Have you noticed your website behaving strangely? Like your website's unstable, slow load times, or regularly going down? You’re not alone. As a digital agency, we’re seeing a rise in the volume of bots, which are increasingly disrupting businesses and eating into their valuable resources. According to Forbes, bots now account for nearly half of all global internet traffic.
And if you’re thinking your small, non-transactional site is immune, think again! No site operates in a vacuum, and failing to safeguard your digital assets can be costly. You’re looking at potential damage to your brand and customer trust, data breaches, and compliance violations. In fact, a recent Fastly report shows that bots are costing UK businesses on average £600k per year!
What are bad bots, and why are they a growing problem?
With automated bots set to overtake human traffic, it’s time to find ways to protect our websites. Bad bots closely mimic human behaviour making them tough to spot and even harder to stop. Once they’ve slipped through the net, they can steal data, break into user accounts, submit fake information through online forms, and carry out other malicious activities. With the growing popularity of generative AI and large language models, bad bot traffic is surging, according to SecurityBrief
Are all bots malicious?
Not all bots are malicious, many are helpful. There are ones that help search engine ranking, handle website analytics, and automate routine tasks. They’re designed to make our lives easier, but without proper management can cause a real headache.
With the overload of bots (good or bad) coming through, it can cause a strain on resources and prevent genuine human traffic accessing your site. While AI-driven bots help streamline tasks, they often disregard the impact they have on site performance, sometimes causing slowdowns or downtime unintentionally. The dilemma is how to reduce the impact of bad bots, without blocking helpful ones, like the ones that help your search visibility? Navigating bot management can feel like a minefield.
How do you beat the bots?
That’s the million-dollar question. It’s not a one size fits all approach. Dealing with bots requires technical expertise and a strategy tailored to the size and needs of your website. You need to understand the kind of bots visiting your site and how they behave. It’s not simply a case of beating them, as some of them are super useful. It’s a real balancing act! Think of it like being a bouncer at a nightclub, you want to keep the troublemakers out, whilst letting in the VIP guests!
Won’t my current security solution cover bot management?
You might be wondering, "Isn't my existing security solution enough to handle bots?" It’s a fair question. While security solutions like firewalls, DDoS protection, and traffic monitoring help against traditional threats, it’s often not enough to handle the growing sophistication of bots. General security tools may struggle to differentiate between good and bad bots, leaving your website vulnerable to data theft, fake submissions, and performance issues. Bots are designed to mimic human behaviour and evolve quickly, which many standard security measures can't keep up with. To effectively manage bot traffic without compromising search visibility or site performance, you need a specialised bot management solution tailored to detect and mitigate bot-specific threats.
It’s time to act!
Whether you’re battling bad bots or overwhelmed by good ones, now is the time to take control. The Pivale team have the know-how to help you create a solid strategy to protect your digital assets. Feeling unsure about where to start? Don’t worry, we’re here to help.
Book a free 30-minute chat, and we’ll walk through your current challenges and how to find the best digital bouncer for your site.
Let's connect and see how we can work towards getting your bot management under control.
FAQ
How do you distinguish between good and bad bots?
General security tools may struggle to differentiate between good and bad bots, leaving your website vulnerable to data theft, fake submissions, and performance issues. Bots are designed to mimic human behaviour and evolve quickly, which many standard security measures can't keep up with. To effectively manage bot traffic without compromising search visibility or site performance, you need a specialised bot management solution tailored to detect and mitigate bot-specific threats.
What are the risks of bot security?
No site operates in a vacuum, and failing to safeguard your digital assets can be costly. You’re looking at potential damage to your brand and customer trust, data breaches, and compliance violations. In fact, a recent Fastly report shows that bots are costing UK businesses on average £600k per year!
