Best Click Fraud Software Shortlist
To help you find the best solution for your needs, here's my shortlist of the 10 best click fraud software.
- PPC Secure - Best click fraud software for unlimited domains
- FraudScore - Best click fraud software for ease of use
- Anura - Best click fraud software for blocking click farms
- ClickGuard - Best click fraud software for tracking Google Ads
- PPC Protect - Best click fraud software for multi-platform protection
- TrafficGuard - Best click fraud software for affiliate partner monitoring
- Improvely - Best click fraud software for small and medium-sized businesses
- ClickCease - Best click fraud software for protecting WordPress website
- AdTector - Best click fraud software for full traffic analysis
- PPC Shield - Best click fraud software for technical and behavioral analysis
- ClickBrainiacs - Best click fraud software for their rules feature
- AppsFlyer - Best click fraud software for mobile ad fraud prevention and detection
One persistent challenge continues to haunt advertisers and marketers alike—click fraud. As advertisers strive to make the most of their limited ad budgets, fraudsters find ways to artificially inflate click counts. These fraudulent activities lead to skewed performance data, wasted ad spending, and ineffective campaign results. Therefore, you need click fraud software to help you identify click fraud in real-time and take proactive measures to defend your campaigns against malicious attacks.
In this article, I have shared a detailed review of the best click fraud software in 2023.
What Is Click Fraud Software
Click fraud software refers to specialized applications or tools designed to detect and combat click fraud in online advertising campaigns. Click fraud refers to the act of artificially inflating the number of clicks on online advertisements, often done maliciously or with the intention of depleting an advertiser's budget. Click fraud software typically employs advanced algorithms, machine learning techniques, and data analysis to identify patterns of fraudulent clicks, distinguish between genuine and fake clicks, and provide insights and reports to advertisers.
Overviews of the 12 Best Click Fraud Software
Here’s a detailed description of the best click fraud software that showcases each tool’s noteworthy features, pricing details, and pros and cons list. I’ve also included a screenshot illustrating a feature in action.
1. PPC Secure - Best click fraud software for unlimited domains
PPC Secure is an ad fraud detection and prevention software. It is designed to protect online advertisements from fraudulent activities.
Why I picked PPC Secure: I chose PPC Secure because of its exclusive click-fraud prevention algorithm. It provides 24/7 ad monitoring and sends email or text notifications whenever suspicious activity is detected.
Additionally, If the same device, IP address, or cookie ID is clicking your ad multiple times, then PPC Secure automatically adds the particular IP address to an exclusion list. Once an IP address is placed in the blacklist, it cannot see your ad or click on them. This prevents false clicks and ensures that your advertising budget is not wasted.
PPC Secure Standout Features and Integrations:
Standout features include the reports feature. PPC Secure provides nine reports you can view in your browser or download as PDF or CSV files. These reports tell you about the most active tracker, most active keywords, click details or overview, origin and placements summary, IP address details, conversion rates, top clickers by IP Address, cookie ID, and device signature.
Pricing: From $29.97/month
Free Trial: 14-day free trial
Pros
- Provides 14-day free trial
- Setup is easy and quick
- Emails daily account overview to users
Cons
- The standard plan doesn't include whitelabeling or branding
- The standard plan doesn't provide unlimited client accounts
2. FraudScore - Best click fraud software for ease of use
FraudScore is a fraud detection and prevention software designed to help businesses identify and combat various types of online fraud. It is primarily used by digital marketers, advertisers, and e-commerce companies that engage in online advertising, lead generation, and affiliate marketing activities.
Why I picked FraudScore: FraudScore uses an individual approach to each client to make them comfortable with the software. This approach ensures that the software is tailored to each client's specific needs, making it easier to use.
FraudScore has a user-friendly interface that makes it easy to navigate and use. The software is designed to be easy to use, even for those who are not tech-savvy. It also provides workshops and training to analytics teams.
FraudScore Standout Features and Integrations:
Standout features include detailed reports and advanced traffic pattern recognition. The software also supports mobile and desktop traffic.
Integrations include Affise, TUNE, Everflow, AppsFlyer, Adjust, CAKE, Offerslook, and RedTrack. You can also get additional integrations through the FraudScore API.
