Invalid Traffic
Non-human or fraudulent ad traffic that doesn't represent genuine user engagement, classified as general (GIVT) or sophisticated (SIVT).
What Invalid Traffic means
Invalid traffic (IVT) refers to any ad traffic that is not generated by genuine human users with real interest. The Media Rating Council classifies IVT into two categories: General Invalid Traffic (GIVT) — easily detectable through routine methods (known bots, data center traffic, crawlers) — and Sophisticated Invalid Traffic (SIVT) — requiring advanced detection (hijacked devices, ad injection, cookie stuffing). IVT affects all advertising metrics, wastes budgets, and distorts campaign optimization. Platforms filter IVT through pre-bid and post-bid detection, and may provide credits for detected invalid traffic. The TAG (Trustworthy Accountability Group) Certified Against Fraud program provides industry certification for IVT prevention. Advertisers should monitor for IVT indicators including abnormal CTR patterns, high impression-to-conversion ratios, and traffic from unexpected geolocations.
Related terms
Ad Fraud
Fraudulent activity that manipulates ad delivery, clicks, or conversions to generate illegitimate revenue or inflate metrics.
Click Fraud
The practice of generating fake or invalid clicks on ads to drain an advertiser's budget or inflate publisher revenue.
Impression Fraud
Artificially generating fake ad views to inflate metrics or defraud advertisers in CPM-based campaigns.
Brand Safety
Measures taken to ensure ads do not appear alongside harmful, offensive, or inappropriate content that could damage brand reputation.