Click fraud has become a growing concern for advertisers, marketers, and businesses alike. Click fraud refers to the practice of artificially inflating the number of clicks on a pay-per-click (PPC) advertisement, which can lead to wasted ad spend and reduced ROI. As click fraud continues to be a challenge, many tools and technologies have emerged to help prevent it.
What is click fraud
Click fraud is a form of fraudulent activity in which individuals or automated programs (bots) intentionally click on online ads to generate false clicks and increase the cost for advertisers without providing any genuine value or interest in the ad content.
Best Click Fraud Software 2024
Name | Support | Integrations | Threat Detection | Pricing | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Clickreport Com | Email, phone, live chat | Google Ads, Bing Ads, Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads, Yahoo Ads | Machine learning algorithms to identify patterns of fraudulent activity | Contact for pricing | ||
ClickGUARD | Advertising, Cyber Security, SaaS Security | CMS platforms, Website hosting, E-commerce platforms, Google Tag Manager, WordPress, Joomla, Leadpages | Advanced threat detection capabilities, delivering comprehensive PPC protection across various platforms | Lite $89.00/month Standard $149.00/month Pro $199.00/month | ||
CHEQ Essentials | Customer support, live-chat, phone, email | Shopify, Salesforce Google Ads, WordPress, Microsoft, Advertising, Meta for Business, Instagram | Account Alerts, Threat Detection, IP Address Monitoring, Rules | Core Starting at $149.00 Advanced Starting at $249.00 Enterprise Contact them for details | ||
Fraud0 | Browser Based (Cloud), SaaS Security | Google Ads, Bing Ads | Artificial intelligence to detect and block fraudulent clicks | Starting at $49/month | ||
Scroogefrog | Email, phone | Google Ads, Bing Ads | Account Alerts, Threat Detection, IP Address Monitoring, Rules | Starter β¬50/ month Pro β¬150/ month Enterprise From β¬500 Per month | ||
ClickCease | Email, phone, live chat | Google Ads, Bing Ads, Facebook Ads, Shopify | Advanced algorithms to identify and block fraudulent clicks in real-time | Starting at $15/month | ||
TrafficGuard | Email, phone, live chat | Google Ads, Bing Ads, Facebook Ads, The Trade Desk, Outbrain, and others | Multi-layered fraud protection including machine learning algorithms, device fingerprinting, and behavioral analysis | Contact for pricing | ||
Adtector | Cloud, SaaS, Web-Based, Google Ads, Shopify | Advanced algorithms to detect and block fraudulent clicks | Basic at $97/month Pro at $247/month ENTERPRISE at $447/month | |||
ClixTell | Email, phone, live chat | Google Ads, Bing Ads, Facebook Ads, LinkedIn Ads, and others | Proprietary fraud detection technology with continuous monitoring and alerts | Contact for pricing | ||
Lunio.ai | Email, phone, live chat | Google Ads, Bing Ads, Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads, and others | Machine learning algorithms to identify and block fraudulent clicks in real-time | Starting at $59/month | ||
Singular.net | Google Ads, Bing Ads, Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads, and others | Multi-layered fraud prevention with real-time alerts and post-click analysis | Contact for pricing | |||
Adjust.com | Email, phone, live chat | Google Ads, Bing Ads, Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads, and others | Machine learning algorithms to detect and prevent fraudulent activity | Contact for pricing | ||
Improvely.com | Google Ads, Bing Ads, Facebook Ads, Twitter Ads | Real-time tracking, post-click analysis (IP, WHOIS) | Starting at $29/month | |||
Bemob | Email, phone, live chat | Google Ads, Bing Ads, Facebook Ads, and others | Fraud prevention with bot filtering and click fraud protection | Starting at $49/month |
Why click fraud protection is important
πΈCost savingsπΈ:
Click fraud protection services can help prevent fraudulent clicks on your pay-per-click (PPC) advertising campaigns, which can save you money. Click fraud occurs when someone clicks on your ad with no intention of making a purchase or interacting with your website, but with the intention of draining your advertising budget. By preventing click fraud, you can ensure that your advertising budget is being used effectively, and that you are not wasting money on fraudulent clicks.
πAd performanceπ:
Click fraud can also impact the performance of your ads. If your ads are receiving a lot of fraudulent clicks, it can skew your performance metrics, making it difficult to accurately measure the effectiveness of your ads. By preventing click fraud, you can ensure that your ads are performing as intended, and that you have accurate data to make informed decisions about your advertising strategy.
