Google Ads filters out invalid traffic to protect your ad budget. However, these filters don't prevent invalid leads on their own. Most traffic checks happen after your ad serves. Because of this, users or bots can still reach your website and submit fake or low-quality lead forms. Real users can also submit incorrect details, like fake email addresses or phone numbers.
You capture leads on your website or in your customer relationship management (CRM) system. Therefore, high lead quality is a shared responsibility. Google's defenses protect you from charges for invalid traffic, but you must also implement technical safeguards.
What Google does
Google protects your ad spend with advanced technology and expert research teams. Google works to make sure you only pay for valid traffic. A multi-layered defense system protects you from invalid traffic through these methods:
- Automated protections: Automated filters continuously scan traffic data for interactions that don't match human behavior. A specialized Ad Traffic Quality team also conducts manual investigations to find invalid traffic.
- Policy enforcement: Google enforces strict quality standards and content policies. Google rejects sites or apps that violate policies to keep bad actors out and maintain high-quality inventory. Google also performs regular checks to keep the network clean. Google may suspend or remove publishers for policy violations, including invalid traffic-related policies.
These defenses protect your budget. However, you must implement safeguards and follow best practices to secure high-quality leads.
What you can do
Implement technical safeguards on lead forms
- Integrate reCAPTCHA: Use reCAPTCHA on your web forms.
- Set up double opt-in: When a user submits a form, trigger an automated email with a unique confirmation link. Only mark the user as a "valid lead" or advance them in your email sequences after they click the verification link. This action confirms that the email address is real, active, and human-monitored.
- Use server-side validation: Sophisticated bots can bypass browser controls and post fake data to your form. Instruct your web developer to write server-side validation scripts. The server must verify that email addresses have valid domains and that phone numbers match legitimate regional formats before it accepts the submission and pushes it to your CRM.
Optimize for successful conversions
Use robust measurements and lead generation settings to safeguard your lead quality and drive better performance.
- Use lead-specific goals: Focus campaigns on goals such as Qualified lead, Converted lead, Book appointment, or Request quote.
- Connect your first-party data: Set up the Google tag to track actions customers take on your website. Use enhanced conversions to improve measurement accuracy and campaign performance.
- Use content suitability settings: Use content and placement exclusions to control where your ads appear. Add brand exclusions to ensure your ads don’t appear for branded queries you want to avoid.
Learn more about how to drive high-quality leads.
