Invalid Clicks

A digital marketer needs to understand how Google handles invalid clicks so that you can articulate a more accurate information to your clients or partners.

Invalid clicks are clicks on ads that Google considers to be illegitimate, such as unintentional clicks or clicks resulting from malicious software.

Each click on an ad is examined by Google’s sophisticated system to identify invalid clicks and impressions and remove them from your account data. Invalid clicks are automatically filtered from your reports and payments so that you're not charged for those clicks. You may be eligible to receive a credit for invalid clicks that escaped automatic detection. These credits are called "invalid activity" adjustments.

Examples of invalid clicks:

• Manual clicks intended to increase your advertising costs or to increase profits for website owners hosting your ads.
• Clicks by automated clicking tools, robots, or other deceptive software.
• Extraneous clicks that provide no value to the advertiser, such as the second click of a double-click. If for example someone clicks more than once on your ad, it will still be counted as a single click.

 

We need to have faith that Google does have anti-fraud mechanisms and algorithms to detect invalid clicks. However, it certainly is not fool proof! You need to monitor for any abnormal activity and escalate them to Google for investigation. If those clicks are indeed fraudulent or competitor actions, those unfair charges will be credited back to you. 

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