Why are my Google Ads getting clicks even after they're turned off?
Have you noticed new website sessions coming from a paused or ended Google Ad campaign? You are not alone. If you use tools like Google Analytics or HubSpot to track website traffic, then you might have experienced this before.
There are a few simple and reasonable scenarios that can lead to relatively minor cases of additional traffic. (If you’re still getting a lot of traffic, read further below for other possible explanations).
Most Common Explanations
Sharing/re-using a tracking URL
If auto-tagging is enabled in your account, Google adds a unique click ID (tracking code) to the landing page URL your ads link to. This helps track which specific ad your website visitors are coming from. Sometimes, people who click on the ad can copy the URL (with the tracking code) and share it elsewhere. Anyone who clicks on that shared link will register as a new session from the ad, even if they never saw or clicked on it.
Similarly, if a user bookmarks the landing page they land on from your ad, the bookmarked page will contain the unique click ID (called a “gclid value” by Google). If they visit your site by clicking on the bookmark, it will register as a new session from the ad because the unique click ID is on the bookmarked URL. Even if the cache is cleared on the user’s computer, the unique click ID will remain on the bookmarked link to your site. In this case, the user will show up as a new visitor to your site who came from the Google ad they bookmarked the URL from.
Tracking URL indexed in search engines
If a web page gets more views from a tracking URL (from ads) than through standard navigation over time, it’s possible that it could be indexed by a search engine like Google or Bing, and it can show up in search results. In this situation, users who click on the search listing will show on your site as new visitors from the Google Ads campaign associated with the unique click ID on the URL.
Additional sessions from the same users who clicked ads
Finally, if a user clicks on one of your Google ads and then directly returns to your website multiple times over the next few weeks, each o these direct return sessions will show up as additional website sessions attributed to the ads.
So, it all comes down to ad tracking parameters and caching on our computers. The next question you may have is: Is this fixable?
According to Google, this traffic is considered “normal behavior and indicates positive engagement with your website.” So, if you see a small percentage of this type of traffic, rest assured, it’s typically nothing to worry about. However, if you are seeing a lot of this in your traffic, then you might need to address it to keep your ad stats as accurate as possible.
Unfortunately, there is no solution for the first 2 scenarios, however, for the 3rd scenario, there is. You can create a “robots.txt” file to exclude URLs that contain a unique click ID from being indexed. You can do this through the parameter-handling tool in Google Search Console. Check out this article to read about how: https://www.cloudflare.com/learning/bots/what-is-robots-txt/
Other Possible Explanations
System Glitch:
While rare, Google Ads might experience temporary glitches that affect campaign status.
Action: Monitor the campaign closely. If the issue persists, contact Google Ads support.
Ad Scheduling:
If you’ve used ad scheduling, there might be an overlap with the current time.
Action: Review your ad scheduling settings to ensure the campaign is truly paused during the desired period.
Ad Extensions:
Certain ad extensions might still trigger impressions even if the campaign is paused.
Action: Review and potentially remove ad extensions that might be causing issues.
Third-Party Tracking Issues:
Problems with your website’s tracking code or third-party analytics tools might be misattributing clicks.
Action: Verify the accuracy of your tracking setup.
The last explanation we will go into detail on is bot traffic.
Bot Traffic
Sometimes, continued traffic can come from bot traffic, which refers to non-human visitors to your website, often generated by automated scripts or software programs.
Why Bot Traffic Occurs in Google Ads
Fraudulent Activities:
Click fraud: Malicious actors create bots to artificially inflate click counts, leading to higher costs for advertisers.
Adware: Malware can infect devices and generate fake clicks without user knowledge.
Competitor Actions:
Clickjacking: While technically not “bot” traffic, it can cause similar issues in your analytics. Competitors might use deceptive tactics to trick users into clicking on their ads, for example by placing an invisible button on top of another button.
Bot attacks: Competitors may deploy bots to exhaust your ad budget or lower your ad rank.
Low-Quality Traffic Sources:
Invalid traffic: Some websites or apps may generate low-quality traffic that includes a high percentage of bots.
Ad networks: Certain ad networks might have stricter controls over bot-traffic than others.
Investigating Bot-Like Traffic
To better understand the nature of your traffic, you can:
Examine click details: Look for patterns in the click data, such as IP addresses, devices, and locations.
Many times, a characteristic of bot traffic is that many of the parameters in GA4 come in as “not set.”
Check landing page behavior: Analyze user behavior on your landing page to identify any anomalies.
Review search terms: If applicable, examine search terms to see if they align with your target audience.
Protecting Your Campaign
Here are some steps to protect your campaign from bot traffic:
Enable Google’s fraud prevention: Utilize Google’s built-in tools to detect and block suspicious activity.
Implement IP filtering: Exclude known bad IP addresses from your campaigns.
Review ad extensions: Carefully evaluate the need for ad extensions and remove any unnecessary ones.
Monitor campaign performance closely: Regularly check your campaign metrics for unusual patterns.
Consider using a third-party fraud prevention tool: If the problem persists, explore additional options.
Weblog Reports
We have come across bot traffic many times and have reached out to Google in some instances for help. Be aware that if we need to pursue their help, they will need a good amount of data, most likely including weblogs. Some web hosts have the access logs located in cPanel and some have it available via FTP or other places. Simply search your web host's name + “access logs,” e.g. "Godaddy access logs" and you'll find them.