π‘Relevanceπ‘:
Click fraud can also impact the relevance of your ads. If your ads are being clicked on by bots or fraudulent sources, it can negatively impact the relevance of your ads to your target audience. By preventing click fraud, you can ensure that your ads are being seen by your target audience, and that they are relevant to their interests and needs.
Types of fraud prevention tools
There are several types of untifraud tools available to help businesses protect themselves against different types of fraud. Here are some of the most common types:
Identity Verification π | Identity verification tools help businesses verify the identity of their customers and prevent identity theft. These tools can use a variety of methods, such as document verification, facial recognition, and biometric data to ensure that the person using the account is who they claim to be. |
Payment Fraud Prevention π³πΈπ§Ύ | Payment fraud prevention tools help businesses prevent fraudulent transactions, such as credit card fraud and chargebacks. These tools can flag suspicious transactions and block fraudulent payments before they are processed. |
Account Monitoring π΅πΌποΈπ | Account monitoring tools can help businesses detect and prevent account takeover fraud, where hackers gain access to customer accounts and make unauthorized transactions. These tools can monitor login attempts, device information, and other user behavior to detect suspicious activity and block unauthorized access. |
Phishing Protection π‘π§π | Phishing protection tools help businesses protect themselves against phishing attacks, where hackers try to trick users into providing sensitive information. These tools can detect and block phishing emails, warn users about suspicious links, and provide education on how to spot phishing attempts. |
Fraud Analytics π¨β π | fraud analytics tools are designed to detect suspicious patterns and prevent fraud proactively. These tools have the capability to examine vast amounts of data to identify irregularities and signal potential fraud risks. |
11 Best click fraud protection software
ClickReport
ClickReport is a platform that provides real-time insights and analytics on the performance of digital campaigns.The service helps to stop click fraud by identifying and tracking fraudulent clicks in real-time.
ClickReport uses advanced algorithms to detect and flag suspicious clicks, including those originating from bots, click farms, or proxy servers. It analyzes various data points, such as the location of the click, the user’s behavior, and the time between clicks, to identify fraudulent activity.
Pros:
- Real-time analytics and reporting;
- Advanced click fraud detection algorithms;
- Multi-channel tracking across search engines, social media platforms, and display networks;
- Customizable reporting with the ability to drill down into specific metrics;
- Campaign optimization recommendations based on performance data;
- Conversion tracking and A/B testing capabilities.
Cons
- Cost may be a barrier for smaller businesses or advertisers with limited budgets;
- Complex platform with a steep learning curve for new users;
- Large amounts of data may be overwhelming without careful analysis and interpretation;
- Limited integrations with other advertising platforms.
Pricing: $29.99 / month
Website: https://www.clickreport.com/
ScroogeFrog
ScroogeFrog is a service that aims to reduce click-fraud and clean up traffic that advertisers are paying for. It identifies users by more than 20 characteristics and monitors their behavior on the site after clicking. The service helps to reduce advertising costs by blocking ad impressions to users whose referrals are fraudulent and abandoning sites that bring inappropriate traffic to your site. It also helps to optimize conversion cost by cutting off low-quality sites and users.
Pros:
- Saves advertising budget: ScroogeFrog helps advertisers to save their advertising budgets by blocking ad impressions to users whose referrals are fraudulent and abandoning sites that bring inappropriate traffic to your site.
- Easy to use: ScroogeFrog is easy to use, and advertisers can set it up within 30 minutes by following the instructions provided on the website.
- Customizable: ScroogeFrog offers different modules and pricing options depending on the needs of the advertisers.
- No extra charge for anti-clickfraud with native networks: ScroogeFrog allows advertisers to connect anti-clickfraud with native networks without any extra charge.
Cons
- Requires website integration: To use ScroogeFrog, advertisers need to install codes on their websites, which might be challenging for some advertisers.
- Cost: ScroogeFrog is not a free service and requires advertisers to pay for the modules they use.
- False positives: Although ScroogeFrog aims to differentiate between real users and fake clicks, it might occasionally block legitimate traffic, leading to a false positive.
