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Set invalid click thresholds

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Ad click limits decide how many times one IP address may click your ads inside a time window before Tapper treats the next click as invalid. They are on the Click limits tab of a rule set (Setup > Rule sets). Limits belong to a rule set; the Default set applies wherever no other set is linked (Rule sets: apply different rules to platforms, ad accounts or campaigns).

How a click limit works

Each limit is one line: Block after [N] clicks within [M] Seconds, Minutes, Hours or Days. With 3 clicks within 10 minutes, the fourth click inside that window is the one Tapper flags.

  • The click count and the window must each be at least 1.
  • A short window catches a burst from a bot; a long one catches someone who returns every day. Combine both.
  • Your plan sets how many limits you can add; Add limit is disabled once you reach it.
  • With no rows, the list reads "No limits yet. Without one, Tapper applies its own default limits." A new entity starts this way unless onboarding created rows: with Block, your industry's presets. The separate Aborted ad clicks list starts with one row (5 aborted clicks within 1 day) and does not decide the Aborted ad click flag.

A breach leaves the block reason Ad click limit exceeded. On Google Ads the visitor also joins the user list Tapper - Ad Click Limit Exceeded Traffic List, which keeps an entry for 180 days. In Monitor-only (every free trial), Tapper records invalid clicks and excludes nothing. Exclusions per platform: Switch blocking on or off.

Add, change or remove limits

You need the Owner, Admin or Manager role. Viewer members can only look.

  1. If your workspace has more than one protected entity, pick it in the switcher at the top of the sidebar.
  2. In the sidebar, under Setup, click Rule sets, and pick the set under Ad campaigns. The Click limits tab opens first.
  3. Under Ad click limits, click Add limit, then type the click count and the window and pick the unit. To remove a row, click its trash icon.
  4. Click Save in the Unsaved changes bar at the bottom of the page. If you try to leave with unsaved changes, Tapper asks first.

Choose your numbers

  • Start from the presets. Suggest limits adds your industry's three limits to the existing rows and saves them. See Suggested thresholds by industry.
  • Read your repeat-click data. On the dashboard's Invalid traffic tab, Invalid click frequencies (columns Clicks, Blocked visitors and %; rows 1 to 5, then 6-10, 11-50 and 51+) shows how many clicks your blocked visitors made. Mostly 6-10 and above: a count of 2 in a short window costs real visitors for little gain. Heavy 2 and 3 rows: a tighter rule pays. A visitor's row on the Clicks page opens a drawer with every ad click it made.
  • Think about real customers. A considered purchase can take several visits over several days; a service booked by phone often takes one. Set the long-window count above that.
  • Weigh your cost per click. The higher your CPC, the more a tight rule saves.

The tightest setting: Block after 1 click

With a count of 1, the first click from an IP goes through and the second inside the window is flagged. No setting excludes an IP on its very first click.

It suits high-CPC, on-demand services where customers call after the first click. For most businesses it is too tight:

  • Genuine visitors who come back to compare or finish a form are excluded on their second click.
  • On Google Ads every flagged IP takes one of a campaign's 500 IP exclusion slots. When a campaign is full, Tapper rotates lower-priority IPs out, so older exclusions stop protecting you. See The 500 IP exclusions per campaign limit in Google Ads. Meta Ads and Microsoft Ads use audiences, so the cap does not apply there.

To use it on only some campaigns, put it in a custom rule set linked to those campaigns on its Applies to tab.

What happens next

  • On the Clicks page, filter Block reason on Ad click limit exceeded.
  • The Exclusions page lists excluded visitors per ad account and campaign.
  • On the Invalid traffic dashboard tab, IP exclusions per campaign shows how close each Google campaign is to the 500 limit. Revisit your limits if campaigns keep hitting it.

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