If you’ve been running Google Ads campaigns and noticed an increase in spammy or irrelevant form submissions, you’re not alone. Many businesses face this issue, especially with automated campaign types like Performance Max (PMAX). These campaigns are designed to optimise for conversions, but the downside can be an influx of low-quality leads, including those generated by bots.
So, how can you effectively combat this form spam without compromising the quality of your campaigns? Let’s explore what might be causing the issue, why these bots are created, and the actionable steps you can take to resolve it.
Why Are You Seeing Form Spam?
There’s no denying that Google’s machine learning is powerful, but sometimes it casts too wide a net. Bots, low-intent users, and even accidental form submissions can slip through, resulting in leads that are not only irrelevant but time-wasting.
But why are bots filling out your forms in the first place? Here are some of the most common reasons:
Why People Create Bots: Their Purpose
- Data Scraping:
Many bots are designed to scrape data from websites. They automatically fill out forms in an attempt to harvest email addresses, phone numbers, or other sensitive information. This data can then be used for malicious purposes, such as sending spam or even identity theft.
- Lead Fraud:
Another common reason bots are created is to commit lead fraud. Fraudsters use bots to submit fake leads through advertising campaigns, often to manipulate performance metrics or claim incentives, such as affiliate commissions or rewards for lead generation. This can waste your advertising budget and clutter your CRM with fake contacts.
- Testing Security Vulnerabilities:
Some bots are created by hackers to probe your website’s security. These bots repeatedly submit forms to test if your system has any weaknesses, looking for ways to exploit vulnerabilities for malicious activities.
While these bots serve different purposes, the end result is the same for your business: wasted time, skewed campaign data, and potentially even financial loss.
Three Key Actions to Reduce Form Spam
Rather than letting your team sort through piles of irrelevant submissions, there are three effective methods to help reduce form spam and improve the quality of your leads.
- Honeypot Form Fields: A Smart, User-Friendly Fix
The honeypot field technique is a simple but highly effective way to block bots without disrupting the user experience. Unlike CAPTCHA, which can be intrusive and lead to drop-offs, honeypots are invisible to human users but highly effective at catching bots. Here’s how they work:
- A hidden field is added to your form that real users won’t see, but bots will.
- When a bot fills out this hidden field, the form submission is automatically rejected, preventing spammy submissions from reaching your inbox.
This method is a low-friction solution that allows you to quietly filter out unwanted submissions, all while maintaining a seamless experience for legitimate users. Implementing honeypot fields will require some developer time, but the long-term benefits of reduced spam are well worth the investment.
- CAPTCHA: A Strong, Visible Barrier Against Bots
While honeypot fields work in the background, CAPTCHA provides a more visible layer of protection. CAPTCHA prompts users to complete a simple task, such as selecting images or solving a puzzle, to prove they are human. Here’s how CAPTCHA helps:
- It adds an extra layer of security, ensuring that bots cannot complete the form submission process.
- CAPTCHA can be highly effective on forms that are frequently targeted by bots, such as contact or lead generation forms.
Although CAPTCHA may add a slight barrier for genuine users, it’s a strong tool for preventing spam submissions on forms that are particularly vulnerable.
- Customer Match Lists: Targeting the Right Users
If you want to reduce irrelevant traffic at the source, refining your Google Ads targeting using Customer Match lists is a great approach. By uploading the email addresses of your best customers or strong leads, you can create lookalike audiences that closely resemble the people who are most likely to convert. Here’s why it helps:
- Instead of using generic lead lists, which may include low-quality or irrelevant traffic, you can focus on creating audiences based on people who have either purchased from you or shown strong intent to buy.
- This more targeted approach ensures that the traffic you get is more likely to engage with your brand meaningfully, reducing the chance of bots or spammy form submissions.
To start, you’ll need to export your purchaser and strong lead data (for example, from HubSpot) and upload it into Google Ads. From there, Google will create a lookalike audience to help you attract more relevant, high-quality traffic.
Additional Ways to Protect Your Forms
The above strategies will significantly reduce spam form submissions, but there are other actions you can take to further safeguard your campaigns:
- Track Submission Sources: By using tools like Google Analytics, you can monitor where your form submissions are coming from and identify if certain sources are generating spammy submissions.
- IP and Placement Exclusions: If you find that certain IP addresses or websites are responsible for low-quality leads or bot traffic, you can exclude these from your campaigns.
Make Your Google Ads an Investment, Not a Donation
Spammy form submissions aren’t just an annoyance; they’re costing you money. Every fake lead generated by a bot or a low-quality user represents budget spent with no return. The more spammy submissions you receive, the more of your ad budget is essentially being wasted. By taking these steps to reduce form spam, you’ll ensure your Google Ads campaigns remain an investment in your business, not a donation to Google.
Partner with Experts to Eliminate Form Spam
At Rankfresh, we specialise in optimising Google Ads campaigns to ensure you’re attracting high-quality traffic that converts. If you’re struggling with form spam or need help refining your ads strategy, get in touch with us today. Our team of experts is ready to support you in driving better results, improving lead quality, and making sure your advertising spend goes further.
