How to configure automated alerts to catch bot spikes before your budget burns out

How to configure automated alerts to catch bot spikes before your budget burns out

Traffic surges signal either viral success or a click injection attack. Without monitoring, you risk draining your cap on bot traffic. Setting thresholds based on historical averages allows you to react within minutes rather than discovering the damage during a late-night audit.

Focus on three triggers: click-to-conversion speed, CR volatility, and click frequency per IP. If a steady 2% CR jumps to 15% without a creative change, it is likely lead injection. Conversely, a spike in clicks with zero conversions often points to a scraper or a broken tracking link.

Set a baseline using a 7-day rolling average and use a 30% deviation as your warning flag. For high-volume campaigns, hourly checks are mandatory. Route these alerts to a dedicated channel to bypass the noise of a crowded email inbox.

Automation is your first line of defense. Establish these guardrails once to protect your margins from infrastructure failures and fraud indefinitely.