Recovery
Your budget is going to clicks that never convert.
It looks deliberate, and it might be. But most of what looks like a competitor clicking your ads is actually broad match, weak negatives, or Performance Max drift. We check the boring causes first, then the suspicious ones.
- We rule out the ordinary causes first
- Uses Google's own invalid click data
- Free proposal within one business day
How we work the problem
The four things we check, in order.
Evidence we pull first
The search terms report for the exact queries triggering clicks, the click and invalid click columns side by side in Google Ads, and whether the suspicious clicks cluster by time, location, or device rather than spreading naturally.
Triage order
Match type and negative keywords first, since broad match and a thin negative list cause most wasted spend on their own. Google's own invalid activity report second. A pattern that survives both of those checks is worth escalating.
What usually fixes it
Tightening match types, building out negative keywords from the exact terms found, and excluding suspicious placements in Display and Performance Max. Google's system already auto-detects and credits a large share of invalid clicks before you ever see them.
What we cannot promise
Google decides what counts as invalid and whether to refund it, not us, and there is no advertiser tool to block a specific person by address on a Search campaign. We can tighten everything within our control and escalate what is not.
The decision tree we run through
If the clicks come with broad, off-topic search terms attached
That points to match type and negative keywords, not fraud. We pull the search terms report, find the pattern, and build a negative list from the actual queries before assuming anything more sinister is happening.
If the clicks are tightly clustered in time or location with no conversions
That pattern is worth checking against Google's own invalid activity report, which already screens for exactly this kind of repetitive, low-quality click behavior and often credits it automatically without anyone flagging it.
If the suspicious activity is on Display or Performance Max placements
We check the placement report for a specific app, site, or content category driving the pattern, since those campaign types can be adjusted with placement exclusions in a way a plain Search campaign cannot.
If a clear pattern survives both checks and keeps repeating
We put together the specific evidence, the dates, the queries, and the invalid click figures, and escalate it through Google Ads support, since that is the only channel with the account-level data to investigate further.
How the engagement runs
01
Rule out the ordinary causes
We review match types, the negative keyword list, and the search terms report to find and remove any waste that has a simple, unglamorous explanation.
02
Check the invalid click data
We compare Google's own invalid activity and click figures against what you are seeing, and add placement exclusions where the campaign type allows it.
03
Escalate what remains
If a clear pattern survives both checks, we compile the specific evidence and file it with Google Ads support, and tell you plainly what to expect from that process.
Suspicious ad clicks FAQ
Ordinary waste shows up as broad, off-topic search terms in the search terms report and usually has an obvious fix in match type or negative keywords. Suspected fraud looks different: repeated clicks with little variation, clustered in time or by device, with no matching pattern in the search terms report at all.
Yes, to a meaningful degree. Google's systems screen for invalid click patterns automatically and credit a portion of them before an advertiser even sees a charge. That does not mean every suspicious click is caught, which is why checking the invalid activity report is one of the first things worth doing.
Not directly on a Search campaign. There is no advertiser-side tool to exclude a named business or a specific IP address from seeing a search ad. On Display and Performance Max, placement exclusions can remove a specific site or app once it is identified as the source.
Start with the search terms report and your negative keyword list, since a thin list is by far the most common cause of clicks that look wasteful. Only after that is clean should the pattern be compared against Google's invalid activity report for something more deliberate.
Google Ads support reviews the account-level data, which includes signals an advertiser cannot see directly, and decides whether to take action or issue a credit. The timeline and the outcome are set by that review, and no agency can guarantee a specific result from it.
Get the real cause found before more budget goes out the door.
Send us access to the account. We will rule out the ordinary causes first and tell you honestly whether what is left looks like something worth escalating, in a free proposal within one business day.