Invalid clicks and impressions: 6 Ways to protect your ads

In 2023, advertisers globally lost approximately $84 billion to ad fraud, accounting for over 22% of all digital advertising spend.

Digital advertising can be a costly game if every click is not genuine. Understanding the difference between invalid clicks and fraudulent clicks is crucial.

Invalid clicks typically occur by accident or due to technical errors, whereas fraudulent clicks are deliberate attempts to exploit your ads.

This article will explain how invalid clicks and impressions occur, their impact on campaigns, and how to protect your ad spend effectively.

What are invalid clicks and impressions explained: Causes and examples

Invalid clicks and impressions are interactions with advertisements that are not considered legitimate or valuable by advertising platforms.

They do not necessarily involve malicious intent and often occur naturally due to technical glitches, accidental taps, or automated processes in the digital ecosystem.

Common causes of invalid clicks and impressions

Common causes of invalid clicks and impressions include:

1. Users accidentally tap an ad on a mobile device
2. Clicking the same ad multiple times or experiencing browser and server glitches that trigger duplicate clicks.
3. Poor user interactions, such as quickly clicking and leaving a page, as well as accidental clicks by bots or crawlers, also contribute to invalid clicks.

For example, a user scrolling through a news app may accidentally tap a banner ad.

The advertiser is charged for the click, even though the user had no genuine interest in the product or service.

How invalid clicks and impressions affect your campaigns

Invalid clicks and impressions can have significant impacts:

Wasted ad spend:

You pay for clicks or impressions that have no potential to convert.

Distorted performance metrics:

Click-through rates (CTR) and bounce rates may appear misleading, making it harder to optimize campaigns.

Impact on quality scores:

Ads with high invalid interaction rates can receive lower quality scores, leading to higher cost per click (CPC).

Misguided decisions:

Artificially inflated metrics can mislead strategy decisions for PPC and SEO campaigns.

How ad platforms identify invalid and fraudulent clicks

Ad platforms detect non-genuine clicks and impressions by analyzing user behavior and traffic patterns.

This helps advertisers reduce wasted spend and maintain accurate campaign data.

Google ads approach

Uses machine learning and live filters to identify suspicious clicks. Suspicious clicks are marked, and the advertisers are not billed.

The refunds are issued as invalid activity credits. Google particularly explains that invalid traffic refers to fraudulent clicks, but these are differentiated by intent.

Facebook ads approach

Meta Ads is another similar application that investigates inappropriate click patterns using automated systems.

They pay more attention to analyzing user behavior to determine whether a click represents genuine engagement.

Third-party solutions

Fraudulent clicks often go undetected despite platform protection.

Companies that run ads are increasingly using click fraud detection software, such as ClickPatrol, PPC Protect, or CHEQ, to enhance security.

Why the distinction is important

Knowing the difference between invalid and fraudulent clicks is not merely an academic issue; it has practical implications for the running of campaigns.

Budget protection

• Small amounts may be lost to invalid clicks, which can often be recuperated.
• Unspotted fraudulent clicks can cost thousands of dollars a month.

Performance accuracy

• Invalid clicks can skew the CTR (click-through rate) and increase bounce rates.
• Fraudulent clicks also manipulate conversion tracking, making it challenging to optimize ads effectively.

Trust and transparency

• Platforms reimburse invalid clicks.
• Fraudulent click recovery involves disputes and audits, and third-party oversight.

How to protect your campaigns

Protecting your campaigns requires monitoring performance, using fraud detection tools, and working with trusted platforms.

Monitor analytics closely: Look for:

• Abnormal peaks in clicks without clicks.
• High CTR with low engagement.
• consecutive clicks with the same IP.

Use click fraud detection tools: Platforms, such as ClickPatrol, CHEQ, or TrafficGuard, offer:

• Real-time click monitoring.
• Blocking of suspicious traffic IP.
• Fraudulent click reporting.

Refine targeting

Geographic and demographic narrow targeting would decrease exposure to fraudulent clicks in non-relevant areas.

Implement IP exclusions

Block out the IP addresses that keep clicking on suspicious links.

Diversify advertising channels

Do not just stick to a single platform. Combine search, social, and display advertising to diversify risk concentration.

Cooperation with reliable publishers

When running display campaigns, ensure you work with trusted publishers to avoid ad stacking or backdoor placements.

SEO implications of invalid and fraudulent clicks

Fraudulent and invalid clicks not only waste ad budgets but also indirectly affect SEO strategies.

1. Distorted data: PPC and SEO often work together. Artificially inflated click metrics can be misleading when making decisions regarding the keyword strategy.
2. Reduce quality scores: A high bounce rate from invalid clicks can lower ad quality scores, which in turn can lead to a higher cost per click (CPC).
3. Lost concentration: Companies may concentrate on the wrong traffic sources, undermining the long-term organic growth.

Case study: Uber and the war against invalid clicks

Uber’s mobile ad campaigns faced a large volume of invalid clicks, including accidental taps, duplicate clicks, and bot misfires.

Internal audits revealed that around two-thirds of reported app installs were not genuine, resulting in millions of dollars wasted on ad spend without acquiring real users.

Uber partnered with fraud detection companies, such as Kochava, and took legal action against networks exhibiting suspicious activity.

These steps helped recover millions in settlements while maintaining real app installs.

This case highlights the financial impact of invalid clicks and the importance of proactive detection.

Strategies to safeguard your ad spend

Clicks are valuable, but not all clicks are equal. Accidental taps and technical glitches are usually the cause of invalid clicks, whereas fraudulent clicks are intentional efforts to empty budgets and manipulate performance.

They both have the potential to distort ROI, distort analytics, and waste precious ad spend if left uncontrolled.

By understanding the distinction and utilizing the appropriate tools, advertisers can effectively secure their campaigns, maintain the integrity of their data, and allocate resources to areas where they are most likely to be needed.

Control your ad spend today, protect your campaigns with ClickPatrol.

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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