Fake Leads Flooding the Pipeline
Traffic was polluted by fake leads and conversions. Teams wasted valuable time contacting prospects that didn’t exist — draining sales resources and distorting conversion data.
Case Study · Education
ThePower Business School Saves €14K/mo by Preventing Invalid Traffic
Opticks helped the world’s fastest-growing business community reduce Google Ads invalid traffic from 17% to 5% and Facebook IVT from 4% to 1.2% — recovering €14,000 every month.
€14K/mo Savings from fraud prevention
17%→5% Google Ads IVT reduction
4%→1.2% Facebook IVT reduction
Trusted by 6,000+ businesses · €6M+ in recovered ad spend
The Client
ThePower Business School: Revolutionising Higher Education
ThePower Business School (TPBS) is the world’s fastest-growing business community. Founded in 2017 in Madrid, they revolutionise higher education by offering exclusively online programs taught by world-renowned entrepreneurs and experts — using a microlearning methodology designed for modern professionals.
With 90,000 students across 103 countries and a fully online model, their entire growth engine depends on digital advertising. Every euro spent on invalid traffic is a euro taken away from reaching real students.
Founded 2017 — headquartered in Madrid, Spain
90,000+ students across 103 countries
100% online with microlearning methodology
World-class faculty of renowned entrepreneurs and experts
The Challenge
Invalid Traffic Was Polluting Their Entire Funnel
Education is one of the most expensive sectors for online advertising — the keyword “Degree” is among the top 10 most expensive globally at $40 CPC. As a 100% online business, TPBS had no solution to detect invalid traffic, and the consequences ran deep.
Zero Visibility on Traffic Quality
Before Opticks, there was no way to measure traffic validity across sources. Campaign optimisation decisions were being made on polluted, unreliable data.
Privacy Risks & Complaints
TPBS received complaints from people who had never shared their data but were being contacted. Invalid leads created real privacy risks and potential compliance issues.
The Solution
Opticks Cleaned the Funnel and Maximised Returns
TPBS compared solutions and chose Opticks for its experience in global acquisition channels in the education sector and the quality of its services. Here is how they use the platform.
- 1
Optimising Paid Campaigns
The marketing team reviews campaign data to pause campaigns with high fraud rates. They analyse traffic by source, country, UTM, and partner — gaining granular control over spend allocation.
- 2
Converting More Quality Leads
Opticks automatically prevents invalid leads from entering the pipeline, saving the sales team hours of wasted effort contacting fake prospects and improving overall conversion rates.
- 3
Maximising Returns
Data from Opticks supports decisions on which channels, campaigns, and partners are most profitable. Budget was re-allocated away from fraudulent geographies and into high-performing channels.
“It is particularly useful to analyse not only by campaign, but also by country, specific utm, and partner.”
Andreia Robescu — Performance Analyst, ThePower Business School
Want the same visibility for your campaigns?
Get Your Free Traffic AuditThe Results
Measurable Impact Across Every Channel
€14K Monthly savings From detecting & preventing fraud
70% Google Ads IVT reduced From 17% down to 5%
70% Facebook IVT reduced From 4% down to 1.2%
55.3% Display fraud detected In highest-risk campaigns
By detecting and blocking invalid traffic, TPBS saved €14,000 per month, reduced Google Ads IVT from 17% to 5%, and cut Facebook IVT from 4% to 1.2%. The team could finally trust their data and invest with confidence.
Eliminated fake leads from the sales pipeline, saving hours of wasted follow-up.
Re-allocated budget from Display (55.3% fraud) to most profitable channels.
Explored new channels including Instagram, TikTok, audio streaming, and Connected TV.
Resolved privacy risks by stopping fraudulent leads that generated complaints.
Deep Dive
Invalid Clicks & Monthly Savings Over Time
Invalid Clicks (Google Ads) — 2022
Invalid clicks dropped sharply from 61K in February to 1K in April after Opticks deployment, then stabilised at 3–12K through November 2022.
Monthly Savings — 2022
Total monthly savings from fraud prevention, April–November 2022. Average: €14,000/month.
No credit card required · Setup in 5 minutes
What They Said
Trusted by ThePower’s Performance Team
The dashboard is very intuitive. We can retrieve the relevant data very fast, it is a real gain of time.
The Impact
From Blind Spot to Full Control
With Opticks, ThePower Business School transformed their approach to digital advertising. What was once a blind spot — invalid traffic silently draining budget — became a fully controlled, data-driven operation.
Optimised ROAS and reduced CAC. Campaigns now reach real students, improving return on ad spend and lowering customer acquisition cost.
Full visibility across all traffic sources. The team can now analyse validity by campaign, country, UTM, and partner in real time.
Privacy risks eliminated. No more complaints from people who never shared their data — only genuine leads enter the system.
New channel expansion with confidence. Clean data enabled TPBS to explore Instagram, TikTok, audio streaming, and Connected TV.
Sales team efficiency improved. No more time wasted contacting leads that don’t exist — every follow-up reaches a real prospect.
Beyond Education
Invalid Traffic Affects Every Industry Running Paid Ads
Fake leads, inflated CPAs, polluted optimisation algorithms, and wasted budgets — these patterns are consistent across every industry investing in digital advertising. What will your traffic audit reveal?
Education E-Commerce Lead Generation SaaS Financial Services Travel & Hospitality Agencies
Audit Your Traffic for FreeFrequently Asked Questions
FAQs
How does invalid traffic affect online education advertising?
Education is one of the most expensive sectors for digital advertising — keywords like “Degree” are among the top 10 most expensive globally at $40 CPC. Invalid traffic inflates costs, fills pipelines with fake leads, and distorts campaign optimisation. ThePower Business School found that 17% of their Google Ads traffic was invalid before using Opticks.
How much did ThePower Business School save with Opticks?
ThePower Business School saves €14,000 per month by detecting and preventing invalid traffic across their advertising channels. Google Ads invalid traffic was reduced from 17% to 5%, and Facebook IVT dropped from 4% to 1.2%.
Why are fake leads a problem for online schools?
Fake leads waste sales team resources — staff spend time contacting people who never existed or never submitted their data. ThePower Business School received privacy complaints from people who had never shared their information, creating compliance risks. Invalid leads also distort conversion rates, making it impossible to optimise campaigns accurately.
How long does it take to set up Opticks?
Most clients are up and running in under 5 minutes. Opticks uses a lightweight JavaScript tag that works with Google Ads, Meta Ads, Display networks, and affiliate platforms. No developer integration is required.
What types of invalid traffic does Opticks detect?
Opticks detects 30+ types of invalid traffic including bot clicks, click farms, device emulators, SDK spoofing, fake leads, and fraudulent conversions. For ThePower, Opticks detected 55.3% fraud in their Display campaigns — the highest-risk channel — and helped re-allocate budget to profitable sources.
Can Opticks help reduce customer acquisition cost (CAC)?
Yes. By removing invalid traffic from your funnel, your campaigns optimise towards real users, which directly reduces CAC and improves ROAS. ThePower Business School was able to reallocate budget from fraudulent channels to high-performing ones, and expanded into new channels including Instagram, TikTok, audio streaming, and Connected TV.
Get Started
Stop Paying for Leads That Will Never Convert
ThePower Business School reduced Google Ads invalid traffic from 17% to 5% and saves €14,000 every month. See how much of your ad spend is going to invalid traffic.
No commitment required · Results visible within days · Trusted by 6,000+ businesses