Google Ads

Google Ads invalid-click refunds: building the evidence

Google credits some invalid clicks automatically — but not all of it, and never with the detail you'd need to dispute the rest. Here's what gets credited, what doesn't, and how to document the gap.

How Google's invalid-click credits work

Google’s automated systems filter a share of invalid clicks before you’re charged, and retroactively credit others as “invalid click” adjustments. It works — but it’s a black box: you can’t see which clicks, why, or what slipped through.

What isn't auto-credited

Sophisticated invalid traffic (SIVT) — automated browsers, residential proxies, human click farms — is engineered to look human and frequently isn’t auto-credited. See GIVT vs SIVT for why the costly kind is the hardest to filter.

How to document it

An invalid-click review needs evidence, not a hunch. ValidVisit weighs every click against 100+ independent data points — spanning the network it arrived from, the device behind it, and how the visitor behaves — and distills them into a single 0-100 quality score, so you can export an audit-ready package:

Affected campaign, ad group and keyword
Per-click timestamps and source/publisher attribution
The 0-100 quality score for each click, so low-quality traffic is easy to single out
The pattern: repeat sources, zero conversions, instant bounces

What ValidVisit does — and doesn't

Does: detect, score and attribute invalid traffic, and export the quality-scored evidence. Doesn’t: file or manage disputes, or promise a specific refund amount. We make the case provable; submitting it is your step. See the Google Ads click fraud guide and the protection overview.

FAQ

Does Google refund invalid clicks automatically?+

Yes — Google's systems detect a portion of invalid clicks and credit them back, usually within a few days, shown as 'invalid click' adjustments in your account. But it grades its own traffic and won't show you the per-click detail behind it.

What invalid traffic isn't auto-credited?+

Sophisticated invalid traffic that mimics real users — automated browsers, residential proxies, human click farms — often isn't auto-credited. That's the gap where independent, documented evidence matters.

Can ValidVisit file the refund for me?+

No. ValidVisit produces the evidence — a 0-100 quality score per click, timestamps and source attribution — that supports an invalid-click dispute. Filing the dispute with Google is your step; we make it provable rather than a hunch.

What should an invalid-click evidence package include?+

The affected campaign/keyword, timestamps, the 0-100 quality score that graded each click, source/publisher attribution, and the pattern (repeat sources, no conversions). ValidVisit's quality reports export exactly this.

See what your paid traffic really is.

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