Ad fraud has reached epidemic proportions. According to the latest research, fraudulent traffic and fake clicks will cost businesses a staggering $120 billion in 2024 alone. Considering that digital ad spending is forecast to exceed $600 billion this year, that means about $1 out of every $5 spent on advertising will be wasted or stolen.
Ad verification is one of the most effective ways to combat this rampant fraud and protect your ad budget. By using specialized tools and services, you can detect invalid traffic, block fraudulent clicks, and ensure your ads are being seen by real people in the intended locations.
However, scammers employ increasingly sophisticated techniques to avoid detection, such as blocking or misdirecting verification bots. That‘s where proxies come in. High-quality proxy servers allow you to bypass anti-fraud measures, check for suspicious redirects, and view ads from different geographic locations. Essentially, they enable you to see exactly what the end user sees.
In this in-depth guide, we‘ll explain exactly how proxies support ad verification, what to look for in a provider, and reveal the top 7 proxy services for the job based on our latest tests and research.
How Proxies Assist Ad Verification
Ad verification tools work by sending bots to visit the websites and apps where your ads appear. These bots simulate real users, allowing you to record and analyze the entire delivery path, from first click through to the final destination. Proxies enable several key aspects of this process:
1. Bypass Anti-Botting Measures
Scammers often try to block or misdirect ad verification bots, especially those from known providers. They use methods like IP blacklisting, CAPTCHAs, and browser fingerprinting to avoid getting caught.
Proxies, especially residential proxies, make your verification bots appear to be regular users. Each connection comes from a real device on a real network, making them extremely difficult to detect and block.
2. Check Ad Redirection Paths
One of the most common fraud techniques is URL hijacking. Scammers buy cheap ad inventory on low-quality sites, then redirect anyone who clicks to completely different (and often malicious) destinations. Meanwhile, the fraudsters pocket the difference in ad revenue.
With proxies, you can track and analyze every hop and redirect between the initial click and final landing page. Any suspicious diversions will be exposed.
3. View Ads from Different Locations
Another prevalent tactic is to steal ad revenue from high CPM regions like the US and target those ads to users in developing countries. The advertiser ends up paying premium prices for bot traffic or cheap clicks from the wrong locations.
Proxies allow you to route your verification checks through IPs in various countries, states, and even cities. This way you can confirm ads are being displayed in the proper geographic regions to real users.
How to Choose the Best Proxies for Ad Verification
With so many proxy providers on the market, it can be a challenge to determine which ones are best suited for ad fraud detection and prevention. Here are the key criteria to consider:
Residential IP Addresses
You might be tempted to use cheap datacenter proxies, but we strongly advise against that. Anti-fraud solutions are looking for datacenter IPs as a sign of automated traffic. Residential proxies, which come from real users‘ devices, are far more reliable and effective.
Extensive Locations and Granular Targeting
Look for providers that offer proxies in all the regions you are advertising in. Ideally, they should support city and even carrier targeting for the most precise verification. The more locations, the better.
Proxy Pool Size and Quality
Generally speaking, the larger the proxy pool, the easier it is to rotate the IPs and avoid detection. A mix of 3G/4G mobile, broadband, and Wi-Fi connections indicates good diversity and high quality.
Rotation and Concurrency
The ability to change IP addresses frequently is essential. Go for providers that allow rotating IPs every request. You may also want to connect multiple IPs at once for faster verification, so generous concurrency limits are a plus.
Pricing and Bandwidth
Ad verification can be quite traffic intensive. Depending on the size of your campaigns, you could easily use up dozens of GB per month. Pay close attention to the pricing model, bandwidth allowances, and rates for each provider. Ideally find one that scales to your needs.
Top 7 Proxy Providers for Ad Verification
Based on our in-depth performance tests, interviews with ad tech professionals, and aggregated customer reviews, these are the best proxy services for ad fraud detection and prevention:
1. Bright Data – The gold standard for ad verification proxies. With over 72 million ethically-sourced residential IPs, Bright Data has the most extensive proxy network on the market. You get access to every country in the world, with precision targeting options down to the city and carrier level. Their powerful infrastructure ensures elite speeds and success rates. The intuitive browser extension and robust API makes integration a breeze. Pricing starts at $7.50/GB for small volumes, with significant discounts for enterprise plans.
