Google Ads
What is Google Ads click fraud?
Approximately 17% of Google Ads traffic is thought to be click fraud. Cybercriminals abuse the Google Ads PPC model by deliberately clicking on adverts for products and services with no intention to buy – wiping out the advertiser’s budget as a result.
There’s more than just click fraud to worry about
There are plenty of other drawbacks to Google Ads, too. Invalid traffic - any click that occurs without a genuine interest – can include:
- accidental clicks
- returning customers looking for other information
- other kinds of ad fraud, like worthless fake websites that only exist to generate revenue for their publishers by sneakily driving traffic with no desire to visit or buy.
Why can’t Google stop click fraud?
Google claims its invalid traffic filters eliminate most of the drain on your ad budget from fraudulent clicks. It also claims to reimburse victims of click fraud.
In practice, ad fraud compensation from Google involves a lengthy and complicated process that results in partial reimbursement for a small minority of complainants.
And Google’s own estimates of invalid traffic don’t match up with the results of several independent studies. It simply isn’t catching as much invalid traffic as it claims.
Industry experts speculate that Google and the other tech giants lack the motivation to fully restrict this fraudulent behavior because they still make money from every click - whether it’s fraud or not.
What does click fraud look like on the different types of Google Ads?
There’s so many different ways to advertise on Google now, it can be hard to keep up. Unless you’re a cybercriminal (or the leading click fraud protection solution – ClickGUARD).
Each type of Google Ad carries its own risks and vulnerabilities, but generally, search-based ads are vulnerable to click fraud from malicious competitors, bots, botnets, and bot farms.
Ads that use the Google Display Network are equally vulnerable to the risk of click fraud. But they’re also exposed to the wider risks of ad fraud from illegitimate websites on the network, using a whole array of techniques such as domain spoofing, click injections, and redirect attacks.
Click fraud is often used together with fake websites and ad fraud. And if you’re not careful, they’ll clean you out.
ClickGUARD protects you and your ads from fraud on the following Google Ads types:
At risk from click fraud
Responsive Search Ads (RSAs)
Keyword-linked search ads
Dynamic Search Ads (DSAs)
Content-driven search ads
At risk from click fraud AND ad fraud
Local Search Ads
At risk on GDN third-party websites, as well as Google Maps/SERPs
Display Ads
At risk on GDN third-party websites
App Promotion Ads
At risk on both Search and GDN third-party websites
Video Ads
At risk on GDN third-party websites
Shopping Ads
At risk on both Search and GDN third-party websites
The All-In-One Solution for Google Ads Click Fraud Protection
Click Fraud
Your competitors will use your Google Ads against you, wasting your ad budget and driving their own costs down. Block them with ClickGUARD.
Bots
Bots are nigh-on impossible to spot, without the use of Google Ads click fraud prevention tools. ClickGUARD identifies and prevents further incursions from non-human agents.
Invalid Traffic
Whether it’s malicious or not, you don’t need invalid traffic from your Google Ads draining your budget and distorting your data. ClickGUARD separates the valid from the invalid, and blocks what you don’t need.
Automated, accurate
Google Ads reporting
ClickGUARD’s powerful automated reporting system provides real-time insights into individual campaigns and keyword performance, threat analysis, and more. Shared to the schedule of your choice, or on-demand, these reports give your team the perfect data set to optimize your campaigns.
Interested in ClickGUARD's solutions? Simply email us at support@clickguard.com and get in touch with a member of our sales team.
