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Agency Pilot

Protect ad spend · Add-on

Click-fraud protection

The same script that attributes leads watches every paid click: the network it came from, the device, how it behaved, and whether it came back again and again. Suspicious addresses are suggested for blocking, fake leads are flagged before anyone calls them, and blocked IPs go straight into the client's Google Ads exclusions.

The Fraud protection view for a client: paid clicks, suspicious paid clicks, VPN or datacenter clicks, repeat clickers, blocked IPs, the Exclude blocked IPs in Google Ads switch, suggestions and the blocked list
Fraud protection for one client: what looks wrong, what to block, and the Google Ads switch.

IP intelligence on every visit

Datacenter, VPN, Tor, proxy, abuse lists, iCloud Private Relay, carrier and network type, stamped on each visit.

Repeat paid clickers

IPs and devices clicking the client's ads again and again, counted and flagged.

Bots and headless browsers

Automation signs, device fingerprints and behaviour that doesn't look human.

Fake-lead checks

Throwaway emails, made-up phone numbers, keyboard-mash names and spam pitches, flagged on the lead.

Blocked in Google Ads

Blocked IPs are added to the client's Google Ads campaigns as IP exclusions, newest first.

Smarter with every agency

A shared fraud network learns from fake-lead and real-customer labels, without any agency seeing another's data.

Every paid click, examined

Each visit records where it came from: the IP address and its /24 range, the provider and connection type, the mobile carrier, and whether the address belongs to a datacenter, a VPN or proxy service, Tor, a known abuse list or iCloud Private Relay. It also compares the visitor's time zone with the IP's location, checks the browser for automation, and counts visits and paid clicks from the same IP or device.

The Sessions view lets you filter to paid clicks, flagged visits, VPN and proxy traffic or repeat paid clickers, and open any visit to see exactly why it was flagged.

The Sessions table for a client with filters for paid clicks, became a lead, recorded, flagged, VPN or proxy and repeat paid clicks
Sessions with fraud filters: paid clicks, flagged, VPN / proxy, repeat paid clicks.

Fake leads caught before anyone calls

Every lead gets a fraud review: is the email real and deliverable, the phone number valid, the name plausible, the message spam? Did it come from a VPN or a datacenter, fill the form in two seconds, or share its email or phone with leads at five other businesses? The review says what's worth checking, in plain words.

Mark a lead Fake or Real customer and the label teaches the detection — for this client and, anonymously, for everyone.

The fraud review on a lead: phone not a real number, form took 10 seconds, four visits from this IP in 30 days, with contact, network, device and behaviour checks
A fraud review on a lead: the reasons, not just a score.

Block it where it costs money

Agency Pilot suggests addresses to block — ones that clicked the ads again and again, came from a datacenter, VPN, proxy or Tor, ran an automated browser, or sent a lead marked fake. Block them with a reason, or add your own. Turn on Exclude blocked IPs in Google Ads and every blocked address is added to the client's campaigns as an IP exclusion; Google allows 500 per campaign, so the newest blocks win.

A daily cross-check reads Google's own click records and invalid-click counts, so you can show a client what Google refunded and what it didn't.

What this does not do

Better to find this out here than three weeks in.

  • IP exclusions are pushed to Google Ads. Meta doesn't support IP exclusions, so Meta traffic is flagged and reported rather than blocked.
  • Google Ads allows 500 excluded IPs per campaign; beyond that, the newest blocks replace the oldest.
  • It's an add-on priced by your plan's client limit: from $49 a month for 5 clients up to $399 for 150 clients and 300 domains, with paid clicks pooled across your clients.

Questions

How do you detect click fraud on Google Ads?
By examining each paid visit — its network, device and behaviour — and counting repeat clicks from the same IP or device, then comparing with Google's own click records. Suspicious addresses are suggested for blocking and can be pushed to Google Ads as IP exclusions.
Does it block bots automatically?
It suggests what to block and pushes everything you block to Google Ads. You stay in control of what's excluded, because blocking a real customer's office IP costs more than a few bad clicks.
Is my clients' visitor data shared with other agencies?
No. The shared fraud network uses salted, one-way hashed identifiers and labels; no agency can see another agency's visitors or leads.
How much does it cost?
It's an add-on on any plan, priced by your client limit rather than your ad spend: $49 a month on Freelancer (5 clients), $79, $99, $149, $199 or $249 on Agency (15, 30, 45, 60 or 75 clients) and $399 on Powerhouse (150 clients, 300 domains). Each client adds 1,000 paid clicks a month, pooled; extra clicks are $25 per 5,000 and protection never pauses. Annual billing is about 20% less, and many agencies resell it to clients at a markup.

