Seatext library / BotRefund evidence
How to Use BotRefund to Get a Free Bot Audit: Step-by-Step Process
BotRefund offers a free bot audit that installs a lightweight script on your site, collects behavioral and technical signals from paid traffic, and delivers a report formatted for Google and Meta refund claims. You...
✓ Built for advertisers who need clear, refund-ready traffic evidence.
To get a free bot audit from BotRefund, you create an account, add their tracking code to your landing pages, and let the system observe live traffic from your Google and Meta campaigns. The audit runs automatically, analyzing over 100 behavioral, browser, hardware, network, and attribution signals per session. When enough data is collected, you receive a refund-ready report that includes click IDs, campaign details, timestamps, session recordings, and a signal-by-signal explanation formatted for platform review teams.
What the free BotRefund audit covers
The free audit examines every paid session that reaches your site after a Google or Meta click. It does not rely on IP lists or user-agent strings alone. Instead, it runs 106 independent client-side checks — such as scrollbar width consistency, clean context iframe behavior, pointer tremor, input speed, and grid-aligned movement — to build a corroborated picture of whether a visitor is human or automated. Each check contributes one piece of evidence; the final verdict comes from an AI model that weighs the complete pattern across browser, network, device, and behavior data. BotRefund states this approach reaches 99% confidence when the session evidence supports it.
The audit also preserves attribution. It captures the click identifier (GCLID for Google, fbclid for Meta), campaign, ad set, creative, placement, and timestamp so that any invalid traffic finding can be tied directly to the paid click that brought the visitor. This attribution layer is what allows the report to be submitted to Google and Meta in the format their reviewers expect.
Prerequisites before you start
- Active paid campaigns on Google Ads or Meta Ads (Facebook/Instagram) sending traffic to a website you control.
- Ability to add JavaScript to the landing page or site header. The snippet is lightweight and loads asynchronously.
- Admin access to the ad accounts if you later want to file a refund claim, because the claim must be submitted from the account that incurred the spend.
- Conversion events configured in the ad platforms (lead forms, purchases, sign-ups) so the audit can correlate bot signals with conversion outcomes.
If you run campaigns through an agency, coordinate with them so the tracking code is placed on the correct pages and the audit report is shared with the team that manages refund requests.
Step-by-step: how to request and run the free audit
- Visit the BotRefund site and click "Get free bot audit." The call-to-action appears on the homepage, blog posts, and detection documentation pages.
- Create an account. You'll provide an email and set a password. No credit card is required for the free audit tier.
- Add your domain. Enter the website URL where your paid traffic lands. BotRefund will generate a unique tracking snippet for that domain.
- Install the snippet. Paste the JavaScript into the
<head>of your landing page or site-wide header. The script loads asynchronously and does not block page rendering. - Verify installation. In the BotRefund dashboard, confirm the script is firing by visiting your own landing page with a test click (or using the platform's verification tool). You should see your test session appear in the live view.
- Let traffic accumulate. Run your campaigns normally. The audit needs a representative sample of paid sessions. For most advertisers, a few days to a week provides enough data, depending on volume.
- Receive the audit report. BotRefund processes the collected sessions and delivers a report that lists each flagged session with click ID, campaign metadata, timestamps, session recording, and the specific signals that contributed to the bot classification.
What happens after you install the tracking code
Once the snippet is live, BotRefund begins evaluating every session that arrives with a paid click parameter. For each session it records:
- Browser and device fingerprints (canvas, WebGL, audio context, font enumeration, etc.)
- Network context (IP reputation, data center vs. residential, VPN/proxy indicators)
- Behavioral signals (mouse movement, scroll depth, click timing, form interaction patterns, session duration)
- Evasion checks (debugger detection, automation framework artifacts, iframe context consistency)
Each signal is scored independently. A single anomaly — such as a missing scrollbar width variation — does not trigger a bot verdict. The system cross-checks every signal against the others and feeds the full pattern into its prediction model. Only when multiple independent signals align does the session receive a high-confidence bot classification. This corroboration approach is why BotRefund cites 99% confidence in the traffic it flags.
During the audit period you can watch sessions populate in the dashboard. The live view shows session status (human, suspicious, bot), the click ID, campaign, and a replay link. This transparency lets you spot placement-level spikes or creative-level quality differences before the final report arrives.
Reading the audit report: signals and confidence levels
The final report groups sessions by classification and provides a summary table:
- Human sessions — normal behavioral variance, no correlated anomalies.
- Suspicious sessions — one or two signals out of range but insufficient corroboration for a bot verdict. These are flagged for review but not included in refund claims.
- Bot sessions — multiple independent signals align (e.g., superhuman input speed <1ms, linear pointer paths, no scroll engagement, data center IP, automation framework leak). Each bot session includes a signal-by-signal breakdown explaining why it was classified as automated.
