How to Keep Black Friday Bot Traffic Out of Your Shopify Cart Analytics
To keep Black Friday bot traffic out of your Shopify cart analytics, use an analytics app that filters bots by default and lets you exclude IP addresses, IP ranges and email addresses. In Cartlytics, bot filtering is on by default, and you add IPs, ranges such as 116.179.33.0/24 and your team's emails under Settings. Filtered activity is never recorded, so it never reaches your numbers.
Do this before the sale. Filters apply to activity from the moment you save them, not to carts that are already recorded.
Why bot traffic rises around Black Friday
Price scrapers check competitors' prices many times a day during the sale. Stock checkers add products to cart to see if they are available. Some bots add products to cart to hold them. Each of these can create a cart that no person ever saw.
Your own team adds to it. Before a sale you test discount codes, place test orders and check the checkout. Those carts look exactly like a shopper's.
The result is a cart count that rises while orders do not, and a conversion rate that looks worse than it is. You then judge your sale on the wrong numbers.
Four filters to set before the sale
Keep bot detection on
In Cartlytics, Exclude Suspected Bot Activity is on by default. Leave it on for the sale. If you turn it off, Cartlytics also records carts its tracking script does not see: that finds a few more real carts, and it also shows bot carts.
Filter your team and your test orders
Add your team's email addresses, your QA accounts and the address you use for test orders. Carts, sessions and orders from these emails are excluded. Use + Add my IP to exclude the network you test from.
Filter an IP range when one network keeps coming back
If you see many carts from one network, add its range, for example 116.179.33.0/24. Cartlytics accepts ranges up to /16 for IPv4 and up to /32 for IPv6, so you cannot exclude half the internet by mistake.
Track only the countries you sell to
If you only ship to some countries, list them under Track carts only from these countries. Carts and visits from other countries are not recorded from the moment you save. Orders from any country are always recorded.
What these filters do not do
They do not block anyone from your store. A filtered visitor can still browse and buy; their activity is only left out of your analytics. To block traffic from the store itself, use your Shopify settings or your CDN.
They also do not change the past. Activity that was recorded before you added a filter stays recorded, which is why the week before the sale is the time to set them.
Bots and your bill
Many analytics apps charge by sessions or carts, so a bot surge on Black Friday raises the price. Cartlytics bills on orders, so bot carts never change what you pay.
Common questions
Can I block an IP range from my Shopify cart analytics?
Yes. In Cartlytics, add the range in CIDR form, for example 116.179.33.0/24, under Settings. Ranges up to /16 for IPv4 and /32 for IPv6 are accepted. Activity from the range is left out of your analytics from that moment. It does not block the visitor from your store.
How do I exclude my own test orders from Shopify analytics?
Add the email address you test with, and use + Add my IP to add your own network. Carts, sessions and orders from those emails and IPs are not recorded in Cartlytics.
Do bot carts cost me more on Black Friday?
Not with Cartlytics. It bills on orders, not on carts or sessions, so a bot surge never changes your price.
Set your filters this week
Install Cartlytics for free, add your team and test addresses, and start Black Friday with numbers you can trust.
Install Cartlytics for free