Most bots are prob just following the links inside the page. You could try serving back html with no links (as in no a-href), and render links in js or some ot

Most bots are prob just following the links inside the page. You could try serving back html with no links (as in no a-href), and render links in js or some other clever way that works in browsers/for humans. You won’t get rid of all bots, but it should significantly reduce useless traffic. Alternative just make a static page that renders the content in js instead of php and put it on github pages or any other free server.