Pricing: 50 β¬ / month
Website: https://scroogefrog.com/
ClickCease
ClickCease is a click fraud prevention system that helps businesses protect their online advertising campaigns from fraudulent clicks and other types of ad fraud. The platform uses advanced algorithms to analyze click data in real-time, identifying and blocking any suspicious activity.
Pros:
- Offers advanced click fraud detection and prevention features.
- Provides real-time protection with automated blocking of fraudulent IPs and devices.
- Offers easy integration with popular ad platforms and networks.
- Provides detailed reporting and analytics for better insights into ad campaigns.
- Offers a user-friendly interface with customizable dashboards.
Cons:
- The pricing can be expensive for small businesses.
- The user interface can be overwhelming for beginners.
- The support documentation can be limited in some areas.
- Some features, such as phone call tracking, may not be available in all regions.
Pricing: several pricing plans based on the number of clicks per month, starting at $15/month for up to 1,000 clicks. The most expensive plan is $1,500/month for up to 200,000 clicks.
Website: https://www.clickcease.com/
TrafficGuard
TrafficGuard is a fraud prevention solution designed for digital advertisers, agencies, and ad networks. It offers real-time protection against ad fraud, such as click fraud, impression fraud, and install fraud, through its machine learning algorithms and behavioral analysis techniques.
Pros:
- Highly effective at preventing click fraud.
- Easy to set up and use with a user-friendly dashboard.
- Provides detailed reports and insights into blocked traffic.
- Offers advanced features such as geolocation and device targeting.
- Flexible pricing plans to suit different advertiser needs.
Cons
- May be relatively expensive for smaller advertisers with limited budgets.
- May not catch all instances of click fraud.
- User interface may be overwhelming at first.
Pricing: custom pricing for enterprises and agencies. Interested users can contact the sales team for a quote.
Website: https://www.trafficguard.ai/
AdTector
AdTector is a digital advertising monitoring and compliance solution designed to help businesses and advertisers ensure that their ads are compliant with various policies and regulations. It works by scanning ad content for keywords, phrases, and images that may violate advertising policies, such as those related to inappropriate content, misleading claims, and copyright infringement.
Pros:
- Uses advanced technology to detect fraudulent clicks.
- Has a human analysis team to catch more sophisticated forms of click fraud.
- Provides detailed reporting and analytics to understand campaign performance.
Cons:
- Can be expensive, especially for individuals with limited advertising budgets
- May not catch every instance of click fraud
- Risk of false positives, where legitimate clicks could be flagged as fraudulent
Pricing: Basic plan: $97 per month for Up to 1,000 Clicks / Month. Pro Plan: $247 per month for up to 10,000 Clicks / Month. Enterprise Plan: $447 per month.
Website: https://www.adtector.com/
ClixTell
ClixTell Click Fraud Protection is a feature of the ClixTell platform that helps businesses protect their Google ads advertising campaigns from click fraud.
ClixTell Click Fraud Protection uses advanced algorithms and machine learning to identify and block fraudulent clicks in real-time. The platform analyzes click patterns and IP addresses to detect any suspicious activity, allowing businesses to optimize their advertising spend and improve their ROI.
Pros:
- Advanced click fraud detection using machine learning and artificial intelligence.
- Real-time click fraud prevention with custom rules and alerts.
- Detailed reporting and analytics to track campaign performance and identify suspicious activity.
- User-friendly dashboard for easy monitoring and management of campaigns.
- Integration with popular ad platforms including Google Ads and Bing Ads.
- Dedicated support team available to assist with setup and ongoing management.
Cons:
- Limited information available on specific features and capabilities without signing up for a free trial or contacting sales
Pricing: plans start from 15$ per month for up to 5,000 Ad Clicks. Agency Plan costs 75$ per month for Up to 10,000 clicks.
Website: https://www.clixtell.com/
Lunio.ai
Lunio.ai is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform that helps businesses prevent ad fraud. It uses artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) algorithms to detect and prevent fraudulent activities in real-time. The platform provides a comprehensive suite of tools to help marketers and advertisers identify and prevent various types of ad fraud, such as click fraud, impression fraud, and conversion fraud.
Pros:
- AI-powered fraud detection system that monitors ad traffic in real-time.
- User-friendly interface that makes it easy to use.
- Comprehensive suite of tools to detect and prevent various types of ad fraud.
- Detailed reports and insights to help businesses understand the effectiveness of their ad campaigns.
