# What is IP usage

IP usage shows what kind of network each ad click came from: Consumer, Corporate, Hosting or Reserved, or a dash when no type is known. Add it as a dimension in Analytics to see where bad traffic comes from. Hosting traffic comes from data centers and is almost always bad.

Source: https://www.clickguard.com/help/glossary/what-is-ip-usage
Published: 2026-10-13
Updated: 2026-10-13
Author: Nikola Pejic

IP usage shows what type of network each of your ad clicks came from. Use it to spot where bad traffic is coming from.

-   **Where to find it:** in the **Dimensional analysis** table in Analytics, click **Add dimension** and select **IP usage**.
-   **Why it matters:** traffic from some network types, especially Hosting, is far more likely to be bad traffic.

## IP usage values

There are four types, plus a dash for clicks with no type.

| Value | What it means |
| --- | --- |
| **Consumer** | A home or mobile internet connection from a regular ISP |
| **Corporate** | A business or organization network |
| **Hosting** | A data center, cloud server or hosting provider. Real users rarely click ads from here, so bad traffic rates are usually near 100%. |
| **Reserved** | The IP is reserved by its internet provider for a specific use, such as consumer or data center |
| **– (dash)** | No network type is available for that IP |

## Reserved vs dash

Both labels come from ClickGuard's IP intelligence data, but they mean different things.

-   **Reserved** is a known network type. The IP is set aside by its internet provider.
-   **– (dash)** means there's no network type for that IP, so the field is left blank.

## Reading the numbers

Reserved and dash rows usually hold very few clicks, so their rates swing to extremes.

-   For example, in a Performance Max campaign: dash has 3 clicks at 0.0% bad traffic, and Reserved has 2 clicks at 100.0% with 2 sources blocked.
-   A 100% or 0% rate on a handful of clicks is not a trend. Judge by click volume first.
-   Focus on the Consumer, Corporate and Hosting rows. They carry almost all traffic.

## FAQ

### Why do I see a dash (–) instead of a type?

There's no network type for that IP. This affects a very small share of clicks.

### Is Reserved traffic bad?

Not by itself. Check the click count first. Small rows can show 0% or 100% from just a few clicks.

### Why is Hosting traffic almost always blocked?

Hosting IPs belong to data centers and cloud servers. Real customers rarely click ads from them, so they're a strong sign of bots.

See also: [What are IPs and IP ranges](https://www.clickguard.com/help/glossary/what-are-ips-and-ip-ranges).

## Related articles

- [What are IPs and IP ranges](https://www.clickguard.com/help/glossary/what-are-ips-and-ip-ranges.md)