Traffic Bot Services and the Risk of Competitor Clicks

The business of buying online traffic is booming. Why wait for organic traffic to grow when you can easily purchase traffic bot software? Or if your competitors consistently outrank you in search results, why not just flood their ads with clicks and push them off the top?

Despite claims from ad platforms like Google that they are cracking down on fake traffic, bot services are becoming increasingly sophisticated.

Take, for example, a new traffic bot software that has recently emerged:

Some developers are openly advertising bots that can be hired to click on your competitors’ ads. By using VPNs and proxy servers, these bots mimic legitimate traffic from various locations.

When I reached out for more details, this is what they had to say:

“Our bot operates from your computer via a Virtual Private Server (VPS). It uses IP address manipulation to make your traffic appear as though it’s coming from anywhere in the world. If you purchase our plan with a proxy server connection, you’ll receive 1,000 new IP addresses every week.”

In essence, this bot runs directly from the user’s device, disguising its location through proxy servers. The service allows users to control the number of clicks and the time spent on the site. It even bypasses captchas automatically.

And the cost? Less than €500 for a lifetime license, allowing you to repeatedly disrupt your competitors' search rankings.

But these traffic bot services aren’t just about clicking on competitors’ ads. Another service, priced at $197 per month, offers a range of bot-driven activities, including:

• Scraping data from Instagram, Amazon, Facebook, and Google
• Boosting "organic" traffic (which isn’t truly organic)
• Clicking on Google Ads from mobile devices
• Operating a Google AdWords click bot

This overt promotion of tools designed to deceive advertisers underscores the challenges ad platforms face and highlights the growing need for advanced click fraud prevention software.

Traffic Bots vs. Remote Click Farms

In addition to traffic bots, there is a thriving industry for paid-to-click (PTC) services. One of the most well-known platforms is SerpClix, where you can pay real people to click on specific links or websites.

These services are marketed as a way to boost SEO since Google takes clicks within search results into account when ranking pages. More clicks can mean a higher ranking.

However, PTC services can also be used to inflate ad impressions, boost engagement on social media campaigns, and more.

These platforms essentially function as remote click farms. While traditional click farms were centralized locations where workers used desktop computers to engage with websites, the rise of remote work has led to a growing demand for at-home click farmers, further expanding the paid-to-click industry.

Are People Really Using Traffic Bot Services?

The answer is a resounding yes.

Statista reports that 25.6% of web traffic is classified as "bad bots" compared to 59.2% attributed to human users. This means that nearly 40% of all web traffic is non-human, with some estimates placing bad bot traffic even higher, at 39%.

People increasingly rely on traffic bot services to artificially inflate their ad revenue, improve search rankings, and boost social media engagement. These services remain accessible, effective, and relatively affordable.

So, what does this mean for marketers and business owners? It underscores the importance of being vigilant and implementing robust strategies, like those offered by Tapper, to protect your online presence and ad investments.

How Do Ad Platforms Handle Fake Traffic?

Ad platforms like Google and Facebook have methods in place to prevent fake traffic, but their approach often favors allowing more traffic through to maximize paid clicks.

While their filters can detect and block some fake traffic, including bots, this usually happens after the fact. If you’ve ever received a refund from Google Ads, it’s likely because Google identified invalid traffic that slipped through their filters.

Google’s primary method for blocking fake traffic relies on IP addresses. However, this approach has its limitations. A device can easily change its IP address using VPNs or simply by toggling airplane mode on a phone, allowing it to continue generating fraudulent clicks undetected.

Within Google Ads, you can monitor invalid traffic on your campaigns, but you'll need to add this metric to your dashboard manually, as it isn’t shown by default.

For more details on how to view invalid traffic in Google Ads, you can explore further here.

How Does Click Fraud Prevention Stop Traffic Bots?

Third-party click fraud prevention services, like Tapper, utilize various advanced techniques to block traffic bots and filter out invalid traffic.

These methods include:

• Device fingerprinting: Unlike traditional methods that rely on IP addresses, Tapper identifies fraudulent devices by analyzing unique device characteristics. This means even if a device changes its IP address, it can still be recognized and blocked.
• Regularly updated blocklists: Tapper maintains an extensive and constantly updated blocklist of known fraud sources, such as click farms and botnet devices. These fraudulent clicks are blocked in real-time.
• Stricter click thresholds: If a device repeatedly clicks on the same link, it triggers stricter thresholds, leading to its blocking.
• Blocking VPNs and out-of-geo clicks: Tapper designates certain traffic types, like those using VPNs, as Invalid Traffic (IVT). Since a significant portion of bot traffic utilizes VPNs, these are blocked by default to prevent fraudulent activities.

Tapper also leverages machine learning to analyze traffic patterns across all its clients. When a source of bad traffic is detected on one client’s site, Tapper uses this data to block that source across all its customers, ensuring comprehensive protection.

Tapper offers a robust solution for blocking clicks from traffic bots and malicious competitors, making it a top choice for professionals looking to safeguard their ad campaigns.