The importance of ad verification has never been as evident as recently. Forbes reports that ad fraud resulted in over 84 billion in losses in 2023, making ad fraud among the most profitable crime methods. From click farms to ad stacking, the challenges for ad verification companies are numerous.

Fraudsters use IP blocking to mask ad fraud, so there's a need for ad verification proxies to get unblocked IP addresses. In this article, you'll learn how to spot fraudulent ads and use rotating residential proxies to trick the tricksters.

What is Ad Verification?

The ad verification process ensures that the displayed advertisements meet the agreed terms. Scammers make money by faking to display ads in more expensive regions, using them for fraudulent redirects, stacking one on top of the other to maximize impressions, and faking them. Ad verification companies protect from such criminal activities.

It involves ensuring that the ad is visible to target audiences at least 50% of its whole duration. Ad verification identifies fraudulent clicks that increase the prices for the advertiser, often done via botnets. Checking the ad content and placement is paramount for brand safety, as well as ensuring it meets the quality demands. In the worst-case scenario, cybercriminals use ads to infect viewers' devices with malware, called malvertising.

The Role of Proxies in Ad Verification

Ad verification proxies enhance the process in several ways. Because ad fraud scammers want to remain undetected for as long as possible, they implement anti-detection systems. Ad verification companies use proxies to bypass these restrictions and continue ad verification without blocks and bans. Let's go over ad verification proxies benefits in more detail.

Overcoming Geo-Restrictions with Proxies

Some ads locations are more expensive than others. Suppose you have ordered costly ad time for your shop in New York during the holidays. You want to be sure that your ads are displayed for the whole duration at the chosen location. However, fraudsters can s*poof ad locations to provide you with false visibility* and impression data to inflate the prices.

You can use proxies for ad verification to inspect whether your ads are placed at the requested location. You can use a proxy network to switch between geographical regions to get local IP addresses, then go to the ad hosting website. This way, you can check ad placement on websites that would otherwise be inaccessible from your geographical location.

Simulating User Behavior for Accurate Ad Delivery

Proxies for ad verification are essential to simulate user behavior whenever that's required. Ad verification companies use proxies to test ads in different geographical locations, as explained in the section above. Simultaneously, via proxies, they can simulate user interaction with ads to inspect fake redirects and double-check ad placement and visibility.

In this case, residential proxies play a crucial part because they are nearly indistinguishable from genuine user traffic. Ad verification residential proxies give access to a vast number of residential IPs to verify multiple ads simultaneously without risking detection and bans.

Protecting Against Ad Fraud

Generally, residential proxies are the best for ad verification. A residential proxy uses another person's device and gets IP addresses from a local internet service provider, so it's best at original IP masking. What's more, proxies for ad verification can rotate IPs to inspect multiple ads while disguising the activities at the same time. Combine it with geolocation spoofing and you will quickly notice that residential proxies are invaluable for ad verification.

Types of Proxies Used in Ad Verification

There are several proxies for ad verification types, and the best one depends on your requirements. Residential proxies are among the most popular for ad verification, followed by datacenter and mobile proxies. Let's take a closer look.

Residential Proxies

A residential proxy uses residential IP addresses and provides an extra layer of online anonymity. Residential proxies excel at bypassing geo-blocks because they make user traffic appear as originating from a different country. These ad verification proxies will get the job done whenever you require to simulate genuine user behavior, so you can check ads on foreign social networks or retail sites that require user action.

Datacenter Proxies

Datacenter proxies outperform residential proxies in terms of connection speed, uptime, and costs, at the expense of online privacy features. Because their IP addresses come from data centers, they are easily identifiable and have a higher chance of being blocked.

However, ad verification is not only about ad fraud. Sometimes, you may want to collect relevant data to optimize future ad campaigns. In this case, datacenter proxies for ad verification are a low-cost solution with speed and availability benefits.

Mobile Proxies

As you might have guessed, mobile proxies are excellent for the ad verification process on mobile platforms. The smartphone is a real game changer for marketing specialists, as smartphones bring internet access wherever the consumer travels. Naturally, this makes the mobile ads business extremely profitable.

Ad verification companies use mobile proxies to test ads in mobile environments. They utilize mobile IP addresses to simulate realistic mobile behavior, which is perfect for testing ad location accuracy. Although pricier than datacenter or ad verification residential proxies, they provide the best privacy protection features of all three.

How to Choose the Right Proxy for Ad Verification

Although you may sometimes require a different proxy network, most of the time, a residential proxy works best. Begin with these steps to pick the suitable proxy for your needs:

Proxy Type

Choose between residential, mobile, or datacenter proxies using the benefits listed above. Ad verification companies most often rely on residential proxies, but you can save money by choosing a datacenter solution whenever online privacy is secondary. Opt for mobile proxy servers whenever you need to verify ads in a mobile environment.

Server Locations

The worldwide server spread is one of the most important criteria for ad verification. This is especially relevant for global brands that require verifying ads in different countries. Make sure your proxy service provider has servers in all your targeted destinations and offers state or city-level targeting as a beneficial bonus.

Proxy Pool and Pricing

Although you may not require millions of IPs to verify ads, a large proxy server network is paramount for speed and uptime. It ensures you always find a working proxy server that is not overcrowded and can rotate between IPs with ease. With so many proxy services to choose from, double-check that you get access to a scalable proxy pool at affordable prices.

At MarsProxies, awarded the best proxy service of 2024 by PCMag, we offer servers in 195 worldwide locations, with precise (city-level) geotargeting, custom IP rotation (from 1 second to 7 days), and non-expiring traffic for our residential proxies.

We also offer ISP and datacenter proxies with great performance, fully customizable plans, and unlimited traffic. Last but not least, our mobile proxies also offer unlimited traffic with custom rotation options and daily, weekly, and monthly plan options. Whenever picking a suitable proxy service for ad verification, consider all these features according to your business needs.

Best Practices for Using Proxies in Ad Verification

After you've got your requirements figured out and explored the various proxy types, here are three quick tips for using proxies in ad verification.

Setting Up Proxies for Effective Ad Verification

Firstly, subscribe only to a reliable proxy service provider, which will ensure a pool of ready-to-go IP addresses, ethical IP sourcing, and sufficient worldwide server spread. Identify which locations you will be verifying ads in and test acquired proxies there. Set up your network to work via a proxy connection before deploying it to use.

Importance of Rotating IPs and Avoiding Detection

Fraudsters do their best to remain undetected and use IP blocks to hide their scams from ad verification companies. In this case, make sure you have rotating IPs at hand. By switching between multiple IP addresses, you can verify dozens of ads simultaneously while avoiding detection.

Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

If you notice errors in the verification process, make sure your proxy is performing as it should. Firstly, double-check the connection speed, as overloaded proxy servers will fail to connect to ad-hosting websites. Your proxy service provider should also offer fresh servers with excellent IP trust scores to avoid captchas and detection. Lastly, don't use the same proxy server to verify too many ads, as it can get banned from the ad hosting platform.

Last Words

This sums up the basics of proxies for ad verification. By now, you should know whether you require one and how to choose the correct proxy type. The use-case capabilities will expand the more proxy experience you get, and you will be able to write custom scripts to verify ads in different platforms and geographical locations.