Pricing: From $390/month (billed annually)
Free Trial: Free trial available
Pros
- Easy to use
- Provides detailed reporting
- Offers a free trial
Cons
- Integration can be complex
- Not suitable for small teams
3. Anura - Best click fraud software for blocking click farms
Anura is a fraud detection and prevention platform that helps combat ad and click fraud in digital advertising and marketing campaigns. It provides advertisers, publishers, and marketers with the tools and insights to identify and mitigate fraudulent activities.
Why I picked Anura: I chose Anura because of its high accuracy in detecting ad fraud, which is crucial for safeguarding advertising budget and campaign performance. Anura's advanced algorithms and real-time data analysis enable it to examine various data points, such as IP addresses, user agents, geolocation, click patterns, and engagement metrics. This approach allows the platform to distinguish between genuine human interactions and fraudulent or bot-driven activities.
Moreover, Anura's machine learning capabilities continuously learn from new data and adapt to evolving fraud tactics, ensuring it stays ahead of emerging threats in the digital advertising landscape. This dynamic learning process enhances its accuracy over time, giving users confidence that they are receiving reliable and up-to-date insights about their traffic quality.
Also, Anura is TAG certified against fraud. The TAG certification is a rigorous and industry-recognized verification process demonstrating a company's commitment to combating ad fraud and promoting transparency and accountability within the digital advertising ecosystem.
Anura Standout Features and Integrations:
Standout features include a detailed analytics feature, which allows users to monitor traffic and fraud detection data as it happens. This feature enables advertisers and publishers to respond promptly to any fraudulent activity and take immediate action.
Integrations include Google, Instagram, LinkedIn, Meta, Microsoft, TikTok, and Twitter. You can also get additional integrations through the Anura API.
Pricing: Pricing upon request
Free Trial: Free trial upon request
Pros
- Helps segment traffic based on source and campaign
- Provides easy integration with Google Tag Manager
- Provides detailed analytics dashboard
Cons
- Limited live phone support
- Pricing details are not transparent
4. ClickGuard - Best click fraud software for tracking Google Ads
ClickGuard is a software that provides click fraud protection and optimization for pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns. It helps businesses identify and eliminate malicious or useless traffic to ensure their advertising budget is used effectively.
Why I picked ClickGuard: The best aspect of ClickGaurd is that it protects your ppc ads from click fraud and invalid traffic. These may be accidental clicks or existing customers looking for further information.
ClickGaurd also provides detailed reports that provide key information about your campaigns, keyword performance, threat analysis, etc. You can also automate and share these reports with your team members or clients.
ClickGuard Standout Features and Integrations:
Standout features include automated optimization, time-on-site condition, GEO location protection, and proxy VPN detection. Also, ClickGaurd is a fully automated protection tool that enables businesses to run secure and effective pay-per-click campaigns without manual intervention. This means that businesses can continuously monitor and protect their PPC campaigns without manually reviewing and analyzing data.
Integrations are available with advertising software, CMS platforms, landing and lead capture software, website hosting, and e-commerce platforms. These software are Google Tag Manager, WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, Leadpages, LanderApp, ClickFunnels, Unbounce, Weebly, Squarespace, and more.
Pricing: From $89/month
Free Trial: 7-day free trial + demo available
Pros
- Helps analyze user behavior
- Provides real-time monitoring of your campaigns
- Great for tracking Google Ads
Cons
- Limited automations
- The user interface is complicated
5. PPC Protect - Best click fraud software for multi-platform protection
Previously known as PPC Protect, Lunio is a click fraud detection and prevention software designed to help businesses protect their online marketing campaigns, particularly pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns. By identifying fraudulent, invalid, and unintended clicks, Lunio helps businesses understand the true performance of their channels, campaigns, and ads, allowing them to make informed decisions.
Why I picked PPC Protect: I picked PPC Protect because it helps with multi-platform protection by providing businesses with an automated solution that can integrate with other marketing apps and platforms, providing protection across multiple channels. Additionally, PPC Protect safeguards online marketing campaigns across various platforms, including Google Ads, Bing Ads, Facebook Ads, and more.
PPC Protect Standout Features and Integrations:
Standout features include account alerts that notify businesses when it detects fraudulent activity on their online marketing campaigns. It also offers advertising management tools that allow businesses to manage their online marketing campaigns across multiple platforms.
