Free Ways to Detect Bots on Your Site Before Paying for a Refund Service

Quick answer

You can begin detecting bots at no cost by implementing basic signals such as hidden honeypot fields, monitoring for ghost clicks, and checking for unnaturally straight mouse movements. These techniques let you flag suspicious sessions before you invest in a paid refund‑recovery service.

How to set up a free bot‑detection checklist

1. Add a honeypot trap. Insert an invisible form field that real users never see. Bots that auto‑fill every field will populate it, revealing themselves.
2. Monitor for ghost clicks. Track click events that occur without the normal sequence of user intent (e.g., clicks without prior mouse movement).
3. Analyze pointer paths. Record mouse trajectories; straight, linear paths are a strong bot indicator.
4. Look for super‑human speeds. Interactions happening in under 1 ms are impossible for humans.
5. Check session patterns. Extremely short or uniformly long sessions often signal automation.

Common mistake

Relying on a single signal can produce false positives. Combine multiple cues—behavioural, timing, and hidden‑field data—to improve accuracy.

Verify your findings

Use your analytics platform to segment traffic that matches any of the above patterns. Compare conversion rates of flagged sessions against normal traffic; a sharp drop usually confirms bot activity.