How to set up IP exclusions in Google Ads (Step-by-step guide for 2026)

Google Ads marketing campaigns typically don’t suddenly fail; they become less effective over time.

People still click on ads, but the cost per conversion increases, conversions worsen, and your ROI shrinks.

IP exclusion is among the best weapons advertisers can use to protect their ROI from unwanted and damaging traffic.

The consequences of not doing so are serious, as global losses from click fraud in 2026 amounted to $104 billion, while estimated losses in 2026 would reach over $133 billion.

In this article, you’ll learn about IP exclusion, when and how to use it, which IPs to exclude, and the alternative strategies available if you continue having trouble with traffic.

What are IP exclusions in Google Ads?

IP exclusions are another useful feature in Google AdWords that allows you to exclude specific IP addresses or IP address ranges from viewing your advertisements. That implies:

• You will never show your ads to that IP address
• You will not have any impressions from that source
• You will have no clicks from those IP addresses

When should you use IP exclusions in Google Ads?

Exclusions based on IP addresses are appropriate in certain, concrete instances. They should be considered when:

• You have regular clicks coming from the same IP address, but there are no conversions.
• Your company’s employees often search for and click on your advertisements.
• There are known competitors’ IP addresses that consistently interact with your campaigns.
• There is clear evidence of low-quality traffic associated with a particular IP address range.

The average invalid click rate across Google Ads is 11.4%, according to a study, and the figure is climbing. In 2010, the average invalid click rate sat at 5.9%; by 2024, that number jumped to 12.3%.

How can you set up IP exclusions in Google Ads (step-by-step)?

Step 1: Log in to Google Ads. Log in to your Google Ads account through ads.google.com.

Step 2: Go to Account Settings. From the top menu, click on the “Admin” tab and then click on “Account Settings.”

Step 3: Find the IP Exclusions Area. Scroll down from Account Settings until you see the IP Exclusions field.

Step 4: Enter IP Addresses or Ranges Enter the IP address(es) you wish to block, with each entry on a new line. These may include:

• Individual IP address (i.e., 192.168.0.1)
• A range with CIDR notation (i.e., 192.168.0.0/24)

Step 5: Confirm Your Selections. Hit Save once done entering the IPs. Changes will be applied instantly to all ongoing campaigns under the same account.

Step 6: Review and Update IP Lists Periodically. It’s important to continually monitor and update the list of IPs you exclude, as new sources of bad traffic will appear regularly.

How do you find IP Addresses to exclude?

Creating IP exclusion lists is easy enough. The difficult part is determining which IPs to exclude.

Here are the best ways to do it:

Google Analytics / GA4

Check usage data for:

• Bounce rates where people leave almost instantly after arriving at the website
• Session durations that are very short and involve no interactions
• Repeated visits that yield no conversions from the same source

Logs on the Server

In case you have server log files, check for:

• Numerous quick hits by an IP in a small amount of time
• Abnormal spikes in the number of visitors in unusual hours
• Activity inconsistent with normal human behavior (fast page switching, etc.)

CRM/Conversion Data

This will allow you to see patterns that other methods won’t. Check for:

• Leads that do not respond or appear to be fake
• Forms that show irregularities and duplication of details
• Multiple accounts created through the same IP range

Click fraud detection tools

These tools will quickly help you identify IPs responsible for bot clicks and other malicious activity.

Malicious bots are now responsible for nearly 40% of all click fraud incidents, utilizing generative AI to mimic human mouse movements and scroll speeds.

Why do advertisers use IP Exclusions?

Advertisers use IP exclusions for the following:

Excluding internal visitors

Team members, agency associates, or external parties who might accidentally click your ads will increase costs and mislead about performance data.

The IP exclusion process helps filter out clicks from internal visitors.

Competitive exclusion

When certain competitors are found repeatedly clicking on your ads from the same IP address, this process can be used to filter them out.

Filtering unreliable traffic

There may be traffic sources that keep clicking your ad without ever converting. Many brands lose between 15% and 25% of their annual advertising spend to non-human traffic, fake clicks, and low-quality interactions that never lead to revenue. You can filter out IPs from such sources using IP exclusion.

What are the limitations of IP Exclusions in Google Ads?

IP exclusion is an excellent first-line defense, but its effectiveness is limited, particularly against modern invalid traffic.

Maximum 500 IPs

Google Ads has set a restriction of 500 IP exclusion addresses per campaign or account. This will be a huge issue for campaigns that experience varying levels of invalid traffic, and you may reach the IP exclusion ceiling quite soon.

