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How to block bad bots: a practical guide
Audit your traffic, separate helpful automation from abuse, apply the controls that fit your stack and understand when managed perimeter filtering becomes the simpler long-term option
What counts as a “bad” bot
Not all automated traffic is a threat. Search engine crawlers, uptime monitors and accessibility tools are bots too — and you want them on your site. A “bad” bot is automation that acts against your interests: scraping prices, testing stolen credentials, filling out forms with spam, or holding inventory hostage in a cart it never checks out.
Quick answer
To block bad bots, first confirm the traffic is actually automated using server logs (not just analytics), then apply detection at the perimeter — before requests reach your application — using behavior-based rules rather than IP blocklists alone.
Signs your site has a bot problem
01.
Traffic spikes that don’t correspond to any marketing activity
02.
Traffic spikes that don’t correspond to any marketing activity
Any one of these can have another explanation. Two or three together, on a site with public forms or a catalogue, is worth a closer look.
Step 2 — Choose the right blocking method
Once you’ve confirmed automated traffic, the method you choose depends on how sophisticated it is:
- IP blocklists stop known bad actors quickly, but rotating proxies make them a short-term fix.
- IP blocklists stop known bad actors quickly, but rotating proxies make them a short-term fix.
- IP blocklists stop known bad actors quickly, but rotating proxies make them a short-term fix.
Most sites end up layering more than one method.
Signs your site has a bot problem
Blocking by IP alone. Residential proxies mean bad bots often share IP ranges with real customers.
Blocking by IP alone. Residential proxies mean bad bots often share IP ranges with real customers.
Blocking by IP alone. Residential proxies mean bad bots often share IP ranges with real customers.
One product, full coverage
.Related materials
Guide
Signs Your Website Has a Bot Problem
Guide
Bot Mitigation Strategies: The Ultimate Guide
Guide
How to Block Bad Bots Without Blocking Real Customers
.FAQ
Will ADPAL slow down my website
No. Requests are analyzed in under 50 ms at the edge, and because bad bots never reach your server, most sites actually get faster — protection includes caching, HTTP/3 and TLS 1.3.
Will my customers see CAPTCHAs?
No. Requests are analyzed in under 50 ms at the edge, and because bad bots never reach your server, most sites actually get faster — protection includes caching, HTTP/3 and TLS 1.3.
Do I need a developer to set it up?
No. Requests are analyzed in under 50 ms at the edge, and because bad bots never reach your server, most sites actually get faster — protection includes caching, HTTP/3 and TLS 1.3.
Will it block Google or break my SEO?
No. Requests are analyzed in under 50 ms at the edge, and because bad bots never reach your server, most sites actually get faster — protection includes caching, HTTP/3 and TLS 1.3.
See which bots are hitting your site
Get a plain-language breakdown of your traffic — no credit card required