Activate Google Ads tracking (gclid → ad_id)

Why configure?

Without this setup, Metrikia captures the Google Ads click (gclid) but cannot tell which exact ad drove the conversion. With the Metrikia template, every click carries the exact campaign, ad set and ad identifiers, and Metrikia attributes revenue to the right ad automatically.

Prerequisites

• A Google Ads account connected to Metrikia (see the "Connect Google Ads" guide)
• Auto-tagging enabled in Google Ads (Tools > Setup > Tracking > Auto-tagging)
• The Metrikia pixel installed on your site (see the "Install the pixel" guide)

Steps

1. Copy the template in Metrikia

1. Go to /app/integrations and open the Google Ads integration.
2. In the Tracking URL parameters section, click Copy.

2. Paste into Google Ads

1. Open Google Ads.
2. Open Admin, then Account settings, then Tracking template.
3. In the Final URL suffix field, paste the Metrikia template, then click Save. The suffix does not start with "?": Google Ads adds the separator itself.

The template goes into the Final URL suffix field only: never into the destination URL, nor into Tracking template or Custom parameter, which expect another format.

A suffix set on a campaign, an ad group or an ad replaces the account one instead of adding to it. If one of those levels already has its own suffix, add the full Metrikia template to it, otherwise it hides the account one.

3. Check

Within 24 hours, new Google Ads clicks show up in /app/attribution with the exact campaign, ad set and ad. On the integration page, the Compatibility mode banner disappears.

What does the template do?

The template is: mtk_source=google&mtk_campaign={campaignid}&mtk_adset={adgroupid}&mtk_ad={creative}&gclid={gclid}

• mtk_source=google: the platform, fixed value.
• mtk_campaign={campaignid}: campaign identifier.
• mtk_adset={adgroupid}: ad group identifier.
• mtk_ad={creative}: exact ad identifier (this is what unlocks ad_id tracking).
• gclid={gclid}: the Google click identifier (auto-tagging stays required).

Performance Max campaigns

In a Performance Max campaign, Google fills neither {adgroupid} nor {creative}: the click only carries the campaign identifier. Metrikia attributes those clicks to the right Performance Max campaign, without going down to the ad. This is not a setup error, the same suffix stays valid.

Already using UTM parameters?

Keep them. Append the Metrikia template after an "&". Metrikia reads its own parameters (the ones starting with mtk_), the rest stays yours.

Compatibility mode

If your ads still send the ad identifier through the former template (utm_content) or through another tracker's parameter, Metrikia keeps finding the ad. You will then see a Compatibility mode banner on the integration page and a Metrikia tracking template item in data health: attribution works, but the source and channel depend on how your UTMs are named. Paste the Metrikia template to make it reliable.

Common problems

• "Tracking still does not work": the change only applies to new clicks. Older clicks keep their current attribution.
• "I still see the Compatibility mode banner": it is based on the clicks of the last 7 days. It disappears as soon as one click carries the Metrikia template.
• "The template shows up as is in my URLs (with the braces)": the platform did not expand its macros. Make sure the template is pasted in the tracking field named below, not in the destination URL.

Missing a feature? Suggest it in Ideas and Roadmap (in Settings). A technical issue? Use Report a bug from the help menu.

What happens without the suffix?

Metrikia captures the gclid alone and asks Google Ads in the background, several hours after the click, to find the ad. It is slower, and clicks older than 90 days can no longer be resolved. The suffix is therefore strongly recommended for immediate, reliable tracking.

If you already have unresolved Google Ads clicks, contact support: a resolution of the last 90 days can be replayed for you.