Are you paying for fake or accidental clicks on your Google Ads?
Google defines invalid clicks as clicks that do not show genuine interest in your business, such as accidental clicks, bots and manual clicks that increase your costs. It says it filters them out of your billing, and gives a credit where appropriate and possible when it finds some later. If you suspect traffic it missed, you can ask Google to investigate the last 60 days. Your own count of calls and jobs is usually the better check.
What Google counts as an invalid click
Google's Ads Help glossary defines invalid clicks as clicks on your ads that do not represent genuine interest in your business. Its examples are accidental clicks, such as those caused by poor ad placement, automated traffic from bots or other deceptive software, and manual clicks that increase your ad costs or inflate publisher profits.
A longer Google page on invalid traffic adds that the category includes competitors who click by hand to raise your spend. It says Google's ad traffic quality team uses automated filters, machine learning and manual reviews to find this traffic.
What Google says it does about them
Google's wording is conditional, so read it closely. A credit depends on what Google detects, and it is not a promise that every invalid click is caught or credited.
- Invalid clicks found before the end of your billing cycle are removed from your billing and your campaign reports, so you are not charged for them.
- If Google finds invalid clicks after you were billed, it says you receive a credit on your next invoice "where appropriate and possible".
- Credits appear on your invoice as "Invalid activity" adjustments. The "Invalid clicks" column in your campaign reports counts clicks Google filtered before billing, which it does not charge you for.
- Google says it cannot share which specific clicks it flagged as invalid, and keeps that information confidential.
How to ask Google for a review
If you suspect invalid traffic that was not filtered automatically, Google says you can submit an invalid traffic investigation request for activity within the last 60 days, using its Click Quality Form. Google asks you to gather details first, including your Google Ads account number, the exact dates you noticed the activity, the names of the campaigns and ad groups involved, and records of your website's visits.
Google says specialists review the traffic manually, that this typically takes several business days, and that you get an email with the findings. If they find more invalid traffic that the automated filters missed, Google says it notifies you of any credits. It also says an investigation cannot confirm whether specific clicks were marked valid or invalid, and that outside tools often flag traffic Google has already filtered. As general advice, a bot warning from an outside tool is a reason to check your invoice, not proof that you paid for those clicks.
Why your own count of calls and jobs matters
A jump in clicks does not always mean they are fake. Google's page lists other causes of a spike: a seasonal or news-driven rise in interest, a competitor stopping its ads, and changes you made to your own budget, audience or location settings. It also says an ad can show to people outside your targeted area when their search includes your targeted location's name.
As general advice, not Google's: keep your own count. Record every call, form and message that comes from the ads as a lead with paid as its source, follow each to won, lost or still open, and compare that with what Google reports. If clicks climb while calls and jobs do not, check what changed first, then use the steps above. The related answer on tracking phone call leads covers the log, and the related answer on lead attribution covers recording the source. Google also says its click filters cannot prevent every invalid lead, because forms live on your own website; the related answer on spotting spam and scam inquiries covers fake form submissions.
Sources
Related answers
- How do you track leads that come in by phone?
- What is lead attribution, and why does a small business need it?
- How do you spot spam and scam inquiries from your website?
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