How to Get Started with BotRefund: Setup, Free Audit, and Your First Refund Claim

To get started with BotRefund, sign up on botrefund.com, tell them your monthly ad spend, and add their lightweight tracking script to your website. That takes about one minute and needs no credit card. Once the script is live, you can turn on the free AI audit, export your report, and send it to your Google or Meta representative to claim a refund.

You don't need a deep technical setup. For the ad-refund side, you just need a website and active Google or Meta ad campaigns. For affiliate commission checks, you can start with only UTM data from your traffic — platform integration and payout CSV uploads come later.

What BotRefund is and what it does

BotRefund is a bot-detection and ad-refund service. It detects bot clicks on Google and Meta ads, proves those clicks with behavioral evidence, and negotiates refunds with the ad platforms. The company states bot clicks can steal up to 20% of your Google and Meta ad budget, and the service recovers refunds from Google Ads spend dating back to 2017.

Beyond ad refunds, BotRefund also offers Affiliate Payout Protection. That feature audits every affiliate conversion using behavioral signals, attribution path analysis, and click-to-conversion timing, then tells you which commissions to approve, hold, or reject before you pay them out.

What you need before you start

• A website. BotRefund installs a lightweight tracking script on your site to monitor sessions from click to conversion.
• Active Google Ads or Meta (Facebook/Instagram) spend. The refund claims apply to those two platforms. During signup you'll select your monthly spend range, from under $10,000/month to over $1M/month.
• UTM or click ID data (for affiliate checks). You can start without platform integrations because BotRefund reads UTM and click IDs directly from your traffic. For exact payout reconciliation you'll later upload a payout CSV or connect your affiliate platform.
• About one minute of setup time. That's the stated time to add the script and start the free bot audit.

You do not need a credit card to start. The free bot audit is the entry point.

Step-by-step: How to get started

1. Go to botrefund.com and start a free audit. Use the "Get my free bot audit" call to action on the homepage.
2. Tell them about your ad spend. You'll select your monthly or annual Google/Meta spend range. This helps map a recovery, protection, and escalation plan.
3. Add BotRefund to your website. You'll receive a lightweight tracking script. Add it to your site. The stated time is about one minute.
4. Turn on the free AI audit. Once the script is live, activate the audit. BotRefund collects behavioral signals on every session.
5. Review the evidence. The dashboard shows each flagged session with behavioral evidence — ghost clicks, honeypot interactions, robotic mouse paths, superhuman input speed, grid-aligned movement, absence of scrolling, and unnatural session durations.
6. Export your report. Export the audit report as a deliverable you can share.
7. Send it to your Google or Meta rep. Submit the report to claim a refund for invalid clicks.
8. For affiliate commissions: Before each payout cycle, review the scored report (Approve/Review/Hold/Reject) and use the evidence to hold or decline fraudulent payouts.

Common mistake: expecting the audit tool to make the refund decision for you. BotRefund gives you evidence and scores; you still submit the claim to the platform and use the report as proof. The report is meant to be sent to your ad rep or used by your finance team to hold commissions.

How to verify BotRefund is working

The clearest verification is a booked audit call. After signing up, you receive a calendar invite for a live bot audit of your site. On that call, BotRefund runs the audit in real time and shows you what it finds. For ongoing use, check the evidence dashboard after each payout cycle or claim window to confirm flagged sessions appear with concrete behavioral data rather than a bare score.

Key facts at a glance

How detection works

BotRefund uses 106 independent checks, each producing one piece of objective evidence about a visit. None of those checks alone is a bot verdict. The system cross-checks the evidence across browser, network, device, and behavioral data, then an AI prediction model weighs the complete pattern before labeling a session as bot or human.

One example of a check is the window.open tamper signal. A script can fire clicks and scrolls, but it struggles to reproduce the varied timing, movement, and hesitation of real people. The check looks for a mismatch a real browsing session does not normally create.

Other signals tracked include:

• Ghost click detection — clicks without the natural sequence of human intent
• Honeypot trap interactions — bots responding to hidden or deceptive elements
• Robotic linear mouse movements — unnaturally straight pointer paths
• Superhuman input speed — interactions faster than a person can perform
• Grid-aligned movement patterns — movement snapping to lines or blocks
• Absence of clicks or scrolling — sessions too static for a real journey
• Unnatural session durations — visits too short, too long, or too uniform

Limitations and when BotRefund doesn't apply

A single anomaly is not a bot verdict. Privacy tools, travel, corporate networks, and unusual devices can produce unexpected behavior for genuine people. BotRefund treats each signal as evidence rather than a verdict, but that means a purely static or privacy-hardened user could still be flagged for review — which is why the output is advisory rather than an automatic payment block.

BotRefund focuses on behavioral and attribution-path signs, not on every kind of ad waste. Legitimate but low-intent traffic, poor creative, or weak audience targeting will not be refunded as bot clicks. The service helps you prove invalid traffic, not fix campaign performance.

Also note: not every bad lead is a bot. A weak campaign can attract real people who are not ready to buy. Treating every unresponsive contact as fraud can exclude a valuable audience. The source material advises starting with a structured audit comparing ad-platform data, website sessions, and CRM outcomes before changing targeting or filing a refund claim.

Finally, the refund itself depends on Google and Meta approving the claim. BotRefund supplies the proof and negotiates, but the platform's billing dispute process must accept the claim.

BotRefund for affiliate commissions

If you run an affiliate program, the same platform can protect your payouts. Most affiliate fraud happens after the click — real sessions where an affiliate manipulates the attribution path in the final seconds before conversion. BotRefund looks for three patterns normal click-level tools often pass as clean:

• Last-click hijacking — a redirect or cookie dropped in the final seconds steals credit
• Cookie stuffing — tracking cookies placed silently with no real referral
• Coupon extension overwrites — browser extensions inject affiliate cookies at purchase time

For each payout cycle, you get a report scoring every conversion as Approve, Review, Hold, or Reject, with an evidence dashboard your finance and affiliate teams can use to decline payouts with confidence.

FAQ

Do I need to connect my ad platform to start?

No. You can start without platform integrations. BotRefund reads UTM and click IDs from your traffic. For exact payout reconciliation you upload a payout CSV or connect your affiliate platform later.

How much does BotRefund cost?

The pricing page is available on botrefund.com with a range selector from under $10,000/month to over $1M/month of ad spend. The free bot audit requires no credit card, so you can test before committing.

How long does setup take?

Adding the tracking script takes about one minute. Your free bot audit starts right after that.

Will BotRefund get my money back automatically?

No. BotRefund detects bots, proves them, and negotiates with Google and Meta. The platform's refund approval process still applies, and you send the export report to your account rep as evidence.

Can I use BotRefund for Meta ads too?

Yes. The service covers Google and Meta ad spend, and there are resources on Meta Ads invalid traffic covering lead quality and investigation workflows.

Does BotRefund work for affiliate fraud, not just ad clicks?

Yes. Affiliate Payout Protection audits every conversion and tells you which commissions to approve, hold, or reject before you pay.

What if I have a small ad budget?

The spend range selector starts below $10,000/month, so smaller advertisers are covered. The free audit lets you see evidence before deciding.