Google Ads Click Fraud: Protecting Your Budget from Bots

The dirtiest secret in the PPC industry is that Google profits from click fraud. When a bot clicks your ad, Google gets paid. When a competitor clicks your ad, Google gets paid. While they have "Invalid Click" detection systems, they catch the sledgehammers but miss the scalpels.

We estimate that the average unprotected account loses 15% to 20% of its budget to non-human or malicious traffic. If you are spending $10,000/month, you are setting fire to $2,000. That is $24,000 a year—enough to hire a part-time junior marketer.

In this guide, we will implement the Traffic Firewall Framework, revealing how to identify fraud, the hidden "Location" settings that invite bots, and the third-party tools you might need if the attack is sophisticated.

The Financial Reality of Fraud

Click fraud inflates your CPA artificially. If your CPA is $50, but 20% of clicks are fake, your real CPA from legitimate humans is actually $40. You are making optimization decisions (like pausing keywords) based on flawed data.

The Fraud Waste Formula:

$$ \text{Annual Waste} = (\text{Monthly Spend} \times \text{Avg CPC}) \times \text{Fraud Rate \%} $$

But the damage is deeper. High bounce rates from bots signal to Google that your page is low quality, lowering your Quality Score, which raises your CPC for the real humans. It is a double tax.

Theory: Who is Clicking?

It isn't just "hackers."

1. Competitors: Vindictive local businesses clicking your ads every morning to drain your daily budget.
2. Click Farms: Networks of low-paid workers (or bots) clicking ads to generate revenue for "Publisher" sites (if you run Display Network).
3. Scrapers/Crawlers: SEO tools scraping the SERP to track rankings. They trigger an impression and sometimes a click.
4. Botnets: Infected consumer devices simulating traffic to build cookies.

Framework: The Exclusion Firewall

You cannot stop a bot from existing, but you can stop it from seeing your ad.

| Layer | Action | Impact | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Layer 1: Network | Turn OFF Search Partners & Display Expansion. | Blocks 80% of junk. | | Layer 2: Geography | Switch to "Presence Only" targeting. | Blocks VPN/Proxy traffic. | | Layer 3: IP Exclusion | Manually block repeat offender IP addresses. | Blocks specific bad actors. | | Layer 4: Audience | Exclude "Unknown" demographics (Risky but effective). | Blocks unverified users. |

Execution: Locking Down the Settings

Most fraud prevention is actually just proper account hygiene.

Step 1: Kill the "Display Expansion"

Google defaults your Search campaigns to "Search Network with Display Select." This shows your text ads on random websites. This is where 90% of click fraud happens (publishers clicking their own ads to get paid). Action: Go to Settings → Networks. Uncheck Display Network. Uncheck Search Partners (unless strict monitoring is in place).

Step 2: The "Presence Only" Trap

By default, Google targets "People in, or showing interest in, your location." This means a bot in Russia searching for "Plumber in New York" will see your ad. Action: Go to Settings → Locations → Location Options. Select "Presence: People in or regularly in your targeted locations."

Step 3: IP Exclusion (Manual)

If you see a surge in clicks from one location with 0 conversions:

1. Check your server logs (or ask your web dev) for repeated IPs hitting your landing page.
2. Go to Settings → Additional Settings → IP Exclusions.
3. Paste the IP addresses. Note: This is whack-a-mole. Bots rotate IPs. This is a temporary fix.

Advanced Strategy: Third-Party Protection

For spend >$5k/month, manual protection fails. You need software like ClickCease, CHEQ, or Lunio. These tools are "Firewalls."

1. Detection: They monitor every click for behavior (mouse movement, time on site, VPN usage).
2. Blocking: They automatically push the bad IP to your Google Ads IP Exclusion list via API in real-time.
3. Refunds: They generate "Invalid Click Reports" that you can send to Google to demand a refund.

Case Example: We installed ClickCease for a Law Firm.

• Month 1: It blocked 450 IPs.
• Refund Request: We submitted the report to Google.
• Credit: Google refunded $1,200 in ad credit. The tool cost $60. The ROI was 20x.

Case Study: The "0.0s Duration" Attack

Client: SaaS B2B Company Symptom: Monday mornings saw 50 clicks between 8:00 AM and 8:15 AM. 100% Bounce Rate. 0 seconds duration. Diagnosis: A competitor was using a script to drain the budget so they could own the #1 spot for the rest of the day cheaply.

The Fix:

1. Implemented Dayparting: Paused ads from 8:00–8:30 AM (letting the bot click the other competitors).
2. Installed ClickCease: Immediately flagged the IP range as a data center/VPN.
3. Switched to Target CPA bidding.
   • Why? Smart Bidding saw these clicks never converted, so it naturally bid $0 for them over time.

Result:

• Saved $3,000/month in wasted spend.
• CPA dropped from $180 to $110.

Pitfalls to Avoid

1. Paranoia vs. Seasonality

Do not assume every drop in performance is fraud. Sometimes it is just Saturday. Always look for patterns (high CTR, zero conversion, low time on site) before accusing.

2. Blocking "Unknown" Age/Gender

We mentioned this in the Firewall, but be careful. 30% of legitimate users have privacy settings that mask their age. Only exclude "Unknown" if you are desperate or facing an active attack.

3. Relying on Google's Auto-Refunds

Google does refund "Invalid Activity" automatically (check Billing → Transactions). However, they only catch the obvious stuff. Do not assume the "Invalid Clicks" column in your report captures everything. It captures the tip of the iceberg.

Summary

You wouldn't leave your physical store unlocked at night. Don't leave your Ads account open to the entire internet.

Your Security Checklist:

1. Network Check: Are Display/Search Partners off?
2. Location Check: Is "Presence Only" selected?
3. Audit: Look at "Invalid Clicks" column in your Campaign view.
4. Tooling: If spend >$5k, trial a third-party blocker tool.

Protect your perimeter.