The report also aggregates findings by campaign, ad set, creative, placement, and device. This lets you see, for example, that 27% of clicks from Audience Network placements were bots while Search placements showed 3%. You can then decide whether to exclude the problematic placement, adjust targeting, or proceed with a refund claim.
From audit to refund: the evidence package Google and Meta accept
BotRefund formats the audit output into a refund-ready package that matches what Google and Meta review teams request. The package includes:
- Click IDs (GCLID/fbclid) for every flagged session
- Campaign, ad set, creative, and placement identifiers
- Timestamps with timezone
- Session recordings or reconstructed interaction timelines
- Signal-by-signal reasoning for each bot classification
- A summary of total invalid spend by campaign and date range
According to BotRefund, across 2,500+ brands audited, 83% of clients recover funds from Google and Meta using these reports. The high approval rate comes from three factors: the 99% detection confidence, the platform-ready report format, and experience negotiating claims with both platforms' review teams. BotRefund can also support the negotiation directly, providing documentation and arguments that platform reviewers need to approve the credit.
For Google Ads, the claim maps to the Invalid Activity Credit system. For Meta, it maps to the Invalid Traffic refund process. In both cases, the platform's automated systems catch some invalid traffic automatically, but the audit surfaces additional bot clicks that the platform missed — especially advanced botnets using residential proxies and behavioral mimicry that evade server-side filters.
Limitations and when the free audit may not be enough
- Traffic volume matters. Very low-spend campaigns may not generate enough sessions for a statistically meaningful audit within the free tier's observation window.
- Server-side only campaigns. If you use server-side conversion APIs without client-side pixel fires, the audit cannot observe the browser session. BotRefund requires the visitor to load the page with the snippet installed.
- Non-Google/Meta channels. The free audit is optimized for Google and Meta paid traffic. Other ad platforms (TikTok, LinkedIn, Twitter/X) may not pass click identifiers in a format the system can attribute.
- Privacy tools and corporate networks. Legitimate users on strict corporate proxies, VPNs, or privacy browsers can trigger individual signals. The cross-checking model reduces false positives, but edge cases exist. The report marks these as "suspicious" rather than "bot" so you can review them manually.
- Refund approval is not guaranteed. Google and Meta make the final decision. BotRefund's 83% recovery rate is an aggregate across clients; individual outcomes depend on the platform's review, the strength of the evidence, and the specific policy interpretation at the time of claim.
Key facts at a glance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Free audit trigger | Click "Get free bot audit" on botrefund.com, create account, install snippet |
| Signals analyzed | 106 independent client-side checks (behavioral, browser, hardware, network, attribution) |
| Detection confidence | 99% when session evidence supports it (corroborated multi-signal model) |
| Attribution captured | GCLID, fbclid, campaign, ad set, creative, placement, timestamp |
| Report format | Refund-ready: click IDs, session recordings, signal-by-signal reasoning, spend summary |
| Client recovery rate | 83% of 2,500+ audited brands recovered funds from Google and Meta |
| Case study example | FinTrust neobank recovered $140,000 (14% of ad spend refunded), +18% conversion rate |
| Free tier scope | Audit only; ongoing protection and claim negotiation are paid features |
Frequently asked questions
How long does the free audit take to complete?
It depends on your paid traffic volume. Most advertisers see a usable report within 3–7 days. High-volume accounts may have enough data in 24–48 hours. The dashboard shows live session counts so you can gauge progress.
Do I need to pause my campaigns during the audit?
No. Run campaigns normally. The audit observes live traffic without interfering. Pausing would reduce the sample size and could hide placement-level patterns that only appear at scale.
Can I use the free audit report to file a refund claim myself?
Yes. The report is formatted for Google and Meta review teams. You can submit it through each platform's invalid traffic / invalid activity claim flow. BotRefund also offers managed claim support as a paid service if you prefer not to handle the back-and-forth.
What if the audit finds very little bot traffic?
That is a valid outcome. It means your paid traffic is largely human. You still gain a baseline measurement and the confidence that your conversion data is not being poisoned by automation. No refund claim is needed in that case.
Does the tracking snippet affect page speed or Core Web Vitals?
The snippet loads asynchronously and is designed to be lightweight. BotRefund states it does not block rendering. Most sites see no measurable impact on LCP, FID, or CLS.
Can I run the audit on a staging or development site?
The audit requires real paid clicks with valid click identifiers. Staging environments typically do not receive Google or Meta paid traffic, so the audit would have no sessions to analyze. Install on the production landing pages that receive ad clicks.
What happens after the free audit ends?
You keep the report and can act on its findings (exclude placements, adjust targeting, file claims). If you want continuous monitoring, real-time suppression of bot conversion signals, and ongoing claim support, BotRefund offers paid plans. The free audit is a one-time snapshot.
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