I've had a copule clients recently complaining about receiving SPAM leads from Google Ads. These are basically people submitting their websites web form with a solicitation message. Obviously, this is not what my clients want. They want real leads, which they are also receiving but they "don't want to be paying for SPAM leads".

Is there anything you can do about them?

First off, there's usually no proof that these SPAM leads came from Google Ads and not some other traffic source like organic Google. Of course, if the SPAM lead comes in from a landing page you're only using for Google Ads, then it's pretty clear that one came from Google Ads.

Unfortunately, if the spammer is performing a similar search as your potential customer like "blue widgets near me" to find you and spam your inbox, I'm afraid there's little one can do to eliminate these SPAM leads without also reducing the # of potential real leads they get.

If you're advertising on Google Search Partners in addition to the Google.com Search Results, I find this tends to generate more SPAM leads for whatever reason. Not always, but it can be a potential source.

Setting up offline conversion tracking can also help you to optimize your campaign to increase actual revenue, which means you'd be getting fewer SPAM Leads as a result. Also, with offline conversion tracking, you can then identify what your return on ad spend is on the campaign and if the campaign was generating a 5 to 1 return on ad spend or better, what's it matter if you get a few SPAM leads. It's simply a cost of doing business.

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