Seatext library / BotRefund evidence
How to Activate BotRefund for Your Ad Campaigns: Step-by-Step Setup Guide
Activate BotRefund by creating an account, adding a single script tag to your website (about one minute), selecting your ad-spend tier, and turning on the free AI audit. The system then captures behavioral evidence...
✓ Built for advertisers who need clear, refund-ready traffic evidence.
To activate BotRefund, create an account on the BotRefund website, paste one script tag into your site header, choose the pricing tier that matches your monthly Google and Meta spend, and enable the free AI audit. The script starts detecting non-human clicks immediately — ghost clicks, honeypot interactions, robotic mouse paths, superhuman input speed, grid-aligned movements, and unnatural session durations — and builds video-grade evidence for each flagged click. You then export the audit report, send it to your Google or Meta representative, and file a refund claim through the platforms' own invalid-traffic channels. BotRefund reports an 83% approval rate across filed claims and requires no ad-account credentials.
Prerequisites before you start
You need a live website where your ad traffic lands. The script runs client-side in the browser, so it must load on every landing page that receives paid clicks from Google Ads or Meta Ads. You also need to know your combined monthly ad spend across Google and Meta to pick the correct pricing tier. No Google Ads or Meta Ads manager permissions are required — BotRefund never asks for OAuth tokens or account access.
Step-by-step activation
- Create your account. Go to botrefund.com and click "Create account" or "Get my free bot audit." Enter your name, work email, phone number, and website URL.
- Select your spend tier. Choose the range that matches your current monthly Google + Meta spend: Under $10,000; $10,000–$50,000; $50,000–$250,000; $250,000–$1M; $1M–$5M; or Over $5M. Enterprise tiers (above $250,000/mo) route you to a sales call for a custom recovery plan.
- Install the script tag. Copy the single JavaScript snippet provided after signup and paste it into the
<head>of every landing page that receives paid traffic. The tag loads asynchronously and adds roughly one minute to setup time. - Turn on the free AI audit. In the dashboard, toggle the audit on. The system begins analyzing visitor behavior — mouse tremor, click timing, scroll depth, pointer paths, and session duration — and flags sessions that match bot signatures with 99% confidence.
- Wait for traffic. Let the script collect data for at least a few days (or until you have a statistically meaningful sample of paid clicks). The dashboard shows real-time bot-rate estimates and captured Click IDs (GCLIDs for Google, fbclids for Meta).
- Export the compliance-ready report. When you have enough flagged clicks, download the audit report. It includes session replays, behavioral evidence, and the Click IDs needed for platform dispute forms.
- File the refund claim. Submit the report to your Google Ads or Meta Ads representative through the platforms' official invalid-activity or invalid-traffic credit channels. BotRefund's evidence package is designed to meet each platform's documentation requirements.
Configuring refund settings for Google Ads and Meta Ads
BotRefund works with both Google Ads (Search, Performance Max, Display, Shopping) and Meta Ads (Facebook, Instagram, Audience Network, Advantage+). The same script covers both platforms. For Google, the system captures GCLIDs; for Meta, it captures fbclids and other click parameters. No separate configuration is needed per platform — the audit automatically separates traffic by source so you can file platform-specific claims. If you run campaigns on both networks, the single report includes evidence for each.
Verification: how to confirm the script is working
After installation, visit your own landing page with a query parameter like ?botrefund_test=1 (the dashboard shows the exact test URL). The dashboard should register your test session within seconds and label it as human. Check the live visitor log: you should see your own session with normal mouse movement, scroll events, and a realistic dwell time. If the log stays empty, verify the script tag is in the <head> and not blocked by a tag manager consent rule. A common mistake is placing the tag only on the homepage while paid traffic lands on dedicated campaign pages — add it to every entry page.
What the free AI audit actually measures
The audit runs a battery of client-side behavioral checks that server logs cannot see:
- Ghost click detection — clicks that fire without the natural sequence of human intent (no prior hover, no approach movement).
- Honeypot trap interactions — bots that click hidden or deceptive page elements meant only for automated scripts.
- Robotic linear mouse movements — unnaturally straight pointer paths that rarely appear in real sessions.
- Absence of humanlike mouse tremor — missing the micro-jitter typical of human motor control.
- Superhuman input speed (<1 ms) — interactions faster than a person can physically perform.
- Grid-aligned movement patterns — movement snapping to precise pixel lines or blocks instead of natural curves.
- Unnatural session durations — visits that are too short, too long, or too uniform to be human.
- Absence of clicks or scrolling — sessions that stay static despite loading a full page.
- VPN and data-center IP detection — flags traffic from known proxy, VPN, or hosting ranges (new as of late 2024).
Each flagged click gets a session replay video and a confidence score. The dashboard aggregates these into a bot-rate percentage per campaign, placement, and device.
