To protect the integrity of our invalid activity detection systems, we can’t share any specific details on where or how much invalid activity may have been detected on your site or application.
There are three times when Google removes invalid traffic from your earnings. To help you better understand how Google strives to keep your reporting as accurate and reflective of genuine user activity as possible, we’ve provided a summary of each stage.If you frequently review your reports, you might notice unusual fluctuations in your clicks and earnings throughout the day. This is because Google automatically removes earnings accrued in your reports for actions such as double clicks, crawlers, sabotage, etc.
For more information, see Click and earnings are removed from my reports.
The reports in your account are intended to give you close estimates of the current activity in your account. However, these earnings aren't finalized until the end of the month, when we make adjustments to your account for factors like delayed processing of our records, rounding discrepancies, and additional invalid impression and click protections. Once earnings are verified, they are posted to your "Transactions" page, which reflects your finalized earnings, including all revenue owed to you for valid activity.
If you see a line item deduction in your "Transactions" page for invalid activity, it’s because some of your earnings were found to be the result of invalid activity. Revenue from invalid clicks or impressions is refunded back to the affected advertisers at this stage as well.
For more information about your earnings, see Home page reports: Understand your earnings.
In rare cases, we may adjust your balance for invalid activity that was detected after you were already issued a payment for those clicks and impressions. If some of your finalized earnings are later found to be the result of invalid activity, we'll also include these deductions in the line item for invalid activity on your "Transactions" page.
In this case, we’ll reimburse the advertisers who paid for these clicks and/or impressions and then adjust your balance accordingly. It might look like you have a balance owed in your "Transactions", but rest assured that you don’t need to send Google a payment. The amount owed will be deducted from your future finalized earnings.
For more information about deductions for invalid traffic, visit our Deductions from earnings FAQ.
If you've noticed frequent deductions from your earnings, take some time to review your traffic history and block suspicious sources. Make sure you follow our guidelines for Common questions about invalid traffic.
You can also report suspicious activity directly to our traffic team by using our invalid clicks contact form.