Where to find an invalid traffic report in AdSense?

This post was most recently updated on May 31st, 2021

If you’re like many other publishers that struggle with invalid traffic (IVT), you might be looking for the invalid traffic report in AdSense. If you don’t already know, any type of IVT is bad. You want it as far away from your site as possible. You can lose ad revenue because of it and, worse, your ad account.

Naturally, AdSense will help you by providing in-depth reports on IVT, right? Publishers are provided with some information regarding invalid traffic in AdSense reports, but it is limited. The AdSense team keeps most ad fraud related information under lock and key as they don’t want fraudsters to try and game the system.

The invalid traffic report in AdSense would only show on the Transactions page on the 1st of each month, as shown below. As such, you won’t be able to run a report until the pay period is over and Google applies the ad clawbacks.

Alternatively, publishers can monitor sudden fluctuations in reports. This could give clues regarding invalid traffic, but it won’t be definitive. For example, in Active View Viewable, CTR. If the viewable rates are very low and CTR is abnormally high, this could indicate invalid or suspicious activity. Look out for sudden spikes or drops in both CTR & View%.

See the example below.

This results in a huge disadvantage for publishers because you won’t know what’s going on in real-time. You’ll only find out afterward when you see the revenue adjustments. Sometimes it’s too late to fix it. The damage is already done, and your account is at risk of getting banned.

Also, be sure to read our article on Reddit and invalid traffic with AdSense here.

If invalid traffic reports in AdSense aren’t sufficient what can publishers do?

We created a tool that shows not only real-time reporting of invalid traffic activity but also prevents it from clicking on your ads. It’s called Traffic Cop!

Traffic Cop uses sophisticated technology, including machine learning and fingerprinting algorithms, to detect and prevent invalid traffic from seeing and clicking your ads. It works on websites with AdSense ads and any other ad network.

Using Traffic Cop, you’ll never have to worry about ad revenue clawbacks and getting your AdSense account banned. Take a look at the reporting interface you’ll get access to below:

On a daily basis, you’ll be able to see in a report pageviews versus blocked ad impressions, suspected invalid traffic, and much more!

Are you ready to finally say goodbye to invalid traffic problems in AdSense? Sign up to Traffic Cop today!