Stop paying for clicks that were never customers

Start a free trial, install the script, and see your clients' paid traffic in a new light.

Treat suspicious traffic as a review queue

Click fraud protection should help an agency investigate evidence rather than turn every unusual visit into a definitive accusation. A VPN, shared network or repeated click can have a legitimate explanation. Review the combination of network information, browser behavior, paid-click history and lead details before deciding what to do. Keep the reason for a decision clear enough that another colleague can understand it later. The goal is to reduce avoidable waste while preserving access for real prospects. A review process that labels everything unfamiliar as fraud can damage the quality of the campaign just as an unattended stream of obviously unsuitable traffic can waste time.

Start with the client and campaign context

Understand what normal demand looks like before reacting to a flagged session. A service sold to large organizations may attract visits through corporate networks, while a consumer campaign may include privacy tools and mobile connections. Repeat visits can reflect a long decision process or a customer returning to find a phone number. Compare the visit with the offer, geography and typical sales journey. Context does not mean ignoring clear warning signs. It means the agency can distinguish a suspicious pattern from a normal behavior that happens to share one signal, then explain the resulting decision without overstating what the technology knows.

Investigate the visit and the enquiry together

A suspicious session and a poor-quality lead provide different kinds of evidence. Review how the visitor arrived, how quickly they submitted the form, whether the contact information is plausible and what the message actually asks for. A nonsensical submission from an automated browser is different from a relevant enquiry sent through a privacy network. Where the outcome is known, label the record accurately rather than leaving the review based only on initial impressions. The fake or real-customer feedback is most useful when it reflects checked evidence. Ask the client's sales team to explain unsuitable records in a way the agency can investigate.

Make blocking decisions reversible and documented

Before adding an address to the blocked list, identify the pattern that justifies the action and consider whether the address may represent several people. Record a clear reason so the team can revisit the decision if a legitimate contact reports a problem or the evidence changes. Review the applicable Google Ads exclusion behavior and keep the campaign limits in mind. An IP block is one control within a broader campaign process, not a guarantee that every unwanted visitor will disappear. Continue reviewing traffic and lead outcomes after the change to check whether it addressed the observed issue without creating an avoidable obstacle for relevant prospects.

Separate platform invalid clicks from agency findings

Google's own invalid-click reporting and the agency's suspicious-traffic review are different sources of evidence. Present them separately when explaining account quality to a client. A flagged visit is not automatically a confirmed charge that Google will refund, and an exclusion is not a measured financial recovery. Use the available cross-check to understand what the platform reports, then describe the additional patterns your team investigated. Avoid turning counts into a precise savings claim unless the underlying billing evidence supports it. Clear separation makes the report easier to defend and keeps the conversation focused on actions that actually follow from the findings.

Choose the correct response for each channel

The documented blocking workflow sends IP exclusions to Google Ads. Meta traffic can be flagged and reviewed, but Meta does not offer the same IP-exclusion action through this feature. Make that distinction explicit when discussing coverage across a client's advertising mix. For a channel without this blocking route, the useful next step may be investigating targeting, form quality or the sales review process. The agency should not promise identical controls simply because suspicious visits from several channels appear in one interface. A clear description of available actions helps clients understand what protection means in practice for each source of traffic.

Build a routine for false positives and repeat patterns

Set a review cadence that matches the client's traffic and the scale of the issue. Inspect representative new flags, revisit uncertain decisions and look for recurring patterns across visits or enquiries. Keep a record of what changed in the campaign or website so a spike can be investigated in context. Give the sales team a simple route to identify a real customer who was initially considered suspicious. This feedback makes the process more accurate and prevents stale judgments from hardening into permanent assumptions. The useful outcome is a better-informed traffic and lead workflow, not merely a growing count of blocked addresses.

Frequently asked questions

Does a VPN flag prove that a visitor is fraudulent?