2. IPRoyal – A great option if you need quality, affordable residential proxies for ad verification. IPRoyal offers proxies from 190+ countries, with city-level targeting in 8 markets. Their residential pool contains over 190,000 IPs, and they claim 99.9% uptime. Performance is very reliable, with average success rates of 90% in our testing. Costs just $7/GB for residential proxies or $160/month for an enterprise plan with 20 GB included. Great customer support too. Use code PROXYWAY30 for a 30% discount.
3. Proxy-Seller – Another cost-efficient provider for ad verification tasks. Proxy-Seller maintains a sizable residential proxy pool with 99% uptime. You can select proxies from any country and target over 20,000 cities worldwide. Their proxies return a very clean browser fingerprint resistant to blocking. Bandwidth ranges from 10-1000 GB per month with costs starting at $47/10GB. Subscriptions include access to an API, browser extension, and reliable 24/7 support.
4. SOAX – Known for their excellent location coverage and advanced filtering options. SOAX has over 8.5 million residential proxies across 150+ countries. You can target any city in their network, plus filter by ASN and device type for a small additional fee. Their proxies are fast and stable, with success rates above 90% on most ad verification sites. Plans start at $99/month for 15 GB of traffic and include API access. Use promo code proxyway for 20% off the first month.
5. Smartproxy – A smart choice for quality proxies on a tighter budget. Smartproxy offers over 40 million residential IPs from 195 countries and 8 major cities. Speeds are solid and success rates are consistently high. The user dashboard is very intuitive and they have excellent customer support. Starts at just $7.20/GB with volume discounts available. Integrates with all the top ad verification platforms. Use the code smart-friend-f21fr for a 20% recurring discount.
6. Proxy-Cheap – Don‘t let the name fool you, this provider has an impressive network for ad verification. Proxy-Cheap has over 8 million residential proxies sourced from real users in 190+ countries. You can target IPs by country, state, and city in many major markets. Proxies refresh every 5 minutes by default to avoid detection. Pricing is extremely affordable starting at $26/5GB or $150/40GB with rollover data. All plans include API access and 24/7 live chat support.
7. HydraProxy – A newer entrant focused on ethical, high-performance residential proxies. HydraProxy obtains all their IPs with informed user consent, so you can verify ads with a clean conscience. Their network spans 150 countries with advanced filtering by city, region, and ISP/ASN. Proxies are fast with an average success rate of 95% in our tests. Plans include API access and simple pricing from $7.50/GB. A solid choice for small to mid-size ad verification projects.
Setting Up Proxies for Ad Verification
Once you‘ve chosen a provider, integrating proxies into your ad verification workflow is quite straightforward. Most services offer a few common connection methods:
Proxy Gateway – The easiest option. Just route your verification tool or script‘s traffic through the provider‘s gateway address and port using the supplied username/password or access token. No additional setup required.
Browser Extension – Many providers offer a Chrome/Firefox extension that tunnels your browser traffic through their proxies. Simply install the add-on, log in, and select your target location. Great for manual verification checks.
API – For more technical users and enterprise clients. Proxy APIs allow you to automate the proxy configuration process and manage large volumes of connections programmatically. Typically involves generating and refreshing access tokens.
Whichever integration method you choose, be sure to follow best practices like:
- Rotating IPs every 1-5 minutes
- Delaying requests by ~1 sec to imitate human behavior
- Clearing cookies and caches between sessions
- Adding randomness to user agents and fingerprint headers
This will keep your ad verification checks running smoothly and stealthily.
Final Thoughts
Ad fraud is a multi-billion dollar problem that impacts every company engaged in digital marketing. Detecting fake clicks and invalid traffic is a never-ending battle, as scammers continuously adapt their techniques.
Proxies are an essential tool in this fight, allowing you to see exactly what users see and identify fraud before it wastes your budget. When choosing a provider for ad verification, prioritize residential IPs, location targeting, proxy volume, and rotation options.
Our top recommendations are Bright Data for the ultimate enterprise solution, IPRoyal and Smartproxy for an ideal balance of performance and price, and SOAX / Proxy-Seller / Proxy-Cheap for targeted affordable alternatives. With the right proxies powering your verification stack, you can minimize fraud and maximize your marketing ROI.
