ppc cloaking

I’ve been running campaigns with Traffic Shield, but I think some real users are getting blocked. How do you fine-tune IP filtering to make sure only bots are detected?

blackhatbie said:

I’ve been running campaigns with Traffic Shield, but I think some real users are getting blocked. How do you fine-tune IP filtering to make sure only bots are detected?

Click to expand...

Had this happen before. I looked into the logs, adjusted some filters, and it’s been working well since. If you haven't yet, maybe try lowering the sensitivity a bit and see if that helps.

I’ve been using it too, and I had to whitelist a few IPs early on. Once I fine-tuned it, the false blocks stopped. It’s just a matter of some adjustments based on your traffic.

This is not an error. It can take a bit of trial and error to get it right. I had to adjust a few settings at first, but now it's filtering out the bots without blocking real visitors.

In PPC setups, it’s easy for filtering tools to get a bit too strict and accidentally flag genuine visitors. What’s helped me is reviewing analytics and server logs first before making changes. That way I can see which sources look like clear false positives and adjust from there, instead of blocking whole ranges right away and risking lost traffic.

I also try to keep everything aligned with the ad platform’s rules, because if the configuration conflicts with their policies it can cause bigger issues in the long run. Taking a gradual approach to tuning the filters has worked best for me — small adjustments, watch the data, then repeat as needed. It’s more reliable than trying to apply heavy filtering all at once.

I’ve been using it as well and had to whitelist a few IPs at the start. After some fine-tuning, the false blocks went away. It really just comes down to making a few adjustments based on your traffic.