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Block reasons explained: what each label means

Every invalid click Tapper records carries a block reason: a short label such as Bad Bot, VPN or Ad Click Limit Exceeded that says why the visitor was flagged. A visitor can carry more than one.

Where you see block reasons

WhereWhat it shows
Clicks pageThe Block reason column and filter, one row per ad click
Exclusions pageThe Block reason column per excluded visitor, and the Block reason field in the visitor drawer (No block reason when none was recorded)
DashboardThe Block reason filter under Add filter; on Overview, the Clicks vs Invalid Traffic Types over time chart; on the Invalid Traffic tab, the Block Reason Trend chart and the Blocked Traffic by Block Reason card; on Conversions & Spend, the Top Block Reason column of Keyword by Conversion
Monthly reportsThe Invalid Traffic Types section, one per platform
Refunds pageThe Block reason tiers you pick for a Google refund report, and the reasons column in the file

On a workspace in monitoring-only mode nothing is blocked, so the wording around the reasons changes, but the reason labels do not:

  • On the dashboard, the filter reads Invalid traffic reason, the two block reason cards become Invalid Traffic Reasons Trend and Invalid Traffic by Invalid Traffic Type, and the Top Block Reason column reads Top Invalid Traffic Reason.
  • The Exclusions page is titled Invalid Traffic, in the sidebar and on the page.
  • The column on the Clicks and Exclusions pages is named Invalid traffic, and the Block reason field in their visitor drawers reads Invalid traffic type.

The tables below use the labels of the Clicks and Exclusions pages. The dashboard, in its Block reason filter and in every chart, card and column that names a reason, writes seven of them differently:

On the Clicks and Exclusions pagesOn the dashboard
Bad BotBot
Tampered DeviceSuspicious Device
Geographical InconsistencyGeo Inconsistency
JS DisabledJs Disabled
iCloud RelayIcloud Relay
TorTOR
Click FarmReturning Non Converter

The Block reasons section of the Invalid Traffic tab: Block Reason Trend, Blocked Traffic by Block Reason with its Reason column outlined, and Invalid Click Frequencies

Reasons from your detection rules

These come from a row on the entity's Web detection rules tab, so you can change how often they fire.

LabelWhat it meansSetting behind it
Ad Click Limit ExceededThe IP clicked your ads more often than an Invalid click threshold rule allowsInvalid click threshold
Aborted Ad ClickAd clicks registered but your page never loaded and no events were recorded, more often than your rule allowsAborted ad clicks
Suspicious Ad ClickThe IP clicked your ads the set number of times without any events on the pageSuspicious Ad Clicks
BouncedThe IP spent less than the set number of seconds on your siteMinimum Seconds on Site
JS DisabledA browser with JavaScript disabled clicked your adBlock JavaScript-disabled browsers
VPNThe click came through a VPNVPN blocking
Geographical InconsistencyThe click's location conflicts with your country ruleBlock IPs by country
Unusual BehaviorThe behavior the monitoring script recorded points to an invalid sourceBehavior analysis
Cross Platform BlockedThe visitor was flagged on another ad platformCross-platform blocking

For each setting, see How Tapper decides a click is invalid.

Reasons from IP intelligence

Tapper checks every click's IP address against network data. These reasons have no switch of their own.

LabelWhat it means
Data CenterThe IP belongs to a hosting or cloud provider, not a home, office or mobile connection
ProxyThe click came through a proxy service
TorThe click came through the Tor network
iCloud RelayThe click came through Apple's iCloud Private Relay
AnonymousThe IP belongs to a service that hides where the visitor really is
Known AttackerIntelligence sources list the IP as a source of attacks
Known AbuserIntelligence sources list the IP as a source of abuse
ThreatIntelligence sources flag the IP as a threat
BogonThe address should not appear on the public internet at all
Suspicious ASNThe network the IP belongs to (its ASN, the block of addresses one operator runs) is associated with invalid traffic

Reasons from device and browser signals

LabelWhat it means
Bad BotThe visit shows signs of automation, such as a headless browser or an automation tool
Fake User AgentThe browser identifies itself as something it is not
Suspicious Screen ResolutionThe reported screen size is not one a real device has
Tampered DeviceThe device's fingerprint shows anomalies, signs that it was altered or spoofed

Other labels

  • Click Farm: a visitor who keeps coming back through your ads without converting. The dashboard and the monthly reports write it as Returning Non Converter. It has no setting on the tab.
  • Aggregated Range: when a Google campaign reaches Google's limit of 500 IP exclusions, Tapper can combine many excluded addresses that sit close together into one range exclusion. The range carries this label. See The 500 IP exclusions per campaign limit in Google Ads.
  • You may also meet general labels such as Invalid Traffic, Suspicious IP, Aggressive Clicking or Other. If one appears on a visitor you need to understand, contact support with the visitor id (see How to get help from Tapper).

Block reasons in the refund report

On the Refunds page, Block reason tiers group the reasons by how strong the evidence is for a Google Ads claim:

  • Tier 1 - High confidence: its label names Bot, Data Center, Known Attacker and Geo Mismatch among its reasons. It is the only tier checked by default.
  • Tier 2 - Supporting evidence (VPN, Proxy, TOR, Suspicious IP)
  • Tier 3 - Weak signals (Unusual Behavior, JS Disabled, Bounced)

Each tier holds more reasons than its label names, and the tier labels use short forms (Bot, TOR, Geo Mismatch) of the labels shown elsewhere. See Generate a Google Ads refund report.

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