Platform Usage

Browse articles in this section below.

Sub-sections

• Audiences

  Build audiences in your ad platforms using the events ClickPatrol fires on your site. Use the guides in this section to set up exclusion lists, targeting audiences, and cleaner lookalike seeds in Google Ads, Meta, and other channels. Start with the best practices article if you're new to audience strategy, or jump straight into the platform-specific setup guides.
  

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Articles

• How does ClickPatrol prevent false positives?

  ClickPatrol prevents false positives by never blocking based on IP address alone. Instead, it uses 800+ signals, behavioral analysis, device fingerprinting, network checks, and risk classification to separate legitimate users from suspicious traffic. When conversion tracking is enabled, ClickPatrol adds an extra safety layer. Verified conversions help identify genuine customers, so returning customers can be unblocked or prevented from being blocked again where appropriate.

• How to use ClickPatrol API Tokens

  The ClickPatrol API token gives paid users programmatic access to ClickPatrol’s click fraud intelligence. It allows you to check IP addresses directly from your own systems, without relying only on the ClickPatrol dashboard. The API is currently in beta. Users need an active paid ClickPatrol plan and can generate their token from the ClickPatrol dashboard. Each account can have one active token at a time. When a new token is generated, the previous token is immediately invalidated. With an HTTP GET request, you can assess an IP address. Optionally, the User Agent can be included to improve detection accuracy. The API returns a JSON response with the overall trusted_ai_score, which can be Safe, Suspicious, or Fake, along with additional signals such as proxy, Tor, VPN, crawler, or bot. Each API request counts as one click and is deducted from the monthly ClickPatrol click allowance. There are no separate API limits, but once the monthly allowance is exhausted, API requests will not be processed until the allowance resets.

• Google Ads permissions required to connect to ClickPatrol

  ClickPatrol requires Standard or Admin access to the Google Ads account you want to connect. Read only or Email only access is not sufficient. ClickPatrol connects to Google Ads through Google OAuth. During the connection flow, Google asks you to grant ClickPatrol permission to view and manage Google Ads accounts and data. ClickPatrol uses this access to update tracking templates and exclude invalid IP addresses from campaigns. The connection is tied to the Google account used for authentication. This means ClickPatrol can only work with Google Ads accounts that this Google account already has permission to edit. If an account does not appear in the ClickPatrol dropdown, the Google account likely does not have access to it or does not have the required access level. You can check your access level in Google Ads by going to Admin > Access and security. Find your email address and check the Access level column. If it shows Standard or Admin, you can connect the account. If it shows Read only or Email only, the account owner needs to update your access first. For a regular Google Ads account, the account owner can usually connect directly because they have Admin access. If you are an agency manager or team member, the client must give you at least Standard access to that specific account. If you use a Manager Account or MCC, connect the MCC instead of individual subaccounts. Your Google account must have Standard or Admin access to the MCC, and the subaccounts must be linked under that MCC. After authenticating in ClickPatrol, select the MCC first, then choose the specific subaccount you want to protect.

• How to properly test ClickPatrol across Google Ads and other advertising channels

  ClickPatrol should be tested first as a traffic quality and protection layer, not just as a performance optimization tool. The main goal is to prove that ClickPatrol reduces suspicious, invalid, repeated, or low quality traffic before it wastes budget, pollutes audiences, creates fake signals, or damages reporting. Better performance, such as lower CPA, higher conversion rates, better lead quality, or improved ROAS, can be the result of cleaner traffic, but it should be measured second. A strong test should: Define the hypothesis before launch Measure protection first, such as suspicious clicks, blocked IPs, excluded placements, suspicious sessions, and spam lead reduction Measure business impact second, such as CPA, cost per qualified lead, lead quality, ROAS, pipeline quality, or revenue quality Use a clean test setup, ideally a geo split or a long before and after comparison Keep campaigns stable during the test Run long enough to collect meaningful click and conversion data Include the right setup, such as the ClickPatrol tag, audience creation, conversion tracking, and placement exclusions where relevant The core message: first keep bad traffic out, then measure whether cleaner traffic leads to better business results.