Cons:
- Pricing model based on ad traffic volume, which may not be suitable for businesses with limited budgets.
- Limitations in detecting all types of ad fraud, although this is a common limitation of all ad fraud prevention tools.
Pricing: starts at 5000Β£ a year.
Website: https://lunio.ai
Singular.net
Singular.net is an ad fraud prevention and detection platform that provides real-time protection against click fraud, impression fraud and attribution fraud. The tool uses machine learning algorithms to detect and prevent fraudulent activities, and it integrates with major ad networks, DSPs, and attribution platforms.
Pros:
- Real-time protection against ad fraud.
- Detailed analytics and insights.
- Integrates with major ad networks and platforms.
- Supports multiple ad formats.
- Machine learning algorithms for fraud detection.
Cons:
- High pricing for smaller advertisers.
- Pricing structure can be confusing.
- Complex platform, may be difficult to set up and use effectively.
Pricing: can vary depending on the needs of the individual advertiser, price on request.
Website: https://www.singular.net/
Adjust.com
Adjust.com is a mobile measurement platform that helps mobile advertisers and marketers track their ad campaigns’ performance and prevent ad fraud. The platform offers a suite of tools to help advertisers measure and optimize their mobile ad campaigns while protecting their budget from fraudsters.
Pros:
- Effective machine learning algorithm that can detect and prevent various types of ad fraud.
- Real-time fraud prevention system that blocks fraudulent activities as they happen.
- Fraud Prevention Suite offers additional layers of protection against ad fraud.
- Customizable rules for digital fraud prevention.
- Easy integration with various ad networks and platforms.
Cons:
- Pricing model based on monthly attributed installs may be challenging for smaller advertisers.
- Dashboard interface may be complex for some users.
Pricing: may vary based on individual needs and volumes, price on request.
Website: https://www.adjust.com
Improvely.com
Improvely is a comprehensive ad tracking and online fraud prevention tool that offers advanced features for advertisers looking to protect their campaigns from fraudsters. It has been designed to track clicks and conversions in real-time, offering a range of features to detect and prevent fraudulent activity on ads. The platform boasts advanced reporting features and custom alerts, making it a useful tool for advertisers of all sizes.
Pros:
- Advanced click fraud detection with customizable alerts.
- Real-time tracking.
- Advanced reporting for detailed campaign analysis.
- A/B testing functionality for optimizing ad campaigns and landing pages.
Cons:
- Limited integrations with other platforms and ad network support.
- Limited automation features.
- No mobile app.
Pricing: plans starting at $29/month for up to 50,000 clicks and conversions.
Website: https://www.improvely.com/
Bemob
Bemob is a cloud-based affiliate tracking and click fraud program designed for affiliate marketers and advertisers. It offers advanced tracking capabilities, such as conversion tracking, detailed reporting, and A/B testing, to help optimize campaigns and increase ROI.
Pros:
- Custom domains: Bemob allows users to set up custom tracking domains, which can help with branding and campaign optimization.
- Multi-user support: Bemob offers multi-user support, which is useful for agencies or larger teams who need to collaborate on campaigns.
- Mobile app: Bemob has a mobile app that allows users to access their campaigns and tracking data on-the-go.
- Advanced targeting options: Bemob offers advanced targeting options such as country, language, device type, and more, which can help optimize campaigns for better performance.
Cons:
- No phone support: Bemob’s support options are limited to email and chat, and there is no phone support available. This may be a drawback for advertisers who need more immediate assistance.
- Limited documentation: Bemob’s documentation and help center can be a bit sparse, and some users may have difficulty finding answers to their questions or troubleshooting issues.
- Limited API access: Bemob’s API access is limited compared to other tracking and adwords click fraud prevention tools on the market, which may be a drawback for more advanced users who want to build custom integrations or tools.
Pricing: free version, plans start from 49$ per month.
Website: https://bemob.com/
Conclusion
Click fraud can negatively impact businesses by draining their advertising budgets and damaging their online reputation. However, with the use of various click fraud detection and prevention tools, businesses can take proactive measures to safeguard their investments and improve their ROI. By regularly monitoring and analyzing click data and using a combination of tools and strategies, businesses can effectively detect and prevent fraudulent clicks, ensuring long-term success in the digital advertising space.
The table below provides brief summaries of the click fraud protection programs available on the digital market.