How do advertising platforms know which ad copy a user clicked on to get to your website? This information is typically transmitted using click identifiers.
When a user clicks on an ad link, advertising platforms generate a parameter (essentially a piece of text) that is appended to the destination URL. This text may contain letters, numbers, and special characters, forming a unique value for each ad impression. The advertising platform then decodes this value.
For example, this is how advertising in Google Ads might be marked:
| Example of a landing page | http://ok-digital.space/ |
| Final URL with Google Ads identifier appended | http://ok-digital.space/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwiMmwBhDmARIsABeQ7xRJWGVfm8Tw5EtQbxSiM8dXrCjhqs0D0YBNs-JQ7k_C5D0bqGoOBdQaAvwBEALw_wcB |
| Final URL with manual tags and Google Ads identifier appended | http://ok-digital.space/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&gclid=Cj0KCQjwiMmwBhDmARIsABeQ7xRJWGVfm8Tw5EtQbxSiM8dXrCjhqs0D0YBNs-JQ7k_C5D0bqGoOBdQaAvwBEALw_wcB |
What Click Identifiers Affect
Click identifiers are crucial for tracking clicks and conversions directly by advertising platforms, specifically they can affect:
- attribution of clicks to ads,
- conversion tracking in advertising systems,
- the ability to track offline conversions,
- integration of Google advertising platform data with Google Analytics.
Common Issues with Click Identifiers
- if a website automatically converts URLs to lowercase, neither advertising platforms nor Google Analytics will read the transmitted information because most advertising identifiers are case-sensitive;
- lack of advertising pixels or Google Analytics on landing URLs;
- when the URL is rewritten on the server side and blocks parameters appended to the link.
List of Identifiers for Popular Advertising Platforms
When resolving attribution issues and analyzing traffic, it is extremely useful to know the click identifiers of various advertising platforms. This table may be helpful:
| Advertising Platform | Identifier | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Google Ads | gclid | Identifier is case-sensitive. Must be enabled in the advertising account configurations.
Example: gclid=Cj0KCQjwiMmwBhDmARIsABeQ7xRJWGVfm8Tw5EtQbxSiM8dXrCjhqs0D0YBNs-JQ7k_C5D0bqGoOBdQaAvwBEALw_wcB |
| Google Ads for IOS | wbraid, gbraid | Used for iOS 14 and later versions instead of gclid. GBRAID is a parameter for tracking traffic coming from an app to an app, WBRAID is traffic from an app to a website. Identifier is case-sensitive. Example: gbraid=0AAAAAD-7qGxhtJl116FK8jugLH18dbuFj |
| Google Ads | gad_source | Google tracks certain conversions for which traditional tracking methods are not available. This parameter usually transmits a static value: gad_source=1 |
| Search Ads 360 (SA360) | gcsrc | SA360 transmits one of the following static values: – gclsrc=aw.ds: click identifier generated by a Google Ads account managed by Search Ads 360. – gclsrc=ds: click identifier created by Search Ads 360 for an account that does not use parallel tracking. – gclsrc=3p.ds: click identifier generated by a parallel tracking-enabled account other than Google Ads. – gclsrc=: parameter is empty if the click identifier was created by Google Ads, but neither Google Analytics support nor the Conversion API service is enabled in Search Ads 360 |
| DV360 | dclid | Identifier is case-sensitive. Must be enabled in Floodlight configurations.
Example: dclid=CN3L3pXqsIUDFXvt9QId2_sCcw1NqscQI0fX |
| Meta Ads | fbclid | Identifier is case-sensitive.
Example: fbclid=PAAaZYqmHmVbBoNC0uwFxuso1BiwXxpTrgiDONL1NqscQI0fXH-Jg-YT3kw7Q_aem_ARVtSEDaF15BdVlFcuaK_0sYTlfDupmR8ME-JGS6nFbyI8DMpoZxQ5GIa2yn1_8v9xc |
| TikTok Ads | ttclid | Identifier is case-sensitive.
Example: ttclid=E.C.P.CsgBfCW_ULv3975Sx4vLTZijmLgzwfICiLRmQ5CUXG6HTA7jmziTtwhaqkqZVNn5oqqh2hmq3WzGdfkPLmcZ9tzvAeheNEojQgiGlfrmKunfweK6t4aLBWoBsob9Cs1XkvYyGwK9abX6dRz66X7MBVv89CAiUbXtaVCaObheY9uAk |
| Microsoft (Bing) Ads | msclkid | Identifier is case-sensitive. Must be enabled in the advertising account configurations.
Example: msclkid=c9fe01f362d91f3171a267e191ed97b0 |
| epik | Identifier is case-sensitive
Example: epik=dj0yJnU9NHIxWXR5R3ZVUmU1ci0tYnJWaEtJOTBfeEg5bjJnZjkmcD0xJm49LXVfZS1qUHpfNVcwU3VpV1oxRnNaQSZ0PUFBQUFBR1lGcG1V |
|
| Reddit Ads | rdt_cid | Example: rdt_cid=4997092241844581173 |
| Snapchat Ads | ScCid | Example: ScCid=5e490e0a-c053-48b9-8b80-b7a95690879f |
| Linkedin Ads | li_fat_ID | Example: li_fat_id=8205767c-0383-49a1-b394-1af59433c280 |
| Twitter (X) | twclid | Example: twclid=216yf5fegurswi0hp745gkzocu |