Integrations include Shopify, Instagram, HubSpot Marketing Hub, Twitter, YouTube, Snapchat, Google Ads, TikTok, Marketo Engage, and Leadpages. You can also get additional integrations through API.
Pricing: Pricing upon request
Pros
- Provides API integration
- Supports 15+ platforms
- Generates instant click reports
Cons
- Pricing details are not transparent
- No free trial is available
6. TrafficGuard - Best click fraud software for affiliate partner monitoring
TrafficGuard is a cloud-based ad fraud protection solution that provides technology and data to enable advertisers to maximize efficiency and growth. TrafficGuard monitors and analyzes incoming traffic in real-time to identify suspicious patterns and anomalies that could indicate fraudulent behavior.
Why I picked TrafficGuard: TrafficGuard is the best solution for traffic monitoring because of its unique features. TrafficGuard's full-funnel, multipoint solution allows advertisers to monitor their traffic at every stage of the funnel, from impression to conversion, and ensure that their advertising budget is being spent effectively.
TrafficGuard also offers customized filters, which allow advertisers to monitor their affiliate partners' activity and ensure that they are not engaging in fraudulent behavior.
TrafficGuard Standout Features and Integrations:
Standout features include a compliance filtering feature, which filters out non-compliant traffic that does not meet specific criteria set by the advertiser. This feature ensures that advertisers' budgets are not spent on traffic that does not meet their requirements.
Integrations include WordPress, Shopify, WooCommerce, Google Ads, Affise, Segment, TUNE, Singular, Kochava, and AppsFlyer.
Pricing: Pricing upon request
Free Trial: Free plan available
Pros
- Easy to use
- Fast and reliable
- The dashboard is intuitive and easy to navigate
Cons
- Pricing details are not transparent
- Limited integrations
7. Improvely - Best click fraud software for small and medium-sized businesses
Improvely is a web-based tool that provides advanced analytics, conversion tracking, and click fraud monitoring for online marketers and advertisers. It helps businesses optimize their online advertising campaigns, track conversions, and detect fraudulent activities that may impact their ad performance.
Why I picked Improvely: Improvely provides an easy-to-use dashboard where businesses can track all of their marketing efforts in one place. This simplifies the process of monitoring and analyzing marketing campaigns, making it accessible even for businesses with limited technical expertise.
Improvely offers team logins, custom-branded client reports, and export tools, making it suitable for businesses working alone, with a team, or with clients. It also facilitates collaboration and reporting, which is beneficial for small and medium-sized businesses that may work with multiple stakeholders.
Improvely Standout Features and Integrations:
Standout features include conversion tracking, which helps businesses track the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns and channels by identifying the source of every signup and sale. This feature allows businesses to optimize their marketing efforts and allocate resources more effectively.
Integrations include Google, Microsoft Excel, Facebook Ads, AdRoll, Twitter, Microsoft Bing, and Taboola.
Pricing: $29/month
Free Trial: 14-day free trial
Pros
- Free trial available
- Provides multiple access control
- Generates customer profiles
Cons
- No demo available
- Limited integrations
8. ClickCease - Best click fraud software for protecting WordPress website
ClickCease is a click fraud prevention and protection software that uses machine learning algorithms to help businesses identify and block false clicks and bots.
Why I picked ClickCease: ClickCease protects WordPress websites from bots and invalid traffic. It offers 24/7 bot zapping, a powerful detection and protection system that efficiently identifies and stops bots from infiltrating and engaging with your website. This unique approach redirects the bots to a 403 unauthorized page, effectively blocking their access. As a result, your website remains shielded from fraudulent activities, such as spam comments on blog posts and fraud checkouts on your eCommerce store.
Moreover, ClickCease offers a clear picture of your marketing analytics, ensuring you have accurate data and insights. By eliminating bot traffic, you can focus on genuine customers, enhance your website's performance and refine your marketing strategies. With ClickCease's robust and sophisticated bot detection, which includes over a thousand tests and evaluations, you can rest assured that only genuine visitors are reaching your website.
ClickCease Standout Features and Integrations:
Standout features include a world click fraud heatmap. This feature helps visualize where fraudulent clicks are coming from and how they interact with your site. The heatmap provides a visual representation of the geographic location of fraudulent clicks, allowing you to see where most fraudulent clicks are coming from. This information can be used to adjust your ad targeting and prevent fraudulent clicks from specific regions.
