Scores each pageview
Looks for signs of automation and unusual behaviour, then gives the visit a low, medium or high risk band.
Last reviewed
MH Shield
Stop invalid traffic before it reaches your ads.
Google can claw back earnings, limit ad serving or close an account when bots or repeated clicks reach your ads. MH Shield checks every pageview first and keeps risky visits away from your ads.
- Free for MH AdX publishers
- Set up by our team
- Available now
FreeIncluded for MH AdX publishers
3 bandsLow, medium and high risk
No cookiesAnd no IP addresses
0 installsOur team sets it up
Is it for you?
MH Shield is a good fit if
- You earn from Google Ad Manager, AdX or AdSense
- You've had an invalid-traffic warning, a deduction or an ad serving limit
- A lot of your traffic comes from social, referrals or paid campaigns
- You want protection that doesn't block real readers
How it decides
One score per pageview, before any ad loads
Every visit gets a risk band. The band decides whether ads load, wait or stay off.
Every pageview is scored before ads load
Example visitA reader from Google search scrolls through an article
Low riskAds load as normal.
Example visitA new visit that hasn't scrolled, tapped or typed yet
Medium riskAds wait for a real scroll, tap or key press.
Example visitA script loading a new page every two seconds
High riskNo ad request. Ad Manager is told the view is high risk.
The visits are examples. Real scoring looks at many signals together, never one on its own.
What it does
Protection in layers, built for publishers
Holds ads from risky visits
High-risk pageviews never request ads. Medium-risk pageviews wait for a real interaction first.
Stops click bombing
After too many ad clicks, that visitor's ads are hidden for a cooling-off period.
Works with Google Ad Manager
Passes each visit's risk band to Ad Manager, so Google demand stays away from high-risk views.
Fits your ad stack
Tunes header-bidding timeouts to each visitor's connection. MH AdX Yield Stack skips auctions for held visits.
Measure before you block
We run it in report-only mode first, so you see how your traffic splits before anything is held.
The difference
Your ads with and without MH Shield
| Situation | Typical ad setup | With MH Shield |
|---|---|---|
| When bad traffic is caught | After the ad has served. Google filters it later and can deduct the earnings. | Before the ad request, so there's nothing to deduct. |
| Repeated clicks on one ad | Every click reaches Google and adds to your invalid-click rate. | That visitor's ads are hidden for a cooling-off period. |
| Readers on shared mobile networks | IP blocklists can block real readers who share an address. | No IP addresses are used. Each pageview is scored on its own. |
| Google demand on risky views | AdX can bid on every view, bots included. | Ad Manager knows which views are high risk and keeps AdX off them. |
| Header bidding | Auctions run for bots too, and every visitor gets the same timeout. | Auctions are skipped for held visits, and timeouts fit each connection. |
Want MH Shield on your site? It's included free for MH AdX publishers. A member of our team replies personally.
Ask for MH Shield →Details
Technical details
- Works with
- Google Ad Manager, Google AdX via MCM, Prebid.js and MH AdX Yield Stack
- Signals used
- Signs of automation and unusual on-page behaviour. No IP addresses and no cookies.
- Risk bands
- Low, medium and high, set for every pageview before ads are requested
- Click protection
- Ads hidden for a cooling-off period after too many clicks
- Modes
- Report-only first, then blocking once you've seen your numbers
- Setup
- Done by the MH AdX team. Nothing for you to install or maintain.
- Price
- Included free for MH AdX publishers
- Availability
- Available now to every MH AdX publisher
What our team does
From first look to full protection
You don't install anything. Here's what we do for you.
We check your site
We look at your traffic sources and ad setup, and confirm MH Shield suits them.
A week in report-only mode
MH Shield scores every pageview without holding anything, and we go through the split with you.
Blocking goes live
We turn on blocking, set up the matching rule in your Ad Manager account and keep an eye on the numbers.
Plain-English guide
Why invalid traffic costs publishers money
Invalid traffic is any click or impression that doesn't come from a real person with real interest. Think bots, click farms, someone clicking the same ad again and again, or a visitor who was paid to load your pages. Ad platforms don't pay for it. If there's a lot of it, Google can claw back earnings, limit how many ads your site serves, or close the account.
Why filtering before the ad request matters
Most checks happen after the impression has already been counted. MH Shield works earlier: a high-risk visit never sends an ad request, so there's nothing for Google to count against you later. Google explains how it defines and handles invalid activity on its invalid traffic help page.
Only for MH AdX publishers
MH Shield isn't sold on its own and there's nothing to download. Our team switches it on for MH AdX publishers and fits it to each site's traffic. Google's key-value targeting guide explains the Ad Manager feature it uses to keep Google demand away from risky views.
Want the bigger picture? Our compliance and IVT service covers traffic sources, ads.txt and policy checks, and our guide to fixing low value content covers the content side.
Good questions
MH Shield questions
What is MH Shield?
MH Shield is invalid-traffic protection for websites. It checks each pageview before ads load and keeps bots and repeated clicks away from your ads, so that traffic isn't counted against your account.
Can I buy MH Shield on its own?
No. MH Shield is only for MH AdX publishers and isn't sold separately. It's included free, and our team switches it on for you.
Does MH Shield use cookies or IP addresses?
No. It scores each pageview from signs of automation and unusual behaviour, without IP addresses or cookies. That way visitors who share a mobile network aren't punished for each other.
Will it block real visitors?
Real visitors still see all of your content. High-risk pageviews don't request ads, and medium-risk pageviews wait for a real scroll, tap or key press before ads load. We start in report-only mode, so you see how your own traffic splits before anything is held.
How does it work with Google Ad Manager?
MH Shield tells Ad Manager the risk band of every pageview, and our team sets up your account so Google demand never sees the high-risk ones.
Does it work with header bidding?
Yes. It tunes header-bidding timeouts to each visitor's connection, and MH AdX Yield Stack skips auctions for visits MH Shield is holding.
My ad account is already limited. Will MH Shield fix it?
MH Shield stops new invalid traffic reaching your ads. To find what caused the limit in the first place, pair it with our compliance and IVT review, and we'll work through both with you.
Keep exploring
Related services
Compliance and IVT
Traffic-source checks, ads.txt and sellers.json, and policy monitoring, with MH Shield filtering on the page.
See Compliance and IVT →Website monetization
Display, video and native ads, protected from bot traffic from day one.
See Website monetization →Header bidding
Prebid with 15+ SSPs, with auctions skipped for visits MH Shield holds.
See Header bidding →