrivenu.com/bot-traffic-google-analytics/ – How to Identify and Remove Bot Traffic in Google Analytics 4 – Data Driven U
17. https://www.managedserver.eu/Bots-make-up-about-50%-of-global-web-traffic/ – Bots make up approximately 50% of global web traffic. – 🏆 Managed Server
18. https://thriveagency.com/news/what-is-bot-traffic-and-why-should-you-care-about-it/ – What Is Bot Traffic and Why Should You Care About It?
19. https://www.imperva.com/company/press_releases/bots-are-taking-over-the-internet-automated-threats-are-a-growing-risk-for-organizations/ – Bots Are Taking Over the Internet: Automated Threats are a Growing Risk for Organizations – Company