Integrations include WordPress, Instagram, Meta for Business, Google Ads, and Microsoft Advertising.
Pricing: From $69/month
Free Trial: 7-day free trial
Pros
- Setting up is easy
- Compatible with all WordPress builders and plugins
- Free trial available
Cons
- Limited integrations
- No integration with Zapier
9. AdTector - Best click fraud software for full traffic analysis
AdTector is a click fraud prevention software that helps businesses detect and block malicious IPs based on indicators such as blacklisted IPs, user agents, device IDs, and other factors.
Why I picked AdTector: AdTector stands out due to its ability to provide full traffic analysis. It leverages advanced algorithms to detect and block click fraud. These algorithms are designed to identify anomalies in traffic patterns and block malicious IPs based on indicators such as blacklisted IPs, user agents, and device IDs.
Also, it uses a never-sleep robot that works 24/7 to identify and block fake clicks.
AdTector Standout Features and Integrations:
Standout features include click reports that provide businesses with valuable insights into their PPC advertising campaigns, allowing them to monitor, analyze, and detect fraudulent click activity.
Pricing: From $97/month
Free Trial: 14-day free trial
Pros
- Provides real-time monitoring
- Includes free trial
- Leverages advanced algorithm for click fraud protection
Cons
- No API available
- No integration with Zapier
10. PPC Shield - Best click fraud software for technical and behavioral analysis
PPC Shield is a click fraud protection software that helps advertisers protect their Google Ads campaigns from wasteful clickers and fraudulent bots. It offers advanced features to monitor and analyze the quality of each click, taking into account various technical and behavioral factors.
Why I picked PPC Shield: PPC Shield analyzes various technical and behavioral factors to detect and prevent click fraud in Google Ads campaigns. It analyzes the IP addresses of the clicks to identify patterns and detect fraudulent activity.
It analyzes the patterns of clicks, including the frequency and timing, to detect abnormal click activity. The software checks for the use of proxy servers, which can be an indication of fraudulent clicks.
PPC Shield Standout Features and Integrations:
Standout features include automatic IP blocking of IP addresses associated with fraudulent activity, preventing further clicks from those sources.
Pricing: From $49/month
Free Trial: 14-day free trial
Pros
- Easy to install and use
- Great machine learning capabilities
- Provides a 14-day free trial
Cons
- Limited to Google Ads
- No integration with Zapier
11. ClickBrainiacs - Best click fraud software for their rules feature
ClickBrainiacs is a click fraud detection and prevention software for Google Ads campaigns.
Why I picked ClickBrainiacs: ClickBrainiacs has a rules feature that allows users to set up customized rules to detect and prevent click fraud. For example, you can set rules to block clicks from certain countries.
Once the rules have been set up, the software will automatically detect and block fake clicks based on the rules. You can also manually block or unblock IP addresses if needed.
ClickBrainiacs Standout Features and Integrations:
Standout features include the email alerts feature, which sends email notifications to users whenever it detects false clicks. This allows users to stay informed and take the necessary action.
Pricing: From $15/month
Free Trial: 1-year free trial
Pros
- Provides downloadable PDF and Excel reports
- Allows users to set up customized rules
- Offers a one-year free trial
Cons
- Limited to Google Ads
- The basic plan allows tracking of only one website
12. AppsFlyer - Best click fraud software for mobile ad fraud prevention and detection
Protect360 is a fraud protection solution offered by AppsFlyer.
Why I picked AppsFlyer: Protect360 of AppsFlyer is the best solution for mobile ad prevention and detection due to its comprehensive and always-on fraud detection and prevention suite. It protects against all common types of mobile ad fraud like install hijacking, click flooding, device farms, and bots. It utilizes AppsFlyer's scale, machine learning, and behavioral analysis to provide cover against known and new types of fraud.
AppsFlyer Standout Features and Integrations:
Standout features include post-attribution fraud detection. This feature identifies and blocks fraudulent installs after attribution through automatic pattern identification. Once attributed, an install cannot be erased, but Protect360's post-attribution fraud detection can retroactively deny fraudulent activity based on patterns found post-install.
Integrations are available with 10,000+ apps, including Meta for Business, Twitter, Google Ads, Adobe Campaign, Customer.io, Affise, Segment, RevenueCat, TrafficGuard, and Supermetrics. You can also get additional integrations through API.
