The creator of the puzzle app Dayzle recently ran a Google Ads campaign targeting Android users with a daily budget of CA$40, aiming to drive app installs. Initially, the campaign underperformed, spending little and failing to meet the target cost per install. After removing the cost cap, spending doubled and Google reported 21 installs in one day. However, the developer’s internal analytics revealed a discrepancy: only one legitimate install was recorded, while 20 others came from devices running outdated versions of the app no longer available on the Play Store.
These installs exhibited suspicious behavior—they opened the app once, spent no time engaging, and never returned. The devices spanned 28 phone models across 19 states, but all showed identical patterns, suggesting automated activity rather than genuine users. Over two weeks, 56 installs were billed, with 33 matching this bot-like pattern, 7 from unintended countries, and only 13 installs from real users who actively played the game.
The developer suspects a bot farm exploited Google’s install-based optimization by watching short ad videos and installing the app from saved copies rather than the Play Store, a tactic that artificially inflated conversion metrics. This created a feedback loop where the campaign increasingly targeted the bot farm, wasting the advertising budget.
In response, the campaign’s goal was changed from simply opening the app to completing a puzzle, a more complex action that is harder for bots to simulate. The developer is awaiting Google’s response to a report of invalid traffic and plans to share updates on any refund.
This case highlights the challenges app developers face with ad fraud on major platforms. It underscores the importance of scrutinizing install data beyond surface metrics to ensure marketing budgets are effectively spent.