Global digital advertisers are losing an estimated $63 billion annually to invalid traffic, according to Lunio’s 2026 Global Invalid Traffic Report.
Analysing over 2.7 billion paid ad clicks across platforms such as Google, Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn, and Bing between August 2024 and August 2025, the report reveals that 8.51% of all paid traffic is invalid, quietly eroding return on ad spend.
Invalid traffic includes bot activity, automated scraping, malicious competitor clicks, and accidental interactions.
While not always fraudulent, Invalid traffic is consistently wasteful—draining budgets, polluting analytics, and misleading automated optimisation systems.
For advertisers targeting 3–4x ROAS, even low IVT levels can translate into millions in lost revenue opportunity.
The report highlights stark platform differences.
TikTok recorded the highest Invalid traffic rate at 24.2%, followed by LinkedIn (19.88%) and X/Twitter (12.79%).
Meta performed better at 8.2%, reflecting stronger investments in fraud prevention.
In search, Google Ads outperformed Bing, with Invalid traffic rates of 7.57% versus 10.32%, though Google’s Display and Video networks showed significantly higher exposure.
Lead-generation industries—including BFSI, telecom, and education—face 32% higher Invalid traffic than eCommerce, while gaming and iGaming are most affected.
Lunio also warns that agentic AI traffic will further blur the line between genuine and synthetic engagement, making traffic quality visibility a critical competitive advantage.
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