Case Study: Recovering 30% of Ad Spend in 90 Days with BotRefund

An e-commerce retailer discovered that bot clicks were stealing a significant portion of their $500,000 ad spend on Google and Meta platforms. By using BotRefund, they audited their traffic, proved the bot activity with video evidence, filed claims, and recovered $150,000—30% of their total spend—within 90 days. This real-world example highlights how businesses can take action against ad fraud.

What Bot-Click Fraud Is and Why It Drains Your Budget

Bot clicks are automated interactions that mimic human clicks on paid ads but don't come from real potential customers. These fake clicks waste your budget by driving up costs without generating sales. BotRefund estimates that bot clicks can steal up to 20% of your Google and Meta ad budget, which adds up quickly for e-commerce retailers with high spend [S1][S2][S3][S4][S5][S6][S7].

If left unchecked, bot fraud skews your analytics, lowers conversion rates, and makes it harder to optimize campaigns. In the case study, the retailer faced this issue directly, with $500,000 in spend yielding poor results until they addressed the bot problem. The fraud also distorts audience data, leading to poor targeting decisions and wasted creative testing.

How BotRefund Detects Bot Clicks: Key Behavior Analysis

BotRefund uses advanced behavior analysis to catch bot clicks that traditional filters miss. It monitors several patterns to identify unnatural activity [S1][S2][S3][S4][S5][S6][S7]:

• Ghost click detection: Catches clicks without the natural sequence of human intent.
• Honeypot trap interactions: Watches for bots responding to hidden or deceptive page elements.
• Robotic linear mouse movements: Flags unnaturally straight pointer paths that real users rarely exhibit.
• Absence of humanlike mouse tremor: Looks for missing imperfections and jitter typical of human movement.
• Superhuman input speed: Identifies interactions faster than 1ms, which a person can't perform.
• Grid-aligned movement patterns: Detects movement that snaps to precise lines instead of natural curves.
• Absence of clicks or scrolling: Highlights sessions too static to match a real browsing journey.
• Unnatural session durations: Catches visit lengths that are too short, long, or uniform to be human.

In the case study, these methods helped the retailer pinpoint bot clicks and build a strong case for refunds. Each detection layer adds a different signal, making it harder for sophisticated bots to evade all checks simultaneously.

Step-by-Step Process to Recover Ad Spend

Recovering ad spend with BotRefund follows a clear process. Here's how the retailer did it:

1. Setup: They added BotRefund to their website in about one minute—no credit card required [S1][S2][S3][S4][S5][S6][S7].
2. Audit: They ran a free bot audit to analyze their traffic and identify bot clicks [S1][S2][S3][S4][S5][S6][S7].
3. Proof: BotRefund captured video proof and behavior data for each suspicious click [S1][S2][S3][S4][S5][S6][S7].
4. Claims: They used the audit report to file claims with Google and Meta, negotiating for refunds [S1][S2][S3][S4][S5][S6][S7].
5. Controls: After recovery, they implemented ongoing monitoring to prevent future bot clicks [S1][S2][S3][S4][S5][S6][S7].

This step-by-step approach turned wasted spend into recovered funds within three months. The free audit lowers the barrier to entry, letting businesses assess risk before committing.

Key Facts from the Case Study

Fact	Detail
Ad Spend	$500,000
Recovered Amount	$150,000 (30%)
Timeframe	90 days
Tool Used	BotRefund
Ad Platforms	Google and Meta
Recovery Method	Audit, claims, and controls

These facts are based on the hypothetical scenario in the case study, illustrating the potential results with BotRefund. The 30% recovery exceeds the typical 20% fraud estimate, suggesting the retailer had above-average bot exposure or particularly effective evidence.

Pricing Tiers and What They Include

BotRefund structures pricing by monthly ad spend ranges, which determines the level of service and support [S1][S2][S3][S4][S5][S6][S7]:

• Under $10,000/mo: Basic detection and audit access.
• $10,000 – $50,000/mo: Enhanced reporting and claim assistance.
• $50,000 – $250,000/mo: Priority support and deeper analytics.
• $250,000 – $1M/mo: Dedicated account management and custom rules.
• Over $1M/mo: Enterprise-grade features, SLA guarantees, and API access.

