Google Ads has its own tracking logic, quite different from social networks: auto-tagging, a two-level template system and dozens of ValueTrack parameters. Set them up correctly once, and your tracker gets the keyword, match type and network for every click, while Google gets approved conversions for its Smart Bidding strategies.
How Google Ads tracking works
A five-link chain:
- Auto-tagging adds
gclid, the click ID, to the link. - The tracking template or final URL suffix passes the campaign, ad group, ad, keyword and network to the tracker.
- The tracker records the click and sends the person to the offer with a click ID for the affiliate network.
- The postback from the network brings the lead and its status.
- Conversion import sends approved events back to Google Ads by
gclid.
gclid, wbraid, gbraid and auto-tagging
gclid (Google Click Identifier) is the click ID Google appends to the link when auto-tagging is on. You enable it in the account settings. Without it:
- you cannot upload offline conversions by click ID;
- the tracker does not get the identifier it later uses to tell Google about the lead.
For some traffic from Apple devices, wbraid and gbraid may arrive instead of gclid. Store them alongside gclid. Links from Google also carry a gad_source parameter, which is worth keeping as well.
Tip. Make sure your site or redirect does not strip «unknown» parameters. Some CMSs and caching plugins remove everything extra from the URL, and
gclidis lost before the tracker ever sees it.
Click IDs across platforms are covered in fbclid, gclid, ttclid, yclid.
Tracking template and final URL suffix
In Google Ads, parameters are not passed in the ad's URL itself but in separate fields. They can be set at the account, campaign, ad group or ad level, and the lower level overrides the higher one.
| Field | What it does | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Final URL | The landing page URL | Always; no tags |
| Final URL suffix | Appends parameters to the final URL | The tracker runs on your landing page |
| Tracking template | The URL the click passes through; {lpurl} is the final URL |
The click has to go through a tracking domain |
| Custom parameters | Your own variables like {_name} |
Your own tags that change per campaign |
If tracking runs right on your landing page, the suffix is enough:
utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign={campaignid}&utm_content={creative}&utm_term={keyword}&sub2={adgroupid}&sub3={matchtype}&sub4={network}&sub5={device}
A tracking template is needed when the click must first hit the tracker's server. Every extra hop slows down loading, so do not add one without a reason.
Custom parameters
Besides ValueTrack, Google lets you define your own variables at the campaign or ad group level, for example {_buyer} or {_offer}, and use them in the suffix:
sub6={_buyer}&sub7={_offer}
You set the variable's value once in the campaign settings, and it is filled into all of its clicks. This is handy when several buyers work in one account or one campaign leads to different offers at different times: the tracker report immediately shows whose traffic it is and which offer it went to, without tagging every ad by hand.
ValueTrack parameters for your tracker
ValueTrack parameters are Google's macros in single curly braces. The most useful ones for tracking:
| Parameter | What it inserts | Why it matters in reports |
|---|---|---|
{campaignid} |
Campaign ID | Matching with spend |
{adgroupid} |
Ad group ID | Breakdown by ad group |
{creative} |
Ad ID | Comparing ads |
{keyword} |
Keyword | Which searches make money |
{matchtype} |
Match type | Broad vs exact |
{network} |
Network | Search, search partners, Display, YouTube |
{device} |
Device type | Mobile vs desktop |
{placement} |
Display Network placement | Excluding junk sites |
{targetid} |
Targeting ID | Keyword, audience or remarketing |
{gclid} |
Click ID | If you need to pass it under your own name |
{network} and {matchtype} come as short letter codes; check the Google Ads help for what they stand for. A full breakdown of macros across platforms is in UTM parameters and macros.
Campaign type specifics
- Search: the main slices are keyword and match type.
- Display Network: the placement is how you find the sites that eat budget without conversions. Placements where almost all the traffic is bots should be excluded in Google Ads itself, so you stop paying for them.
- YouTube: some ValueTrack parameters are empty here; rely on campaign and ad group IDs.
- Performance Max: there are no keywords or placements in the usual sense, so slices are thinner. Here the main value of tracking is sending conversions back correctly.
Sending conversions to Google Ads
Smart Bidding strategies learn from conversions. If you run traffic to an affiliate network's offer, there is nowhere to put the Google tag on the «Thank you» page. The solution is offline conversion import by gclid:
- In Google Ads, you create a conversion action with «Import» as the source.
- The tracker receives the postback from the network and stores the conversion with its status.
- Conversions are uploaded to Google, via the API or as a file.
A file is the simple option, with no keys. Minimum columns: click ID, conversion name, time with time zone, value and currency. Google can fetch such a file from a URL on a schedule. A sample format and API setup are in sending conversions to ad platforms.