Rotating IPs

Most Internet service providers offer their customers a different IP address from time to time. Moreover, sophisticated invalid traffic generators also use proxies and rotating IP addresses.

When you block one IP, the attacker can appear with a new residential IP within minutes. Blocking one IP will not stop the same invalid traffic.

Reactive, not preventive

Using IP exclusions means you have lost budget to invalid traffic, and now you are trying to block it by excluding IPs.

Independent research suggests that Google identifies and refunds only 40–60% of fraudulent clicks, meaning a significant portion of losses occurs before any exclusion can be applied.

Manual management

Managing IPs manually is hard, making the process very tedious.

No insight into behavior

IP exclusion only helps to exclude IPs, but you do not get any behavioral information about the user.

What are the common mistakes with IP Exclusions?

Despite advertisers utilizing IP exclusions effectively, several mistakes might jeopardize their efficacy:

• Blocking IPs without proper criteria: Overblocking can occur due to overly extensive exclusion parameters, particularly with CIDR blocks
• Not maintaining the list regularly: Outdated information can clutter the list and create confusion about the actual threats
• Overreliance on IP exclusions for solving all problems: IP exclusion addresses just one aspect of the problem; combined techniques should be applied
• Not paying attention to dynamic IPs: Excluding just one IP without recognizing the possibility that it may switch IPs provides very little protection.

Quick checklist: Before you add an IP Exclusion

Apply the following criteria to verify the legitimacy of the exclusion:

• Verify that the traffic is truly suspicious rather than underperforming
• Validate the IP in GA4 based on user interaction metrics such as bounce rate and session duration
• Ensure that the IP has produced multiple click-throughs without any conversion action
• Determine that the IP does not belong to a shared IP address, which may prevent valid visitors from accessing your website
• Record the reason for excluding each IP address

Are IP Exclusions enough to stop invalid traffic in 2026?

IP exclusions by themselves are not sufficient for most modern campaigns because:

• Bots and click farms work on hundreds of IPs in rotation
• Proxies using different types of IPs make individual IP exclusions unmanageable
• The sophistication of bots has increased, mimicking human behavior

On September 7, 2024, for example, 40% of all clicks on Google were determined to be invalid in a single day, totaling 229,000 invalid clicks, likely the result of a coordinated bot attack.

More broadly, generative AI-enabled scams rose by 456% between 2024 and 2026, and General Invalid Traffic grew by 86% in H2 2024, driven by AI crawlers alone.

Behavioral filtering fills in these gaps by considering factors, including:

• Click behavior and interval timing
• Time spent on the session and scroll activity
• Device and browser fingerprints
• Consistency of conversions

In contrast with IP exclusions, behavioral filtering asks “Does this traffic behave like an actual buyer?” rather than “Where does the traffic come from?”

What is a better alternative to IP Exclusions?

ClickPatrol is the perfect platform for solving this issue. Rather than having to exclude known IPs, it blocks invalid traffic in real-time using behavioral analytics.

Its strengths lie in its ability to:

• Automatically detect and block bots, fake traffic, and abnormal multi-session activity
• Block invalid traffic in real-time before any money gets spent on it
• Have unlimited coverage over all traffic sources, including those with no 500 IP limits
• Works on its own without requiring any manual list management
• Tell you which ads were blocked and how much budget was saved

Unlike exclusion techniques, behavior-based platforms such as ClickPatrol can proactively protect you from all kinds of malicious traffic.

IP Exclusions are a start, not a solution

IP exclusions are an excellent place to begin. They allow you to remove identified internal traffic, block low-quality IPs, and ensure more accurate performance statistics.

With proper management and use, IP exclusions can be an actual, albeit small, improvement to campaign optimization.

Unfortunately, exclusions are not the whole answer to the problem. The 500-IP limit, IP changes, and exclusively reactionary approach imply that such a technique will always fall short of being effective against advanced invalid traffic.

Ad fraud losses are projected to reach $172 billion per year by 2028, and the scale of the problem demands a more comprehensive response.

To address this issue fully, use IP exclusions in combination with a real-time behavioral detector such as Clickpatrol. Only this way can you guarantee maximum accuracy in campaign performance.

Abisola

Meet Abisola! As the content manager at ClickPatrol, she’s the go-to expert on all things fake traffic. From bot clicks to ad fraud, Abisola knows how to spot, stop, and educate others about the sneaky tactics that inflate numbers but don’t bring real results.

View all posts by Abisola
(Abisola)

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