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Click-fraud protection for Google Ads

ClickShield recognizes devices that keep clicking your ads and excludes their IP in your Google Ads campaigns, automatically and only while the ban lasts.

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 How it works
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  • One line of code on your site
  • Device recognition with Fingerprint Pro
  • IP exclusions sent straight to Google Ads
Sample, made-up data

Ad click

gclid demo-a4IP 203.0.113.24

4th click from this device in 5 minutes

Devices that clicked your ad
DeviceVisitsStatus
Qx7fK2mR…now4Excluded, 1 day
1st offense
Lp5GvX2c…17 minutes ago3+3 re-visits, not countedLet in
b8MsR3yZ…40 minutes ago8Excluded, 7 days
2nd offense
Google Ads · IP exclusions
IP addressAdded by
Campaign: Search · Services
203.0.113.24ClickShield
203.0.113.91ClickShield

You pay for every click on your ad. Fake ones too.

A fake click is a click on a paid ad with no customer behind it: the same device clicking again and again, a bot, a competitor or anyone else.

Google Ads charges for the click, not the intent. Every such click spends budget you meant for real customers.

Google Ads already filters out some invalid clicks on its own. ClickShield adds rules you set on top: how often a device may click, and how long it then stays out.

Sample: one device, 4 paid clicks in 5 minutes

Qx7fK2mR…IP 203.0.113.24
  1. Visit 1gclid demo-a1
  2. Visit 2gclid demo-a2
  3. Visit 3gclid demo-a3
  4. Visit 4gclid demo-a4

How it works

Three steps. Once it’s set up, ClickShield works on its own.

  1. Add your domain and one line of code

    Add the domain your ads lead to and paste the same line into the <head> of its pages.

    www.example.testVerified

    <script async src="https://clickshield-web-370434332956.europe-west4.run.app/cs.js"></script>

    The same line for every domain you add

  2. ClickShield counts each device’s ad clicks

    Fingerprint Pro recognizes the device. A click beacon arrives even before that, so ClickShield also counts visitors who leave before the page loads.

    • Ad clickCounted: 1
    • Left before the page loadedCounted: 2
    • ReloadNot counted

  3. Devices over the limit stay out

    When a device goes over your limit, ClickShield excludes its IP in your linked campaigns, and lets it back in when the ban ends.

    Excluded, 1 day203.0.113.24

    after 1 day

    Expired203.0.113.24

What ClickShield does

You set the rules per pool of domains, and ClickShield applies them in the Google Ads campaigns you link to that pool.

At most 3 clicks in 5 minutes. At most 10 a day.

Defaults, set per pool.

A device that clicks more than 3 times in 5 minutes, or more than 10 times in 24 hours, gets banned.

Its latest IP is then excluded from the campaigns linked to the pool.

Every new offense, a longer ban.

A ban lapses, but the offense stays on record. A device that comes back and overdoes it again stays out longer.

  1. 1st offense 1 day
  2. 2nd offense 7 days
  3. 3rd offense 30 days
  4. From the 4th offense permanent

These are defaults, and each pool can change them. You lift a permanent ban yourself, whenever you like.

Everything is on record.

Every ad click is recorded with its time, gclid, landing page, IP and how the page was opened.

Reloads, the back and forward buttons and pages restored from the browser cache are recorded, never counted.

Sample: one device’s record

Lp5GvX2cE9uA7rHt4WnKCounted: 3 +3 re-visits, not counted
  1. New visitVisit 3
    gclid
    demo-c3
    Page
    www.example.test/
    IP
    198.51.100.140
  2. From the cacheNot counted
    gclid
    demo-c2
    Page
    www.example.test/offer
    IP
    198.51.100.140
  3. Back or forwardNot counted
    gclid
    demo-c1
    Page
    www.example.test/
    IP
    198.51.100.140
  4. New visitVisit 2
    gclid
    demo-c2
    Page
    www.example.test/offer
    IP
    198.51.100.140
  5. ReloadNot counted
    gclid
    demo-c1
    Page
    www.example.test/
    IP
    198.51.100.140
  6. New visitVisit 1
    gclid
    demo-c1
    Page
    www.example.test/
    IP
    198.51.100.140

Exclusions written and removed for you

You link Google Ads campaigns to a pool. ClickShield adds its own IP exclusions to them, and removes each one at the next sync after its ban ends.

ClickShield never touches exclusions you added yourself in Google Ads.

Sample: excluded IPs in Google Ads
IP addressAdded byStatus
203.0.113.91 ClickShield Sent
192.0.2.57 ClickShield Removed
198.51.100.23 You, by hand Stays

Several domains and Google Ads accounts

One Google Ads connection reaches every account you manage, and pools group your domains, by client for example. That makes ClickShield a fit for agencies too.

Sample: domains by pool

  • salon-ana.example.testPool: Salon AnaVerified
  • apartmani-more.example.testPool: Apartmani MoreVerified
  • autoservis.example.testPool: AutoservisWaiting for DNS

Croatian first

ClickShield and this page speak Croatian, English, German and Spanish.

Sample: the same status in four languages

  • HrvatskiIsključen, 1 dan
  • EnglishExcluded, 1 day
  • DeutschDraußen, 1 Tag
  • EspañolExcluido, 1 día

Waits for consent if you want

The script can wait for your cookie banner and start only once the visitor agrees. Mention ClickShield in your privacy notice.

In the page’s <head>

<script async src="https://clickshield-web-370434332956.europe-west4.run.app/cs.js" data-consent="wait"></script>

Once the visitor agrees

(window.ClickShield = window.ClickShield || []).push('consent');

What you see when you sign in

The Overview shows how setup stands, your ad clicks, the devices currently excluded and the exclusions waiting to go to Google Ads.

Sample: the Overview after setup, made-up data

Who ClickShield is for

Businesses that pay for Google Ads clicks

From a sole trader to a large advertiser: set the rules once, and ClickShield applies them to every click on your ads.

Agencies with several clients

Your clients’ domains and Google Ads accounts sit under one account, and each pool has its own rules and campaigns.

Questions

Will ClickShield slow down my site?
It shouldn’t. The script loads asynchronously (async), so your page doesn’t wait for it.
Does ClickShield change my ads or bids?
No. The only thing ClickShield changes in Google Ads on its own is IP exclusions, in the campaigns you link to a pool.
What if it excludes a real customer?
Bans for the first offenses end on their own, by default after 1, 7 and 30 days, and you can lift any flag sooner. ClickShield never touches exclusions you added yourself.
What if a device changes its IP address?
ClickShield recognizes the device, not just its IP address. While the device is flagged, the exclusion follows its latest IP.
What about GDPR?
The script can wait for consent from your cookie banner. Mention ClickShield in your privacy notice.
How quickly is an IP excluded?
The exclusion is sent to Google Ads shortly after a device goes over the limit. When the ban ends, it is removed at the next sync.

Setup

You set up the domain, the pool, tracking and Google Ads yourself. Tracking takes one line of code on your site.

  1. Add your domain

    The website your ads send visitors to.

  2. Prove you own it

    One DNS record proves the domain is yours. Until it is verified, ClickShield accepts none of its traffic.

  3. Add it to a pool that flags new devices

    The pool’s visit limits decide which devices are flagged.

  4. Install tracking

    One script line puts the click beacon and the Fingerprint agent on your ad landing pages.

  5. Connect Google Ads

    Sign in with Google so ClickShield can send exclusions to your campaigns.

  6. Link campaigns

    The linked campaigns then exclude a flagged device’s latest IP, so their ads stop showing to that IP.

Put ClickShield on the door.

It starts with your domain.

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