Pricing: Pricing upon request
Free Trial: Free trial + demo available
Pros
- Large number of integrations
- Includes an API
- Protects against all common types of mobile ad fraud
Cons
- Pricing details are not transparent
- No integration with Zapier
Other Options
Here are a few more click fraud software that didn’t make it to the top 10 list, but they still offer valuable features and functionalities.
- ClickCease - Best for non-technical users
- CHEQ Essentials - Best for complex projects
- AdShield - Best for data-driven companies
- AppsFlyer - Best for large teams
- Lunio - Best for tracking on social media sites
- Singular - Best for pre-attribution rejections
- Fraud0 - Best for tracking fraudulent programmatic interactions
- Clixtell - Best video screen recorder to monitor clicks
- Fraudlogix - Best for built-in corporate cyber security tools
- ClickReport - Best for pop-in warnings to discourage multi-clicks
- ClickProtector - Best for advanced customizations
- AdSecure - Best for advanced and power users
- Click Guardian - Best for UK companies
Selection Criteria For Click Fraud Software
Here’s a short summary of the main selection and evaluation criteria I used to develop my list of the best click fraud software for this article:
Key Features
In this section, I have listed the essential features that click fraud software must have:
- Real-time monitoring: The software continuously monitors ad clicks and user interactions in real-time to identify suspicious patterns.
- IP address analysis: Click fraud software analyzes IP addresses to identify repeated clicks from the same source, which may indicate fraudulent activity.
- Geolocation tracking: The software tracks the location of clicks to detect patterns that suggest click farms or bot-generated clicks.
- User behavior analysis: Click fraud detection tools examine user behavior to identify abnormal click patterns and distinguish between genuine and fraudulent clicks.
- Detailed reporting and analytics: This feature helps advertisers understand the extent of click fraud and the effectiveness of their detection efforts.
- Integration with ad platforms: The software may integrate with popular advertising platforms like Google Ads to automatically block fraudulent clicks and improve campaign performance.
Usability
Usability is an important factor to consider when choosing click fraud software. A user-friendly and intuitive interface ensures users can make the most of the platform. Look for software with a main dashboard that provides a clear and concise overview of your click fraud protection data and campaign performance. Important metrics, such as the number of clicks, blocked clicks, and fraud rate, should be prominently displayed for quick reference.
The software should also provide real-time monitoring of click activity, with updates and alerts as soon as fraudulent clicks are detected. Instant notifications through email or in-platform alerts can help you take prompt action to block suspicious clicks.
Software Integrations
Integrations are essential for click fraud protection software as they allow data exchange between the protection tool and other platforms used in your advertising ecosystem. Native integrations, which are direct and built-in, often offer better performance and ease of use compared to ones that require manual setup through APIs or third-party services like Zapier.
A good click fraud software should provide native integrations with popular advertising platforms like Google Ads and Meta Ads.
Pricing
Businesses want to ensure that they are getting value for their money. Hence, pricing plays a critical role in determining whether the click fraud software's benefits justify the investment. By comparing different options, you can find a solution that fits your budget while meeting your needs.
Generally, the pricing of click fraud software ranges between $15/month to $500/month. The low-end price range offers basic features such as click monitoring and detection of obvious fraud patterns. Additionally, there may be restrictions on the number of campaigns or clicks that can be monitored per month.
The mid-price range may offer additional features, like IP blocking and device tracking. The high-end price range usually includes advanced fraud detection algorithms. It may also include customizable and detailed analytics reports and dedicated customer support.
Scalability
While looking for click fraud protection software, it’s important to prioritize software that can handle increased click volumes, complex campaigns, and accommodate seasonal spikes without compromising performance. To ensure scalability, look for a solution with proven performance under load and flexible infrastructure.
People Also Ask
In this section, you will find answers to some frequently asked questions related to click fraud.
How is click fraud detected?
How do you protect against click fraud?
Is click fraud legal?
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The Takeaway
Anura reports that 25% of all paid traffic is fake, which means that 1 out of every 4 clicks is fraudulent. Such fraudulent activities waste ad spend and hinder the potential for legitimate conversions and revenue generation. However, the best click fraud software will help you detect and mitigate false ad clicks.
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