No. A VPN is a network signal that can justify closer inspection, but legitimate customers also use privacy and security tools. Review the visit behavior, enquiry and other evidence before reaching a conclusion. The same principle applies to other individual signals that may have both legitimate and suspicious explanations.

Why might a real customer click an advertisement repeatedly?

They may be comparing options, returning for contact details or continuing a longer buying decision. Repetition becomes more useful evidence when considered alongside timing, device behavior and the resulting enquiry. Do not equate every repeat click with abuse without reviewing the context that could explain it.

What should I check before blocking an IP address?

Inspect the reason it was suggested, the associated visits and any related leads. Consider whether the address could be shared by several legitimate visitors. Document the decision and review the outcome after blocking. A clear reason is more useful than a blocked list whose entries no one can explain later.

Can I block suspicious Meta traffic with this feature?

The documented IP-exclusion integration is for Google Ads. Meta traffic can be flagged and reported, but the same blocking action is not available. Explain that difference when discussing coverage so the client understands which channels support a direct exclusion and which require investigation through other campaign decisions.

How should I handle a lead with a strange-looking name?

Review the contact information, message and visit evidence rather than treating the name alone as decisive. Legitimate names and writing styles vary. A suspicious label should point to evidence worth checking, and the final classification should reflect what the team learned about the enquiry rather than a superficial impression.

What does marking a lead as a real customer contribute?

It supplies an outcome-based correction to the review process. Use it when the business has enough evidence to identify a genuine customer. This helps distinguish legitimate behavior from patterns initially considered suspicious and prevents the agency from treating the first automated assessment as more authoritative than the actual customer relationship.

Should every fake lead cause an immediate campaign change?

A single record may need only review and accurate labelling. Repeated patterns can justify a wider investigation into source, targeting or form behavior. Look for enough evidence to identify a meaningful issue before changing the campaign, and check whether the proposed action addresses that issue rather than merely reacting to frustration.

Can suspicious-traffic counts be reported as money saved?

Not without supporting evidence about charges and the effect of the action. A flag does not establish that a click was billed or refunded, and a block does not measure the spending that would otherwise have occurred. Describe observed counts and actions clearly instead of converting them into unsupported savings claims.

How do Google invalid-click figures fit the review?

They show the platform's own assessment and should be considered alongside the agency's visit evidence. The documented cross-check helps compare these sources. Keep their meanings separate in the client report so a platform adjustment, an agency suspicion and a confirmed business outcome are not presented as the same event.

What happens when the Google Ads exclusion list reaches its limit?

The documented behavior prioritizes the newest blocked addresses within Google's campaign limit. Review the list and the underlying patterns instead of assuming every historical address remains excluded indefinitely. This limitation is another reason to keep the blocking process targeted and evidence-based rather than adding addresses without review.

Can a shared office network create a false positive?

Several people can appear through a shared network address, so an unusual volume from one IP needs context. Review devices, behavior and lead outcomes where available. A decision affecting that address may affect more than one visitor, which is why network information should be combined with other evidence.

How should the client describe a fake enquiry to the agency?

Provide the record and the factual reason it is considered fake, such as an impossible phone number, irrelevant spam message or confirmed false contact. Distinguish that from a genuine prospect who declined a quote. Clear feedback helps the agency investigate the right problem and avoid mixing lead quality with fraudulent behavior.

Does this replace landing-page and targeting review?

No. Unsuitable enquiries can also come from unclear offers, broad targeting or a confusing form. Use the visit and lead evidence to decide whether the problem looks like abuse, a marketing mismatch or an operational issue. The appropriate response depends on that distinction, even when all three produce disappointing outcomes.

What should a client-facing protection report include?

Explain the period, the patterns observed, the records reviewed and the actions taken. State any uncertainty and distinguish suspicious activity from confirmed fake leads or platform adjustments. Include the next review step so the report demonstrates an ongoing process rather than presenting a single number as proof that all traffic is clean.

How can I avoid overreacting to a sudden spike in flags?

Check whether the traffic mix, campaign activity or website changed during the same period. Inspect a sample of the flagged visits and relevant lead outcomes before assuming the spike represents a new attack. Use the evidence to choose a proportionate response and revisit the conclusion as more complete information becomes available.