Few things annoy a business owner more than this: Google Ads says you got 40 leads this week, and half of them are gibberish emails, fake names or phone numbers that don’t exist.
Google Ads spam leads waste your team’s time, but the bigger damage is hidden. If Google counts them as conversions, its bidding learns to find more people just like them. The spam gets worse, not better. Here’s how I track down where Google Ads spam leads come from and stop them.
First, find where Google Ads spam leads come from
Don’t start by adding a CAPTCHA and hoping. Find the source first. In Google Ads, segment conversions by network and by campaign. In GA4, look at the source, landing page and device for the bad submissions if you can match them up.
Nine times out of ten, the spam clusters somewhere obvious: a Performance Max campaign, the Display Network, search partners, one landing page form, or a lead form asset inside Google itself.
Fix the campaign settings
Once you know the source, the fixes are usually simple.
If Search campaigns have the Display Network switched on, switch it off. That box is ticked by default and lets your text ads show on websites and apps, where accidental clicks and bot traffic are far more common.
If search partners are producing junk, exclude them for that campaign and watch the results.
If Performance Max is the culprit, look at its placement and channel reports. Exclude the worst placements and apps, and make sure it’s optimising for qualified leads, not every form fill. My post on Performance Max vs Search goes into this.
Harden your website forms
Bots love simple forms, and most Google Ads spam leads arrive through them. A few changes cut most of it out:
Add an invisible honeypot field that humans never see but bots fill in
Use a modern CAPTCHA such as reCAPTCHA v3 or Cloudflare Turnstile, which don’t make real people solve puzzles
Validate phone numbers and email addresses properly before the form submits
Only fire the conversion tag after a successful, validated submission, never on the button click
That last one matters more than people think. If your conversion fires when someone clicks “Send”, a bot hammering the button looks like a dozen leads.
Google lead form assets
Lead form assets let people submit their details without leaving Google. They’re convenient, which is exactly why they can fill up with low-intent leads. If you use them, switch the setting from more volume to more qualified, add a question or two that a bot or a casual browser won’t bother with, and follow up quickly.
Spam calls
Call-based businesses get their own version: robocalls, sales calls and wrong numbers. Set a minimum call length before a call counts as a conversion, so short and accidental calls don’t feed the bidding. Block repeat spam numbers. With my London car locksmith client, only answered calls over 60 seconds were counted and spam numbers were blocked. That’s a big part of why the campaign ran at £34.10 per real lead.
Add your own: one line on a spam lead problem you fixed for a client, and what the source turned out to be.
Feed real outcomes back to Google
The strongest long-term fix is telling Google which leads were real. Using offline conversion imports or enhanced conversions for leads, you can send back which enquiries became genuine prospects or paying customers. Then you bid on those, not on raw form fills, and the automation has a reason to avoid junk.
You don’t need a fancy CRM for this. Even a simple spreadsheet with the click ID and a “qualified” column can work. I cover the setup in my conversion tracking guide. Google’s own guide to conversion measurement covers the basics.
What about click fraud?
Google filters a lot of invalid clicks automatically and doesn’t charge for the ones it catches. If you spot a specific IP address clicking repeatedly, you can exclude it at campaign level. Competitor click fraud does happen, but in my experience it’s far less common than people fear. Junk usually comes from settings and forms, not sabotage.
Keep Google Ads spam leads out for good
Spam tends to creep back. A new campaign launches with default settings, a form plugin updates, or a bot finds your site again. Once a month, compare the leads Google Ads reports with what your team actually followed up. If the gap widens, investigate straight away.
If you’re stuck with a flood of Google Ads spam leads, I’ll find the source in a free Google Ads audit. You’ll get a clear list of fixes whether we work together or not. Read my audit checklist to see what I look at.
FAQs
Will Google refund me for Google Ads spam leads? Google credits invalid clicks it detects, but it doesn’t refund leads that came from real clicks with fake details. Prevention is the answer.
Does a CAPTCHA hurt conversion rate? Modern invisible options like reCAPTCHA v3 or Turnstile barely affect real users, so the trade-off is usually worth it.