Answer
![rchen](https://data3.answerbase.com/answerbase/11352/UserFiles/User2367620/profileImage2367620.jpg?637250757530000000)
Mar 20, 2021 - 06:29 PM
I don't know what your current settings are but I had a similar issue in the past. One way to reduce this problem is to use the setting shown below i.e. "Presence: People in or regularly in your targeted locations".
The default, which you ABSOLUTELY DO NOT WANT, is the other setting "Presence or Interest: People in, regularly in, or who've shown interest in your targeted locations". Notice how it is the "recommended" option!
You see, Google takes the broadest interpretation of "...shown interest in your targeted locations" . Anyone with even a slight interest in the United States is included (80% of the world population by some estimates), even the shadiest characters lurking in the darkest corners of the web in the developing world, with no purchasing power whatsoever.
With this setting, 99% of the clicks will be from these sites because the savvy advertisers have already excluded them and so you will almost always win the click bid auction.
These are sites that would normally struggle to command even 3 cent clicks and so when you bid, say $1, thinking you are bidding on US traffic, it is like offering Wagyu beef burgers to a starving crowd. They will be gone in seconds as will your budget!
Have a professional audit your Google Ads account if you hope to make a positive return on ad spend! Rand Fishkin wrote an insightful piece about the general problem of ad fraud and questionable practices here.
![](https://data3.answerbase.com/answerbase/11352/UserFiles/Answers202103/questionImage-1-21012009.jpg)
The default, which you ABSOLUTELY DO NOT WANT, is the other setting "Presence or Interest: People in, regularly in, or who've shown interest in your targeted locations". Notice how it is the "recommended" option!
You see, Google takes the broadest interpretation of "...shown interest in your targeted locations" . Anyone with even a slight interest in the United States is included (80% of the world population by some estimates), even the shadiest characters lurking in the darkest corners of the web in the developing world, with no purchasing power whatsoever.
With this setting, 99% of the clicks will be from these sites because the savvy advertisers have already excluded them and so you will almost always win the click bid auction.
These are sites that would normally struggle to command even 3 cent clicks and so when you bid, say $1, thinking you are bidding on US traffic, it is like offering Wagyu beef burgers to a starving crowd. They will be gone in seconds as will your budget!
Have a professional audit your Google Ads account if you hope to make a positive return on ad spend! Rand Fishkin wrote an insightful piece about the general problem of ad fraud and questionable practices here.
![](https://data3.answerbase.com/answerbase/11352/UserFiles/Answers202103/questionImage-1-21012009.jpg)
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