Bots, Ad Networks & Fake Lead Form Fills; Phones Don’t Work, Emails Bounce

WEST PALM BEACH, FL –  Have you recently noticed your lead forms being filled out with fake information, phone numbers that don’t work and/or email addresses that bounce back? Google’s Display Network (GDN) and Microsoft’s Audience Network (MSAN) both serve ads across a vast number of websites, apps, and video content. While both companies have robust fraud detection systems in place, bot traffic and fraudulent interactions can occur within these networks.

Here’s how:

1. Presence of Bots in Ad Networks

• Automated Clicks & Impressions: Some websites that monetize via Google AdSense or Microsoft’s Ad Monetization program may generate artificial traffic through bots to inflate revenue.
• Fake Form Submissions: While Google and Microsoft take measures to detect invalid activity, bad actors still deploy click farms and automated bots that interact with ads, sometimes filling out forms.

2. Why Would Bots Fill Out Forms?

• Affiliate & Lead Fraud: Some publishers may use bots to fill out forms, generating fake leads that they get paid for.
• Competitor Sabotage: Competitors may try to exhaust your ad budget by triggering lead form conversions that aren’t genuine.
• Scraping & Data Collection: Some bots might fill out forms to gain access to gated content or extract information.

3. Google & Microsoft’s Fraud Prevention Efforts

Both platforms use machine learning, IP tracking, and behavioral analysis to block bot traffic. However:

• Google has an Invalid Traffic detection system that automatically refunds advertisers for bot-driven interactions.
• Microsoft similarly has fraud detection mechanisms, but their network is smaller, meaning bot detection is somewhat less tested than Google’s.

4. How to Minimize Bot Traffic in Your Campaigns

• Use reCAPTCHA or hCaptcha on lead forms.
• Track Traffic Sources via UTM parameters and analytics tools.
• Enable Conversion Tracking that verifies real user behavior (e.g., email confirmation).
• Exclude Suspicious Placements (websites with extremely high CTRs but no real engagement).
• Use IP Blocking to stop repeated form submissions from the same source.

Bots can interact with ad-driven forms on both Google and Microsoft’s networks, but both companies work actively to reduce this fraud. To further protect your campaigns, implementing additional verification steps is recommended.

Would it minimize fake leads to opt out of display traffic and only enable search ads?

The altrnative would be to opt-out of display traffic and running only search ads which can significantly reduce fake leads, but it doesn’t eliminate the risk entirely.

Here’s why:

Why Search Ads Have Less Bot Traffic than Display Ads

1. User Intent:
   • Search ads target users who are actively searching for keywords related to your business, making them more likely to be real people.
   • Display ads appear on a wide range of websites, many of which rely on ad revenue—some sites use bots to generate artificial clicks and engagements.
2. Less Exposure to Fraudulent Sites:
   • Display ads are placed across millions of websites, including low-quality sites where bot traffic is more common.
   • Search ads only appear on search engine results pages (SERPs), where bot interactions are much rarer.
3. Better Audience Targeting:
   • With search ads, you’re reaching users based on what they are actively looking for.
   • Display ads often rely on interest-based targeting, which can expose them to fraud-prone networks.

Will Search Ads Eliminate Fake Leads?

While search ads minimize bot activity, they do not eliminate fake leads completely because:

• Competitors or bad actors can still click your ads and fill out forms.
• Some automated lead-gen bots scrape search results and submit fake forms.
• Click farms (used for click fraud) can still interact with search ads, although they are more common on display.

How to Further Reduce Fake Leads in Search Ads

If you switch to search-only campaigns, here are additional ways to filter out low-quality leads:

1. Enable Manual Bidding or Enhanced CPC
   • Automated bidding strategies like Maximize Conversions can sometimes favor volume over quality.
2. Use Negative Keywords
   • Filter out terms like “free,” “cheap,” or unrelated searches that attract unqualified users.
3. Set Up Conversion Tracking
   • Ensure you track meaningful actions like verified email sign-ups or phone calls instead of just form fills.
4. Use Lead Verification Services
   • Services like Clearbit, NeverBounce, or EmailListVerify help detect fake emails.
5. Implement reCAPTCHA
   • Add Google reCAPTCHA v3 to your forms to block bots.

Final Recommendation

✔ Disable display ads and focusing on search ads will likely reduce fake leads.
✔ However, to maximize quality, use additional verification measures to further protect your campaign from bad leads.