Docs · Google Ads
Where to put the template, what belongs in Final URL suffix instead, which ValueTrack values survive renames, and how to validate before live traffic.
A tracking template is the single most leveraged piece of measurement configuration in a Google Ads account. Set it up once, correctly, at the right level, and every ad, keyword, asset and extension inherits clean, consistent tracking parameters. Set it up wrong — or in fourteen different places — and you spend years reconciling numbers that will never agree.
This guide is the practical setup we use when wiring accounts that also need CRM, click-fraud or attribution tools. For copy-ready strings, jump to Search UTMs, Spectacle-style google/cpc suffix, or the Google Ads parameter reference.
Google Ads gives you three separate URL fields. Most accounts misuse at least one of them.
{lpurl}. Because it controls structure, this is where redirects and
third-party click trackers belong. Official overview:
final URLs and tracking templates.
utm_*,
match type, device, and so on). The suffix survives redirects defined in the tracking template and works with
parallel tracking. If your only goal is UTMs, put them here — not in the tracking template.
Google’s Final URL suffix help.
{_name} variables per level.
Use these for values ValueTrack does not expose: an agency code, brand/non-brand flag, or a frozen campaign label.
Practical rule: template for structure, suffix for parameters, custom parameters for values ValueTrack cannot give you.
Templates can be set at account, campaign, ad group, ad, keyword, sitelink and asset level. The most specific level wins — a keyword-level template overrides the campaign-level one entirely. It does not merge.
The ideal configuration for almost every advertiser:
utm_source, utm_medium, device/network when you need them).utm_campaign naming scheme, or a different redirect domain for another brand).Changing an account-level template does not trigger ad review — you can update measurement without resetting learning or risking mass disapprovals.
For an advertiser with no third-party click tracker:
{lpurl}Leave parameters to the Final URL suffix. If you use a click tracker or redirect service, the template becomes a redirect that still inserts the final URL — for example ClickPatrol’s Google redirect on this site:
ClickPatrol → Google Ads
(replace [[CLICKPATROL_ID]]). HubSpot-style {lpurl}?…hsa_* stacks belong in Tracking template
when HubSpot owns auto-tracking — see
HubSpot → Google Ads
and the split-field pattern in
HubSpot + ClickCease.
Encoding note: {lpurl} is escaped when it is not at the start of the template.
For chained redirects you may need {lpurl+2} / {lpurl+3} — see the
{lpurl} encoding guide
and Google’s
ValueTrack URL parameters.
A production-grade suffix that uses IDs (they survive renames):
utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign={campaignid}&utm_content={adgroupid}&utm_term={keyword}&matchtype={matchtype}&device={device}&network={network}&creative={creative}&placement={placement}
Prefer IDs over names. Campaign and ad group names change; when they do, GA4 and Looker Studio fragment into two rows
that look like separate campaigns. Join IDs to friendly names in your BI layer. If you cannot join, use
{_utmcampaign} custom parameters or accept name churn.
Copy-ready variants on this site: Spectacle google/cpc suffix and ValueTrack+. Build or merge your own in the template builder.
| Parameter | Returns |
|---|---|
{lpurl} | Final URL (encoding depends on position) |
{campaignid} / {adgroupid} | Numeric IDs |
{creative} | Unique ad ID |
{keyword} | Matched keyword (Search) or targeting keyword (Display) |
{matchtype} | e, p, or b |
{network} | g Search, s partners, d Display, plus others by campaign type |
{device} | m, t, c |
{placement} | Placement domain (often empty on Search) |
{targetid} | kwd- / dsa- / aud- / pla- prefixed IDs |
{loc_physical_ms} | Physical location criterion ID |
{ifmobile:x} / {ifnotmobile:x} | Conditional insertion |
Two rules that catch people out. First, if a parameter does not apply to the click, Google returns an empty value —
the key stays in the URL with nothing after =. Second, never put ValueTrack tokens in the Final URL field
itself; they are not substituted there.
Turn auto-tagging on. It appends gclid (or wbraid / gbraid in privacy-restricted
contexts) and is required for Google Ads conversion import, offline conversions, and GA4’s Google Ads link.
Auto-tagging and manual UTMs are not mutually exclusive. GA4 prefers manual UTM parameters when both are present —
which is why utm_source=google and utm_medium=cpc must be lowercase exactly as GA4 expects.
Not Google, not PPC, not paid, unless you intentionally want a different channel group.
You usually do not paste {gclid} into the suffix yourself; auto-tagging adds the click ID.
Keep auto-tagging enabled even when you also use a Google Ads ↔ GA4 link for cost data and audiences.
Parallel tracking is mandatory for Search, Shopping and Display (and most other campaign types). On click, the browser goes straight to the landing page while tracking requests fire in the background. That is why click trackers must return a fast HTTPS 302, and why the Final URL suffix — not the template — is the safe place for analytics parameters. Full breakdown of what breaks vs what works: parallel tracking and redirects.
Plan for two consequences: any measurement that assumed the browser would walk the redirect chain synchronously will break, and your click tracker must support parallel tracking explicitly. Confirm with the vendor rather than assuming — then use dual-field recipes such as ClickPatrol + Hyros or ClickPatrol + Northbeam when a redirect owns Tracking template and attribution keys sit in the suffix. Browse certified click trackers by redirect vs Final URL suffix.
google / cpc.For campaign-level UTM drafting outside Google Ads, use the Campaign URL builder.
Google / cpc and google / cpc as separate sources.?id=5?utm_source=google because nothing handled ? vs &.{lpurl} in the template (Google rejects that at save) — or mistakenly putting {lpurl} in the suffix.The Final URL suffix. Parameters there persist through redirects and are compatible with parallel tracking. Reserve the tracking template for redirect structure.
Changing it at account, campaign or ad group level does not send ads back for review. Changing URLs at the ad level can.
Yes. Auto-tagging adds gclid for Google Ads and offline conversion imports; UTM parameters feed GA4 and other tools. GA4 gives precedence to manual UTM values when both exist.
IDs are more robust because renaming a campaign will not fragment historical data. Use names only if your reporting layer cannot join IDs to labels.
ValueTrack returns an empty string when the parameter does not apply to that click — {placement} on Search, for example. Expected behaviour, not an error.
{search_term_string} means in Google Analytics