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Click Guardian
April 11th, 2017 / Click fraud

Stop Competitors Clicking Google Ads

Ever wondered how to stop competitors clicking Google Ads?  This is a common question that we encounter every day from small and medium businesses at Click Guardian.

The main and rather obvious reason you want to stop competitors clicking AdWords is purely the fact that they will never be a genuine client.  Furthermore, this type of activity will inherently result in the advertiser’s costs being inflated.

Traditionally Google Ads advertisers have relied upon the inbuilt Invalid Clicks System which claims to deal with competitors clicking on your Google Ads effectively.  However, in our experience anyone who clicks through and looks natural in their browsing behaviour can bypass this system with relative ease.  There is also a subtle difference between invalid clicks and click fraud which we have covered in a recent blog: https://www.clickguardian.co.uk/whats-difference-click-fraud-invalid-clicks/

Having spotted a gap in the lack of user control, Click Guardian have developed a sophisticated tool that monitors the behaviour of visitors who click through Google Ads and subsequently issue blocks if excessive clicking is detected.  This additional layer of control is something that many advertisers expect Google to have inbuilt and find themselves disappointed when they find this part of Google Ads is a closed system. Once you take steps to stop competitors clicking Google Ads, it allows you to not only manage your Google Ads with more precision but also scale your budget knowing that your competitors can no longer click through and damage your PPC efforts.

One of many satisfied Click Guardian Pro subscribers sums up the issue in this short review.

More reviews of Click Guardian can be found here: https://www.reviews.co.uk/company-reviews/store/click-guardian

Other than IP blocking your competitors, which Click Guardian automates, there are very few other ways to prevent competitors clicking on Google Ads.  Ensuring you keep on top of negative keywords is advisable as is ensuring your geographic settings are correct. Click fraud can often be an activity that’s perpetrated through mobile devices.  If you have conversion tracking setup on your Google Ads account then checking the volume of mobile conversions, and how much each conversion costs can sometimes be an indicator to adjust device bidding.  For example, you may be able to adjust your mobile bid by percentage to lower your bid when a visitor is using a mobile device.  If you’re unsure it’s always best to seek professional PPC advice from a Google Partner.