Pricing tiers and what they include
| Monthly Google + Meta spend | Tier label | Setup | Refund fee structure | Support |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under $10,000 | Starter | Self-serve, 1 min script | Performance-based (fee from recovered amount) | Dashboard + email |
| $10,000 – $50,000 | Growth | Self-serve, 1 min script | Performance-based | Dashboard + email + scheduled reviews |
| $50,000 – $250,000 | Pro | Self-serve, 1 min script | Performance-based | Dedicated Slack channel + quarterly audit |
| $250,000 – $1M | Enterprise | Assisted onboarding | Performance-based, custom terms | Named CSM + monthly strategy call |
| $1M – $5M | Enterprise Plus | Assisted onboarding | Performance-based, custom terms | Named CSM + weekly sync + custom reporting |
| Over $5M | Custom | Full implementation support | Negotiated | Executive sponsor + SLA |
All tiers include the free AI audit, Click ID capture, compliance-ready reports, and pixel-poisoning protection. There is no upfront fee on any tier — BotRefund takes a percentage of successfully recovered spend. The company states $0 upfront on enterprise recovery; fees come out of what they get back.
Common mistakes that delay activation
- Script only on homepage. Paid traffic often lands on campaign-specific URLs. Add the tag to every landing page template.
- Consent manager blocks the script. If you use a CMP, classify BotRefund as "essential" or "security" so it loads before consent.
- Wrong spend tier. Understating spend limits the evidence volume you can process; overstating routes you to an unnecessary sales call.
- Expecting instant refunds. Platforms review claims on their own timeline (typically 2–6 weeks). BotRefund prepares the evidence; it does not control approval speed.
- Filings without Click IDs. Google and Meta require the original click identifiers (GCLID, fbclid). The audit exports these automatically — do not strip them.
Limitations and when this approach does not apply
- BotRefund only recovers spend on Google Ads and Meta Ads. It does not handle programmatic DSPs, TikTok Ads, LinkedIn Ads, or other networks.
- The script must execute in the visitor's browser. Traffic that never reaches your site (e.g., impression-only fraud, in-app clicks that don't open a web view) cannot be audited.
- Refund approval is at the discretion of Google and Meta. The 83% approval rate is an aggregate across BotRefund clients; individual results vary by account history, traffic mix, and platform policy changes.
- Historical recovery for Google Ads goes back to 2017 only if you have the original Click IDs. Meta's lookback window is shorter and less documented.
- GDPR and CCPA compliance is built in, but you remain the data controller. Review the data-processing addendum if you operate in regulated industries.
Key facts
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Bot detection confidence | 99% | S7 |
| Refund claim approval rate | 83% | S2, S7 |
| Typical bot share of paid clicks (industry audits) | 9%–20% | S7 |
| Setup time | ~1 minute (one script tag) | S2, S7 |
| Ad-account access required | No | S7 |
| Google Ads historical recovery window | Back to 2017 | S2 |
| Pricing model | Performance-based (fee from recovered spend) | S7 |
| Upfront cost (enterprise) | $0 | S7 |
| Brands audited | 2,500+ | S7 |
| Total recovered spend (aggregate) | $100M+ | S7 |
FAQ
How long before I see bot data in the dashboard?
Real-time. The first paid click after the script loads appears in the visitor log within seconds. A statistically useful sample usually takes 2–5 days depending on daily click volume.
Do I need to give BotRefund access to my Google Ads or Meta Ads account?
No. The system never asks for OAuth tokens, API keys, or login credentials. It works entirely from client-side behavioral data and the Click IDs that the platforms already append to your landing-page URLs.
What if my site uses a single-page application (SPA) framework?
The script listens for route changes and re-initializes automatically. Test by navigating between campaign landing pages and confirming the dashboard registers each virtual pageview.
Can I use BotRefund alongside other click-fraud tools (ClickCease, ClickGuard, etc.)?
Yes. BotRefund's script is lightweight and non-blocking. Running multiple detectors in parallel is common; each builds its own evidence set. Compare reports before filing claims to avoid duplicate submissions.
What happens after I submit a refund claim to Google or Meta?
The platform reviews the evidence (Click IDs, session replays, behavioral logs) against its own invalid-activity models. If approved, a credit appears in your ad account billing section. BotRefund's fee is invoiced separately based on the recovered amount.
Is there a minimum spend to make this worthwhile?
BotRefund accepts accounts spending under $10,000/mo. At low volumes, the absolute refund amount may be small, but the free audit still reveals bot-rate benchmarks you can use to adjust targeting or placement exclusions manually.
Does BotRefund block bots in real time or only detect them?
Detection and evidence capture are the core product. The dashboard lets you export IP lists and behavioral signatures that you can feed into your WAF, CDN, or ad-platform exclusion lists for blocking. Real-time suppression is on the roadmap but not yet a default feature.
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