Invalid clicks vs. Click fraud: What every marketer needs to know

The harsh reality is, not all clicks on your ads are real opportunities. 

Some clicks are just noise. Others? They’re like pouring your ad budget through a sieve.

If you’ve ever run a PPC campaign, you’ve probably seen it happen - your ad gets tons of clicks but next to no conversions, or suddenly, a flood of traffic from a sketchy location you're doubting genuine traffic would come from.

Sometimes it’s just the quirks of online ads and the ever changing algorithms, but other times, it’s straight-up fraud ⚠️

That’s where invalid clicks and click fraud come in - both can mess with your campaign data, but they’re not the same beast.

• Invalid clicks are like window shoppers who wander into your store, take a quick look, and walk right back out. No harm done - they just weren’t your ideal customer ✋
• Click fraud, on the other hand, is like someone sending in a swarm of fake shoppers to clog up your store and waste your time. Worse? You’re still paying for every fake visit 🚫

So, how do you spot the difference? And more importantly, how do you stop paying for bad clicks?

Let’s break it down ⬇️

So, what are invalid clicks?

Think of invalid clicks like someone accidentally bumping into you on a crowded street - annoying, but not intentional. These clicks aren’t from real customers, but its important to note, they’re usually not malicious either.

👉 Here’s a few relatable examples:

• Someone accidentally taps your ad while scrolling (we’ve all been there!) and frantically hits the   🔙 button, potentially causing a bounced session.
• A web crawler, like Googlebot, visits your site (harmless, but still a wasted click) 🤖
• A user refreshes a page with your ad multiple times - annoying for your budget and analytics, but not exactly fraudulent 🔄

What is click fraud?

Imagine someone sneaking onto your porch to steal your milk deliveries, never planning to buy their own or pay you back. That’s click fraud - a deliberate attempt to drain your ad budget and manipulate your data.

🚨 Common culprits:

• Competitor clicks: You might not think that your business rivals click on your ads, but it’s more common than you’d believe and ultimately, competitor clicks affect your ad budget. For businesses in high value keyword industries, where competition is tough, every dollar matters 💵
• Click farms: You might picture a dimly lit warehouse filled with low-paid workers mindlessly clicking ads, but the reality? It’s far more technical. You can read more about click farms here 👈
• Bots: Bots aren’t inherently good or bad, but some are designed to artificially inflate clicks to skew metrics and waste spend. You can watch our YouTube video to learn more about ways to detect and block bot traffic 🤖

Click fraud doesn’t just drain your budget, it skews your entire campaign's performance. These clicks inflate engagement metrics, distort conversion rates, and make it nearly impossible to separate real prospects from fraudulent activity. 

Keen to read more about click fraud? Here are some shocking cases that made it into the media.

Key differences at a glance 👀

When it comes to bad clicks, intent is everything. As we’ve covered, some are harmless, while others are out to drain your budget. Here’s a quick breakdown to help you spot the difference:

Why both matter!

Even though invalid clicks might seem like a small issue, they can still mess with your campaign data. Think of them like little bumps in the road (annoying), but not a huge deal. However, when they pile up, they can throw off your metrics and lead to decisions based on bad data. 

Click fraud, on the other hand, is the real troublemaker. Whether it’s competitors, bots, or click farms, click fraud drains your budget and skews your performance.

Ultimately, you need to manage both.

Using the right tools to stop click fraud in its tracks and keep your data clean is pretty simple and when you tackle both types of bad clicks, you’ll be able to make smarter decisions and keep your budget in check.

How to protect your ads from click fraud 🛡️

Invalid clicks are mostly out of your control - someone might accidentally click your ad once (or twice if you’re really unlucky), but they usually bounce back instantly. Ad platforms often recognize these abandoned clicks, like when a user presses back or closes the window before the page fully loads and often the click won’t be charged for.

But click fraud is different. It’s intentional, often repeated, and can often involve time spent on your website, making 'always on' prevention essential to protect your budget and data.

Here’s how you can fight back:

✅ Use click fraud protection tools (like Hitprobe - subtle hey!)
✅ Monitor for suspicious traffic spikes 📈
✅ Set IP and geo-blocking rules ⛔
✅ Analyze conversion rates - if clicks go up but conversions (sales, lead form submissions, sign-ups) stay flat, then something’s wrong ⚠️

The takeaway?

Understanding the difference between invalid clicks and click fraud helps you protect your ad spend, optimize your campaigns, and ultimately, get better results.

Ad platforms work to filter out the harmless ‘low hanging fruit’ clicks, but if you want to cut down on fraud and wasted ad spend, staying proactive and using the right tools is on you 🫵

Ready to keep your ad budget safe? Make every click count with Hitprobe.