How to report click fraud to Google Ads: the investigation request and credits

How to report click fraud to Google Ads: the investigation request

To report click fraud to Google Ads, send an invalid traffic investigation request through Google's Click Quality Form for activity in the last 60 days. The form is Google's tool for asking it to investigate invalid traffic.

Fraud Blocker's refund article says both that only the admins and that only the owner of a Google Ads account can send Google's form, and gives both several weeks and 5 to 10 business days as the wait. Google's own page says a request covers the last 60 days and takes several business days.

ClickGuard's help center adds that Google allows one such request per account every 60 days. That is ClickGuard's statement, not Google's.

What to gather before you send it

Google's page lists what to prepare. File soon after you spot the activity, because a request covers only the last 60 days.

• Your 10-digit customer ID, the Google Ads account number.
• The exact dates you noticed the suspicious activity.
• The campaign and ad group names where the spike or odd behavior showed.
• IP addresses that produce repetitive clicks or clicks without conversions, and web server logs of your traffic.
• GCLIDs, the Google click identifiers tied to the suspect clicks, so Google can map each visit to an ad interaction.
• For fake leads, a spreadsheet with your assessment of each lead, such as the result of emailing or calling it.
• A plain reason it looks wrong. Google's examples are a 300% spike in clicks without more conversions, or clicks from outside your targeted locations.

What Google sends back and what a credit is

Google emails its findings when the investigation ends. If it finds invalid traffic that its automated filters missed, it notifies you of any credits. Google describes the result as a credit in the form of a billing adjustment for the value of the invalid activity, and it describes no cash payment. What people call a Google Ads invalid clicks refund is this credit.

The investigation cannot confirm whether specific clicks were marked valid or invalid. No credit is promised. This page describes Google's process and is not legal advice.

Why requests get turned down

Fraud Blocker says manually submitted requests have an approval rate of about 10 percent, and that the most common reason for denial is insufficient evidence. Both are Fraud Blocker's own observations, not Google figures.

A bad lead may not be fraud at all. Fraud Blocker notes that weak leads and poor traffic can come from broken or poorly designed landing pages, incorrect final URLs or poor targeting. Check those before you file, and attach logs, IP addresses and GCLIDs so the request has evidence behind it.

Where a click fraud tool helps a request

Fraud Blocker does not file the request, but its help center says you can submit its click fraud reports with one, and that it cannot help with the process beyond that. You can export its data from the Reports or Fraud Score page, and its pricing page lists exportable IPs in a .csv file on every plan.

If you test Fraud Blocker, its trial is usually 7 days on Standard or Pro before the chosen plan bills automatically. For tools that capture IPs and logs, see best click fraud protection software. To see what Google already credits, read click fraud Google Ads, and for the free fixes how to stop click fraud Google Ads.