Bots are a plague on all websites, affecting every aspect of ecommerce – from price scraping to DDoS attacks, from account takeover to scalping products. They make brands second-guess the accuracy of metrics, and they undermine their trust with consumers. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to stop bots, but there are steps that all brands can take.

Stop bots and proxies on your website bots starts with recognizing their patterns of behavior. If you see a spike in traffic from locations that aren’t a good fit for your target market, this may be an indication of bot activity. If you see a sudden drop in average page duration, or an increase in the bounce rate (people who visit your site only one page, then leave immediately), this is another indication that you’re being targeted by bad bots.

How to Check if a Phone Number is Connected or Disconnected

Many bots use proxies to disguise their true IP address and appear more like a real user. A quick way to spot a proxy is to check for the presence of IFrames during form submission. IFrames are used by spam bots to host forms on their own sites, and submit the results automatically. Alternatively, you can look for other signs of proxy bots, such as proxy type, speed, location, rotation, authentication, and so on.

It’s also important to protect all access points to your website and apps, including open API endpoints. Leaving them unprotected gives bots an easy backdoor path, allowing them to access and attack your systems.