What Is a Bot? How Do Bots Impact Your Digital In Media Buying?

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We wish you all the best to you and your beloved ones. Be healthy, be loved, and grow your business even more.

In today's article, we will discuss a topic that excites many media buyers – bot traffic.

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A brief history of computer and internet bots

Bots, or automated software programs, have been around for many years. The first recorded use of a bot dates back to the 1960s when the term “bot” was coined to describe a computer program that performed a specific task.

Since then, bots have evolved and become more sophisticated. Today, bots are used for a wide range of purposes, including web scraping, content generation, and social media management. Some bots are designed to mimic human behavior and can be difficult to detect.

One of the first instances of bot traffic on the internet was the “Internet Relay Chat” (IRC) bot, which was developed in the 1980s. IRC bots were used to perform tasks on IRC channels, such as managing user lists and enforcing rules.

In the 1990s, search engine bots were developed to crawl and index websites, and in the 2000s, social media bots emerged to help manage and automate social media accounts.

More recently, bots have been used for malicious purposes, such as spamming and click fraud. These types of bots can be difficult to detect and can have a negative impact on businesses and individuals.

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What is bot traffic in media buying?

In performance marketing, bot traffic refers to a website or landing page generated by automated software rather than an actual human user. This type of traffic can come from a variety of sources, including scraper bots that copy content from websites, spambots that send out mass emails or comments, and other types of automated software that simulate human behavior online. 

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Why do affiliate marketers dislike bot traffic?

There are a few reasons why bot traffic can be problematic for media buyers:

1. Inaccurate analytics: Bot traffic can distort the accuracy of analytics and metrics, which can make it difficult for media buyers to understand the true performance of their campaigns.

2. Waste of resources: Bots can consume resources and bandwidth, which can impact the performance of a campaign and increase its cost.

3. Reputation damage: If a media buyer's campaign is generating a significant amount of bot traffic, it could damage their reputation and make it harder for them to secure future media buying opportunities.

4. Legal implications: In some cases, bot traffic can be used to engage in illegal activities, such as spamming or phishing. If a media buyer's campaign is associated with these types of activities, it could result in legal consequences.

5. Brand safety concerns: If a media buyer's ads are displayed on websites or networks that have high levels of bot traffic, it could expose their brand to risk. For example, their ads may be displayed on sites that promote illegal or offensive content, which could damage their reputation.

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What types of bots there are?

There are many types of bot traffic that can impact media buyers and marketers. Here are a few examples:

1. Scraper bots: they copy content from websites and use it for various purposes, such as creating spam or duplicating content on other sites.

2. Spambots: these bad boys send out mass emails or comments to spamming or promote a product or service.

3. Impersonator bots: They simulate human behavior online and can be used to manipulate metrics, such as click-through rates or conversion rates.

4. Hacking bots: hackers use them to launch cyberattacks and engage in other malicious activities.

5. Transactional bots: These bots simulate online transactions, such as purchases or registrations, and can be used to manipulate metrics or gather sensitive information.

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Are there bots that can be considered for ‘good”?

There are types of bots that are considered “good” because they serve useful purposes and do not engage in malicious activities. They are often referred to as “legitimate” or “friendly”. 

Some examples of “friendly” bots include:

1. Search engine bots: They crawl websites and index their content, which allows users to find relevant information when they perform a search.

2. Security bots: These bots monitor websites and networks for security threats and can help to prevent cyberattacks.

3. Monitoring bots: usually they track the performance of websites and networks and can alert administrators if there are any issues.

4. Social media bots: they can be used to automate tasks on social media platforms, such as scheduling posts or responding to comments.

5. Service bots: Service bots deliver customer service or other types of assistance to users. For example, a chatbot on a company's website can answer questions and provide information to users.

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How to fight both traffic when I run push notification campaigns?

There are several steps that you can take to minimize the impact of bot traffic when running a push notification paid campaign:

1. Use a reliable push notification ad platform: Pushground is fully integrated with Opticks Security anti-fraud solutions to prevent any fraudulent or bot traffic and ensure the integrity of your campaigns.

2. Implement IP blocking: IP blocking is a technique that allows you to block traffic from specific IP addresses or ranges of addresses. l. This can be an effective way to prevent bot traffic from reaching your funnel.

3. Use CAPTCHAs: CAPTCHAs (Completely Automated Public Turing tests to tell Computers and Humans Apart) are tools that can be used to differentiate between human users and bots. By requiring users to complete a CAPTCHA before they can access your push notification ad campaign, you can reduce the amount of bot traffic that you receive.

4. Use bot detection tools: There are various tools and services that can help you to identify and filter out bot traffic. These tools can be useful for identifying and blocking malicious bots.

5. Monitor your traffic: Regularly monitoring your traffic and analyzing your metrics can help you to identify any unusual spikes or patterns that may indicate the presence of bot traffic. By keeping a close eye on your traffic, you can quickly identify and address any issues that may arise.

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By starting your paid ad campaign with Pushground, you can be confident that you are reaching real users and not wasting money on fraudulent or bot traffic. Pushground also offers a variety of tools and services to help you optimize your ad campaigns and get the most out of your advertising spend. 

Overall, Pushground is a reliable and trustworthy traffic source for businesses looking to advertise online.

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