- Joined
- Jan 8, 2013
- Messages
- 20,523
- Reaction score
- 12,865
- Age
- 30
- Location
- Portland, Oregon, USA
- Channel Type
- Vlogger, Gamer
I decided (with thanks to Thrashbat for the idea) to make a thread with signs, reasons, and what to do if your channel happens to get botted. Not all botting is caused by user, and it can be very scary when it happens if you don't know what to do. I hope this thread can help you, and if you have any questions, feel free to ask me via this thread, or through private message.
SIGNS
Not all botting is done by the user. Sometimes people bot other peoples videos... here's why:
Back in May, my channel was botted by someone. They botted 18 of my videos, totaling 41k views. The views happened overnight, from Russia, shared on "Facebook", and out of 41,000 views, not 1 single like/dislike, comment, subscriber, message, out of the ordinary. You would think that out of 41,000 views from "Facebook", at least ONE person would come to my video and do something, wouldn't you? The average view count on those videos was anywhere from 0-5 seconds. The person who botted me was targeting me. For one reason or another, this person did not want my channel around anymore. This person disliked my videos on multiple accounts, hoping that it would make me stop making videos. Then they went to send hate spam comments on multiple accounts, also thinking it would get me to stop making videos. When both of those didn't do anything to me, they went and botted my videos. When that didn't do anything, they went back to disliking. I know it is the same person, because I have Google Analytics set up, and I can see when people are on my page. Everytime I would get mass dislikes, or comments, it all came from the same city, same state.
I hope this thread helped you, and if you have any questions feel free to ask me via this thread, or private message.
SIGNS
- Did the views come in on one day, and then stop the next? For example, the video randomly got a bunch of views in one day, and then the next day it went back to it's normal views per day. Views don't explode one day, and then go back to normal a few days afterwords. The views would of gradually declined back to it's normal (or more) daily view count.
- What country are the views from? Some countries, such as Russia, are known for botting. (Russia is the only one I truly know of). If majority of your views are coming from a country known for botting, there is a good chance it's botted.
- How long is the watch time? Most botting systems don't watch the video for that long. It can range from a 0-30 seconds. If the watch time on those videos are very small, it's a good chance it's botted.
- Where are the views coming from? A lot of bots are now using different websites, such as Facebook, to cover up that they are botted. If they are being viewed on Facebook, they may be real, depending on #5
- Ratio between views to ratings & comments. How many views does the video have, compared to how many likes/dislikes, or comments it has. If it has a bunch of views with little-to no ratings or comments, it's most likely botted. Especially if the video says the views are coming from Facebook. Even though the video is embedded, and viewed on Facebook, you would think at least one person would go to the video to like/dislike, comment, or even subscribe.
- How many views are from mobile devices? A lot of botted views count as mobile views. If your video has majority mobile views, it may be botted. It is possible that maybe a lot of people watched it on mobile, but it mobile shouldn't be like 90% of your views.
Not all botting is done by the user. Sometimes people bot other peoples videos... here's why:
- Someone is trying to help your channel grow. They may not fully understand that buying views/subscribers, or using any sites that generate views is bad.
- Someone is trying to get your channel shut down. They may be jealous of you, or they may be mad/annoyed with you. They know that botting could get a channel shut down, so if they do that to you, maybe your channel will get shut down.
- Don't make a video and bring it up, asking the person to stop. All it will do is encourage the person to bot your channel some more.
- If you are with a network, send a email to them, or your partner manager as soon as you can. Let them know the situation, and tell them it is not you doing it. Networks can help you with this sort of thing, and get the situation sorted out for you.
- TURN OFF MONETIZATION on any of your videos that is getting botted. For safety, turn off monetization on your new uploads. The reason why this is important, is you don't want to get in trouble with click bombing, and making any money from those views. Making money from fake views can get your channel into trouble. Most botted views don't view the video long enough for an ad to appear/play, but always be safe than sorry.
Back in May, my channel was botted by someone. They botted 18 of my videos, totaling 41k views. The views happened overnight, from Russia, shared on "Facebook", and out of 41,000 views, not 1 single like/dislike, comment, subscriber, message, out of the ordinary. You would think that out of 41,000 views from "Facebook", at least ONE person would come to my video and do something, wouldn't you? The average view count on those videos was anywhere from 0-5 seconds. The person who botted me was targeting me. For one reason or another, this person did not want my channel around anymore. This person disliked my videos on multiple accounts, hoping that it would make me stop making videos. Then they went to send hate spam comments on multiple accounts, also thinking it would get me to stop making videos. When both of those didn't do anything to me, they went and botted my videos. When that didn't do anything, they went back to disliking. I know it is the same person, because I have Google Analytics set up, and I can see when people are on my page. Everytime I would get mass dislikes, or comments, it all came from the same city, same state.
I hope this thread helped you, and if you have any questions feel free to ask me via this thread, or private message.
Good job!
