Invalid traffic (IVT) creates more than a reporting issue; it’s also a budget leak. More than half of all internet traffic today is non-human. Bots, VPNs, and residential proxies quietly distort ad performance, inflate costs, and sabotage attribution models, resulting in spending millions optimizing for traffic that never converts. Advertisers were expected to waste $70 billion on invalid traffic in 2024, up from 33% in 2022. half of all internet traffic half of all internet traffic $70 billion $70 billion The costs compound fast: inflated CPMs, wasted impressions, and misattributed conversions all drag down ROI. That’s why forward-thinking adtech and martech platforms are flipping their model: stopping IVT instead of cleaning it up. What Invalid Traffic Really Looks Like In adtech, invalid traffic refers to any impression, click, or conversion that doesn’t come from a real human user. It’s a broad category that’s quickly evolving. Once limited to obvious botnets and click farms, IVT now includes highly sophisticated sources that blend into legitimate activity: Automated bots that mimic browsing behavior, load pages, and click adsResidential proxies that make automated traffic appear to come from real householdsVPNs and anonymizers used to hide geography, identity, or device typeHosting infrastructure that runs large-scale scraping, spoofing, or ad fraud operations Automated bots that mimic browsing behavior, load pages, and click ads Residential proxies that make automated traffic appear to come from real households VPNs and anonymizers used to hide geography, identity, or device type Hosting infrastructure that runs large-scale scraping, spoofing, or ad fraud operations Why It Matters When IVT infiltrates your ad supply: CPMs rise because bots drive up competition in auctionsAttribution breaks as fake clicks and conversions distort performance dataBudgets leak toward traffic that will never convertROI falls while teams spend time optimizing for the wrong audience CPMs rise because bots drive up competition in auctions Attribution breaks as fake clicks and conversions distort performance data Budgets leak toward traffic that will never convert ROI falls while teams spend time optimizing for the wrong audience These issues result in higher costs and wasted strategy. Fraudulent impressions lead to flawed conclusions about what’s working, which channels convert, and who your audience really is. How IPinfo Stops IVT Before It Starts IPinfo’s approach is built around real-time, evidence-based IP intelligence. Instead of relying on static IP reputation lists or outdated geo-feeds, IPinfo continuously validates billions of IP addresses every day, helping platforms block non-human traffic before it ever enters their auction. Residential Proxy Detection Catch bot traffic hidden behind residential IPs, the most sophisticated (and difficult to identify) form of IVT. IPinfo’s Residential Proxy Detection data detects rotating residential proxy services that evade traditional filters. IPinfo’s Residential Proxy Detection data Hosting and VPN Detection Block or segment known bot infrastructure. IPinfo’s Privacy Detection data flags datacenter IPs, VPN providers, and Tor exit nodes so platforms can decide if and how they want to serve ads to anonymized IPs. IPinfo’s Privacy Detection data Continuously Validated Data Every data point is backed by ProbeNet, IPinfo’s internet measurement platform. With 1,200+ points of presence, 175 million daily checks, and 61 billion refreshed data points across IPv4 and IPv6 (with 100% coverage of allocated IPv6 space), IPinfo maintains the industry’s most current view of the global IP landscape. ProbeNet, IPinfo’s internet measurement platform How It Works Lightning-fast integration means minimal engineering effort: Lightning-fast integration API lookups in milliseconds for live auctionsMMDB, CSV, JSON, and Parquet downloads for custom ingestionSnowflake and BigQuery data shares for native enrichment in your cloud stack API lookups in milliseconds for live auctions MMDB, CSV, JSON, and Parquet downloads for custom ingestion Snowflake and BigQuery data shares for native enrichment in your cloud stack IPinfo’s IP enrichment can slot directly into DSPs, SSPs, attribution systems, or internal data pipelines, filtering bad traffic before it distorts campaign performance. Get even more granular context with geo confidence, accuracy radius, and last-change stability fields, revealing data reliability. Cleaner Supply, Better ROI Platforms and networks using IPinfo report: Up to 30% fewer wasted bids from invalid trafficHigher CPMs driven by trusted, verified supplyReduced post-bid disputes and smoother partner relationshipsMore accurate measurement and attribution, finally aligning spend with real users Up to 30% fewer wasted bids from invalid traffic Higher CPMs driven by trusted, verified supply Reduced post-bid disputes and smoother partner relationships More accurate measurement and attribution, finally aligning spend with real users Learn More Download our one-pager to learn more about how IPinfo pre-filters IVT, and how one adtech company saw their results transform after integrating IPinfo data. Download our one-pager Download our one-pager

This story contains new, firsthand information uncovered by the writer.

The is an opinion piece based on the author’s POV and does not necessarily reflect the views of HackerNoon.

The Hidden Cost of Invalid Traffic: Why IP Data Is the Missing Link

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