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Can ClickSambo protect Google Ads App Campaigns?

Providing full, automated blocking for Google Ads App Campaigns is a challenge for the entire click fraud protection industry due to limitations within the Google Ads platform itself.

Here’s a detailed explanation of what is and isn't possible.

The Challenge: Google's "Black Box" System

Google designs its App Campaigns for maximum automation, which restricts the granular controls that services like ClickSambo, ClickCease, and ClickGuard rely on for real-time blocking.

The key limitations are:

No Custom Tracking: App Campaigns do not permit the use of third-party tracking templates. This prevents us from receiving the detailed, real-time click data (like the GCLID) needed for instant analysis and attribution.

No Direct IP Blocking: Google does not allow advertisers or third-party tools to apply direct IP address exclusions to App Campaigns. This removes the primary mechanism for automatically blocking known fraudulent sources.

What We Can Still Do: Detection and Insights

While automated blocking within the app environment isn't possible, ClickSambo can still offer value:

If your App Campaign directs users to a web-based landing page or website where our tracking code is installed, we can still detect and analyze the quality of that traffic. This allows you to gain valuable insights into the fraudulent activity your campaigns are attracting, even if we cannot automatically stop it at the source.

Recommendation for Maximum Protection

Due to these Google-imposed limitations, if robust, real-time click fraud protection is a priority, we strongly recommend using standard campaign types like Search, Display, and standard Performance Max campaigns that direct to a website. These campaign types are fully compatible with our tracking and automated blocking capabilities.