Creating a functional website for end-users is no easy task. Whether it’s UX and UI design, web development or SEO, you need constant control over how your website looks, performs, and operates while also keeping your end users happy with top-notch site speeds and regular updates. 

You also need to know who your audience is and where they come from, and over 28 million websites use traffic analytics tools like Google Analytics for this exact purpose. 

But the website traffic that Google Analytics doesn’t show you are bots. Bots made up as much as 49.6% of internet traffic in 2023, rising from 47.4% in 2022 and 42.3% in 2022. 

And while not all bots are bad, studies show that as many as 30.2% of these bots are ‘bad bots’ capable of high-speed abuse, misuse and attacks. These bad bots can disrupt your website performance, compromise your website security, and even take down your website in what is known as a botnet attack. 

To prevent this, you'll need bot management software to keep track of and prevent these bad bots from accessing and wreaking havoc on your site. 

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What is bot management software?

Bot management software is a tool that helps organizations deal with internet bots trying to access their systems. It helps tell the difference between good bots and bad bots so you can allow the good bots to access your site and block the bad bots from it. 

Good bots are bots that perform tasks that are useful or improve user experience. Examples include search engine crawlers that index websites for search results, social media chatbots for customer service, or price comparison bots that help you find the best deals.

Bad bots, on the other hand, are malicious and have harmful purposes. They can steal data (like login credentials or credit card information), spread malware, launch distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks to take your website down, or even create fake accounts for spamming.best bot management software

Bot management software can identify good bots from bad bots by looking at things like how the bot behaves, where it's coming from, and what it's trying to do on your site. Once the software identifies a bad bot, it can take steps to block it, such as challenging it with a CAPTCHA or blocking its IP address. 

The software can also monitor bot activity on your website or application and provide you with regular reports on how bots are behaving and the impact they’re having on your site. 

How does bot management software work?

Bot management software acts like a security guard for your website or application, sifting through bot traffic and allowing the good guys in while keeping the bad ones out. 

The software monitors user activity and compares it to established patterns of human and bot behavior. This might involve things like how quickly a user clicks through pages, how they navigate menus, or how they interact with forms. Bots often exhibit repetitive or inhumanly fast actions, and this can be easily picked up by software meant to catch it. 

Many bot management software solutions also check the IP address (the unique online identifier) of the visitor. Large blocks of IP addresses or locations known for bot activity can be red flags. It also examines the user agent, which identifies the software or browser used to access the site, to flag users as bots. 

how does bot management software work

Once identified, the software categorizes the bot as good, bad, or unknown. They allow good bots to freely access your website or application while blocking bad ones from accessing it entirely. 

This might involve blocking their IP address or presenting them with challenges like CAPTCHAs which are difficult for bots to solve. Unknown bots might also be presented with CAPTCHAs or additional verification steps to assess their legitimacy.

Types of bot management software

Bot management software comes in a few different flavors, each with its own approach to identifying and handling bot activity. Here's a breakdown of the common types:

1. Signature-based detection

This approach relies on pre-defined patterns and signatures of known bad bots. The software identifies bots by matching their behaviour or characteristics to these stored signatures. It's efficient for recognizing common bot threats but can be vulnerable to new or sophisticated bots that haven't been flagged yet..

2. Challenge-based detection

This approach relies on pre-defined patterns and signatures of known bad bots. The software identifies bots by matching their behavior or characteristics to these stored signatures. It's efficient for recognizing common bot threats but can be vulnerable to new or sophisticated bots that haven't been flagged yet.

3. Behavior-based detection

This approach relies on pre-defined patterns and signatures of known bad bots. The software identifies bots by matching their behavior or characteristics to these stored signatures. It's efficient for recognizing common bot threats but can be vulnerable to new or sophisticated bots that haven't been flagged yet.

4. Hybrid detection

Many bot management solutions combine these approaches for a more comprehensive defence. They leverage signature-based detection for known threats, challenge-based verification for suspicious activity, and behavior analysis for ongoing monitoring and adaptation.

Some advanced software integrates with threat intelligence feeds that provide real-time updates on emerging bot threats and malicious IP addresses.

There are also cloud-based bot management solutions that offer scalability and centralized management for businesses with a large online presence. These services handle the bot detection and mitigation on the cloud provider's side, reducing the burden on the organization's infrastructure.

The best type of bot management software for you will depend on your specific needs and the level of security you require. 

Best bot management software

The best type of bot management software for you will depend on your specific needs and the level of security you require. But of course, not all of the solutions for bot management are made the same. 

We’re counting down ten of the best bot management software solutions available today based on their features, popularity, and reputation in the space.