Google Ads UTM Setup

UTM parameters tell AnyTrack where each click came from. Without them, conversions show up in your dashboard but lack the campaign, ad group, and keyword context you need to optimize. Setting up your Google Ads tracking template correctly takes five minutes and unlocks full attribution for every click.

The Recommended Tracking Template

Add this tracking template at the account level in Google Ads so it applies to all campaigns automatically:

{lpurl}?utm_source=google&utm_medium={ifsearch:cpc}{ifcontent:display}&utm_id={campaignid}&utm_content={adgroupid}&utm_term={keyword}&creativeId={creative}&adgroupid={adgroupid}&targetid={targetid}

To set it at the account level:

1. In Google Ads, go to Settings > Account Settings
2. Expand the Tracking section
3. Paste the tracking template into the Tracking template field
4. Click Save

📘

Note

Account-level tracking templates apply to all campaigns unless overridden at the campaign or ad group level. If you already have campaign-level templates, the campaign-level template takes priority.

UTM Parameter Breakdown

Each parameter serves a specific purpose in your attribution chain:

Google replaces the {curly brace} values automatically when someone clicks your ad. These are called ValueTrack parameters. The {ifsearch:} and {ifcontent:} macros are conditional — they output different values depending on whether the click came from a Search or Display campaign.

Useful ValueTrack Macros

Beyond the parameters in the recommended template, Google Ads offers additional ValueTrack macros you can use:

How AnyTrack Uses These Parameters

When a visitor arrives on your landing page from a Google Ads click, AnyTrack reads the UTM parameters from the URL and stores them alongside the Click ID (atclid). When that visitor later converts, AnyTrack associates the conversion with the full campaign context.

This data flows into:

• Your Campaign Report in the AnyTrack dashboard
• Event attributes sent to your connected ad platforms
• Google Ads conversion tracking via the AnyTrack server-side integration

Common Mistakes

Using campaign names instead of IDs. The {campaignid} macro returns a stable numeric ID. If you hardcode campaign names, they break when you rename campaigns and create messy data.

Overriding at multiple levels. If you set tracking templates at the account, campaign, and ad group level, only the most specific one applies. Stick to account-level unless you have a specific reason to override.

Missing the question mark. The tracking template must include ? before the first parameter (or & if your landing page URL already has parameters). The {lpurl} macro inserts your final URL, and everything after it becomes the query string.

Forgetting to test. Use the "Test" button in Google Ads tracking settings to verify your template produces a valid URL before going live.

⚠️

Warning

Do not add gclid as a UTM parameter. Google Ads appends gclid automatically through auto-tagging. Adding it manually creates conflicts and can break conversion tracking.