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Your website is up and running. And you’re getting all sorts of traffic, which is absolutely fantastic! It looks like people are enjoying what you are offering...You've got that AWESOME feeling because eyes are on you!
Until you decide to take a look at the form submissions filled out by your "fans", only to find that bots have generated a large amount of them.
Not only is this disheartening, but it's also dangerous for your website.
Suddenly you're not feeling so good about this anymore...but not to worry, this can all be sorted with one simple step!
So How Do You Stop It And Obtain Legitimate Leads?
You use the free reCAPTCHA service from Google to protect your site. Previous versions of CAPTCHA and reCAPTCHA required humans to prove they were…well…human. The newest reCAPTCHA version no longer requires human interaction. Using algorithms set up by Google, this program blocks automated software while letting human users access their favourite sites quicker and easier.
reCAPTCHA was initially designed by Google to help websites identify human traffic by making the visitor perform an interactive test. We've all had to solve the "click on all the stoplights" puzzle or clicking on a checkbox. The new version generates a score in the background that determines whether the traffic is human or bot. It gives every interaction on your site a score of 0.0 to 1.0. If the actions taken on your website are good, such as taking action or loading a page, the software gives you a score of 1.0. If a bot tries to log in to the website and fails, your reCAPTCHA could force a two-factor-authentication to prevent attacks.
reCAPTCHA never interrupts a user, and it can be used on different parts of the website, such as logging into an account, posting comments or reviews, and checking out while making a purchase. As the website owner, you can set the thresholds reCAPTCHA uses to measure your traffic. It is an adaptive risk analysis engine that uses various signals and interactions to determine if a human visitor or a bot-generated the request.
Okay, So reCAPTCHA Stops Bots. What Else Does It Do?
Besides ensuring that your traffic is human and not a bot, it helps block SPAM. The only thing the user will have to do once they have filled out the form is, click on a box that says, "I'm not a robot." Bots cannot do this. The algorithm used by reCAPTCHA tells it that it’s not an automated bot as soon as the mouse floats over the checkbox. It’s a simple action that helps visitors to your website feel comfortable about filling out a secure web form and giving you their information.
Plus, it helps reduce form abandonment. Every time a visitor to your site starts to fill out a form, they are telling you that they are interested in what you are offering and, if your site generates revenue, are more likely to complete a sale. When they don’t complete the form, that’s a contact you may have lost. reCAPTCHA is like a security blanket, telling your visitors that your website is safe and secure to use.
If you are running a WordPress website, you can use the WPForms plug-in available that uses reCAPTCHA to keep your contact forms spam and bot free. It is super simple to set up. Read more here.
If you’re ready to stop guessing about the visitors that come to your website, it’s time to put reCAPTCHA to work for you.
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***In our next post we will detail how to build Spam-Free WordPress Contact Forms.***