Are invalid clicks reflected in the campaign cost?

[David Antunes]

Hi,

If I have a campaign running and google detects, for example, some invalid clicks for the last month - will the change to the cost of the campaign be reflected in the UI and reports pulled through the API?

To put it another way: in January I spent 100$. On the 2nd of February google decides some clicks were invalid and refunds 10$. What cost do I see for the campaign in January, in the UI and in reports: 100$ or 90$?

Many thanks,

David

[Google Ads API Forum Advisor Prod]

Hi David,

 

Thanks for reaching out to us. When Google determines that clicks are invalid, we try to automatically filter them from your reports and payments so that you’re not charged for those clicks. If we find that invalid clicks have escaped automatic detection, you may be eligible to receive a credit for those clicks. These credits are called “invalid activity” adjustments. In the UI, you will be able to see these in the Credits column of your transaction history under Billing & Payments. For more information, please see here. In Reports, under the Campaign Performance Report type, we can report the number of InvalidClicks and InvalidClickRate through the API.

 

To answer your example, if the invalid clicks were caught in our automatic detection, you will not be charged for those clicks. However, if the invalid clicks escape our automatic detection, they will be displayed as part of your click count/cost, but you may be eligible to receive credit for those clicks.

Regards,
Anthony
Google Ads API Team

 

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