What Happens When IVT is Detected
What happens when IVT is detected — real-time blocking for score-1 sessions, GAM overnight revenue deductions, DSP exclusions, and when elevated IVT triggers an account review.
When invalid traffic is detected on your site, the response depends on where detection happens (client-side in real time vs. server-side during reconciliation) and the severity and persistence of the issue.
Real-time client-side detection (ADMD)
When the ADMD traffic quality monitor scores a session as high-risk (score 1):
- All ad rendering is immediately blocked for that session. GPT never fires, no impressions are recorded, and the visitor sees no ads.
- The session is counted in the "blocked" metric on your Live dashboard.
- No revenue is recorded for the session — it is as if the visitor never loaded an ad.
This is the cleanest outcome: the fraudulent session is caught before it generates any impression that could later be deducted.
Server-side detection (GAM reconciliation)
After each day closes, Google Ad Manager reviews all recorded impressions and removes those identified as IVT. The practical effects:
- Revenue deduction: Impressions removed by GAM's filter are deducted from the day's revenue. This is why revenue figures for a prior day can decrease — the day's total is revised downward by the value of deducted impressions. This is normal and expected on all publisher accounts.
- Impressions reduction: The impression count for the affected day is also reduced by the same set of removed impressions.
- Demand partner adjustments: Some DSPs perform their own post-delivery reconciliation and may issue credits to advertisers for IVT impressions they paid for. In severe cases, a DSP may exclude your domain entirely from future bidding.
Account-level consequences
Occasional IVT adjustments are expected and do not trigger any account action. Elevated IVT becomes a concern when it is persistent and beyond the expected threshold for legitimate publisher traffic:
| Scenario | Advlume response |
|---|---|
| IVT rate within normal range (<10%) | No action. Revenue deductions handled automatically by GAM. |
| Elevated IVT rate (10–30%) | Advlume compliance team may contact you to discuss traffic sources. |
| High IVT rate (>30%) or spike event | Account review. Ads may be paused on affected sites pending investigation. |
| Intentional ad fraud (incentivised clicks, injection) | Immediate account suspension. See Account Suspension & Appeals. |
What to do if you receive an IVT notice
- Check your Live dashboard for blocked session trends — are blocked sessions concentrated around a particular time or traffic source?
- Review any recently added paid traffic campaigns and pause any sources with anomalous engagement metrics.
- Reply to the Advlume notice with your findings. If the elevated IVT was caused by a specific campaign you have since paused, this context helps expedite the review.
- If you believe the detection was in error, request a manual review from your account manager.
Further reading
- Avoiding IVT on Your Site — how to prevent IVT before it occurs
- Account Suspension & Appeals — the process for reinstating a suspended account
- How Revenue is Calculated — why prior-day revenue figures can change
Last updated 2 months ago