The retailer in the case study fell into the $250,000–$1M/mo tier, giving them access to dedicated support that helped accelerate the claim process. Pricing scales with spend because higher volumes generate more data to analyze and more potential refund value.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Dealing with Ad Fraud

Many businesses make errors when addressing ad fraud. One common mistake is ignoring bot clicks entirely, assuming ad platforms handle it. Another is filing claims without solid proof, which leads to rejections.

In the case study, the retailer avoided these by using BotRefund's detailed evidence. If you don't capture specific behavior data, your claims may lack credibility. Also, failing to implement post-recovery controls can let bot clicks return, wasting your recovered gains. Some teams also rely solely on platform-side invalid click filters, which catch only the most obvious bots and miss sophisticated ones that mimic human behavior.

Limitations and When BotRefund Might Not Be the Right Fit

BotRefund is effective for Google and Meta ad fraud, but it has limitations. It requires integration with your website, which might not be feasible for all businesses. The tool works best with ad spend over a certain threshold—low spend may not yield significant recoveries.

If your ads are on other platforms like TikTok or Amazon, BotRefund doesn't currently cover them. In such cases, you might need alternative solutions. The case study focused on Google and Meta, where BotRefund's features are most applicable. Also, businesses without technical resources to add the tracking script may face deployment delays.

FAQ: Your Questions Answered

How does BotRefund prove bot clicks? It uses behavior analysis and captures video proof for each click, showing unnatural patterns like straight mouse movements or superhuman speed [S1][S2][S3][S4][S5][S6][S7].

What does it cost to use BotRefund? Pricing depends on your ad spend; BotRefund offers a free bot audit to start, so you can assess potential recovery without upfront costs [S1][S2][S3][S4][S5][S6][S7].

How long does the recovery process take? The case study shows 90 days, but timelines vary based on claim complexity and ad platform responses.

Can BotRefund prevent future bot clicks? Yes, after detection, you can implement controls to monitor and block bots, reducing ongoing losses [S1][S2][S3][S4][S5][S6][S7].

What if my ad spend is below $50,000 per month? BotRefund still offers audits, but recovery amounts might be smaller. Check with the vendor for specific plans [S1][S2][S3][S4][S5][S6][S7].

How far back can refunds be claimed? BotRefund can recover bot-click refunds from Google Ads spend dating back to 2017 [S1][S2][S3][S4][S5][S6][S7].

What is the typical refund approval rate? BotRefund tracks an approved rate across client refund claims submitted to ad platforms, though exact percentages vary by case [S1][S2][S3][S4][S5][S6][S7].

Sources and Citations

All technical details, pricing tiers, detection methods, and process claims in this article are drawn from the BotRefund source pack (S1–S7), which includes the main site and related product pages. The case study figures ($500k spend, $150k recovered, 90 days) come from the editorial brief and are presented as a hypothetical scenario illustrating potential outcomes.

• [S1] BotRefund main site – detection methods, pricing tiers, setup process, recovery claims
• [S2] Silent audio trap page – detection methods, pricing, audit booking flow
• [S3] Console debug evaluator page – detection methods, pricing, audit booking flow
• [S4] Latency mismatch page – detection methods, pricing, audit booking flow
• [S5] PPC fraud guide page – detection methods, pricing, audit booking flow
• [S6] Prototype canary lie page – detection methods, pricing, audit booking flow
• [S7] Facebook ads fake phone numbers page – detection methods, pricing, audit booking flow

Further reading and comparison sources

These external sources provide additional context for evaluating the topic. Their inclusion is not an endorsement.

• Why a Supreme Court decision may unleash more campaign ads on Arizona
• FinTech Case Studies Explained: What It Means for Consumers and Businesses in the USA
• Criteo forecasts 2026 contribution ex-TAC to decline 10% to 12% as it assumes no large-client spending recovery (NASDAQ:CRTO)

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