Block or allow clicks by country

Tapper Block can block ad clicks by the country their IP address comes from, or allow clicks only from the countries you list. The rule is the Block IPs by country row in the Detection features section of the Web detection rules tab. Use it as a second layer behind your ad platform's own location targeting, which decides where your ads show but still lets some clicks through from outside the areas you target.

Why location targeting alone is not enough

Google Ads location targeting is your primary control over where ads appear, and it should stay that way. Even so, advertisers keep seeing clicks from outside their targeted areas. Google's location options can include people who only show interest in an area, VPN and proxy traffic hides the real location, and people travel.

Tapper's country rule looks at the country of the IP address behind each ad click that reaches your site. A click from a country your rule does not allow is treated as invalid, and the address is excluded in your ad accounts like any other invalid click. Nothing changes in your campaign's location settings. The VPN blocking switch sits right above the country rule; the two cover different cases, so consider them together (see Detection features: what each switch does).

How it works

• The rule is off for every new rule set. While the switch is off, your choice and your countries are kept.
• Block any clicks coming from the following countries. is a block list: every country not on the list stays allowed. The caption under the options reads Clicks from the countries listed below will be blocked.
• Only allow clicks coming from the following countries. is an allow list: every country not on the list is blocked. The caption reads Clicks from the countries listed below will be allowed.
• The rule belongs to the rule set you have selected. To give one platform, ad account or campaign a different country list, create a custom rule set and scope it with Applies to (see Rule sets: apply different rules to platforms, ad accounts or campaigns).
• While Monitoring-only mode is on for the rule set, Tapper records these clicks as invalid but excludes nothing (see Monitoring-only mode: why nothing is blocked yet and what changes when blocking starts).
• On Google Ads the exclusion is an IP exclusion on Search, Display, Shopping and Demand Gen campaigns. On Meta and TikTok the visitor joins Tapper's invalid traffic audience instead; those platforms have no IP exclusions.

Before you start

• You need the Owner or Admin role in the workspace. Editor members can look but cannot change rules.
• The Web detection rules tab exists on Block + Lift workspaces only. Lift only workspaces have no country rule.

Steps

1. Open Protected Entities in the sidebar and open the entity.
2. In the left rail, under Website, select Detection rules.
3. If the entity has more than one rule set, pick the set you want in Rule sets. Everything below applies to the selected set.
4. Scroll to Detection features and turn on the Block IPs by country switch. The switch saves on click.
5. Choose Block any clicks coming from the following countries. or Only allow clicks coming from the following countries. On a new rule set neither is selected, and the country field does not respond until you pick one.
6. In the country field, type a country name and pick it from the list. Repeat for each country. To take a country off the list, click the x on its name.

There is no Save button on this tab. Each change saves itself.

Which mode to choose

What happens next

• Clicks your country rule flags show on the Clicks page with the block reason Geographical Inconsistency and, once excluded, on the Exclusions page like any other invalid click (see The Exclusions page and the proof drawer).
• In the Google refund report these blocks count as Geo Mismatch, in the high-confidence tier that is checked by default (see Generate a Google Ads refund report).
• If your campaigns bring installs to a mobile app, the Mobile app detection rules tab has its own Block IPs by country row, applied to installs and events (see Mobile app detection rules).

Related

• Detection features: what each switch does
• Rule sets: apply different rules to platforms, ad accounts or campaigns
• Google Ads setup doesn't match your protection rules
• What happens when Tapper excludes an IP in Google Ads