Click Fraud

Definition:
Click fraud occurs when clicks on ads are generated with malicious intent or automation, not by genuine users, to exhaust budgets or distort performance.

Why it matters:
Click fraud inflates costs and corrupts attribution, draining spend without driving real outcomes. It’s especially common in display, programmatic, and mobile ads.

Common sources:

• Competitors manually clicking

• Bots or click farms

• Malware-infected devices

Best practices:

• Monitor click frequency by IP

• Block suspicious referrers or locations

• Use fraud detection tools or audit layers