What to upload: the lead or the approval
- Lead: fast and plenty of events, but the strategy will also learn from junk leads.
- Approval: accurate, but delayed by the hold and lower in volume.
A common setup is two actions: the lead as a secondary conversion for observation, the approval as the primary one for bidding. Statuses are covered in lead, hold, approved, rejected.
Attribution and discrepancies with your tracker
Google and your tracker count differently, and that is normal.
| Reason | What happens |
|---|---|
| Click date | Google attributes the conversion to the click day; a late approval «adds» to past days |
| Conversion window | A conversion counts only within the window set for the action |
| Attribution model | Google may split a conversion across several of the user's clicks; the tracker ties it to one |
| «Conversions» vs «All conv.» columns | The first includes only actions used for optimization |
| Upload delay | Imported conversions do not show up in reports right away |
| Time zones | The Google account's time zone and the tracker's may differ; the file states time with a zone |
Tip. Do not draw conclusions from «yesterday» in Google Ads if approvals arrive with a delay. Look at a period already closed by the hold, or compare with the tracker by click date.
Spend and reports
Google charges for clicks, but every click costs a different amount. So:
- a CPC model in the tracker is an approximate estimate;
- manual daily entry is accurate but takes discipline;
- importing from the account by campaign ID is the most convenient, if your tracker supports it.
Slices worth watching for Google Ads: campaign → ad group → keyword, match type, network, device, Display placement. How to calculate the result is covered in how to calculate profit and ROI and affiliate marketing metrics.
Google Ads tracking in ArtisanClo
In ArtisanClo, Google Ads is set up as a traffic source from a template. The source defines the parameters (keyword, cost, platform click ID, creative ID, campaign ID, placement, an unlimited number of SubID tags) and the cost per click model. In a flow with a tracker, the source lays them out as campaign tags, from which the link is built. The gclid, wbraid and gbraid click IDs are recognized and recorded in the click card.
Sending conversions to Google Ads has two options on higher plans:
- Directly, using the account number and a service account key from your own Google Cloud.
- Via a scheduled file, no keys needed: you paste the file URL into Google Ads under «Goals → Conversions → Uploads → Schedules». The file includes leads and sales for 90 days on clicks with a
gclid.
Spend on the Business plan is pulled from the account every morning for the last 3 days; you need the Google Ads account ID and a developer token. A campaign is matched to a flow by the campaign ID in the clicks, so {campaignid} in the suffix is mandatory. Without the import, daily spend is entered manually in «Reports».
«Money by slice» offers flow, source, day, country, offer, device and sub1–sub10 tags, while the report builder has the remaining tags and the sources' link parameters, such as the keyword. Sending conversions works for flows with a tracker. More about the platform on the Google Ads page, plan terms on the pricing page.
Step-by-step setup before launch
- Turn on auto-tagging in your Google Ads account settings.
- Create a Google Ads source in the tracker and set the cost per click model.
- Build the final URL suffix with
{campaignid},{adgroupid},{creative},{keyword},{matchtype},{network}and your own tags. Set it at the account level, and override it for individual campaigns only when needed. - Check that the site does not strip parameters: open the landing page with test
gclidandutm_*values and see whether they reached the tracker. - Set up the postback in the affiliate network and pass the tracker's click ID into the offer link.
- Create a conversion action with «Import» as the source and decide whether it will be primary for bidding or secondary.
- Connect the import: via the API or a scheduled file.
- After the first conversions, check the upload status in Google Ads: accepted, rejected and the rejection reasons.
Manual tags or auto-tagging alone
People sometimes ask: if there is gclid, why bother with UTM and ValueTrack? Because gclid by itself tells the tracker nothing; it is just a number. Only Google can decode it into a campaign and keyword. The tracker, though, needs the campaign, ad group, keyword and network right in the click to build reports immediately, not after an export from the ad account. So auto-tagging and manual tags work together: the first for sending conversions back, the second for your own reports.
Common Google Ads tracking mistakes
- Auto-tagging switched off: no
gclid, so conversion import is impossible. - The site strips parameters:
gclidis lost at the first redirect. - Tags in the final URL instead of the suffix: to change a tag you have to edit the URL in every ad, and duplicating ads easily breaks them.
- wbraid and gbraid not stored: some iOS conversions never make it back.
- Time in the file without a time zone: conversions get rejected or land on the wrong day.
- Uploading approvals once a month: some clicks fall outside the allowed period.
Bottom line
Google Ads tracking means auto-tagging and a preserved gclid, a final URL suffix with the right ValueTrack parameters, a postback from the network and regular conversion imports back into the account. Discrepancies with the tracker come down to click date, the conversion window and the attribution model. Rely on the tracker and the network for profit decisions, and send Google approved events so its strategies learn from real buyers.
