Find an ad's click string

When troubleshooting ad trafficking and delivery, the most important item to capture is the click string, sometimes referred to as a click tag. The click string is part of the URL that takes the user to the ad's destination and is very helpful to provide when working with the publisher support team.

A click string can come from display ads in web browsers or mobile apps and contains encoded information for the ad that gets displayed. Usable click strings always contain some reference to our systems, such as "googleads.g.doubleclick.net/aclk?…" or "adclick.g.doubleclick.net/pcs/click?…".

Capture a click string from a computer

Right-click the ad and copy the link address. If you can't right-click the ad, you may need to disable your computer's internet connection, click the ad, and then copy the URL that's in the address bar in your browser. 

There are a few other ways to find the click string of an ad using your computer: 

• Using a browser extension: There may be an extension available for your browser that can help. Extensions can capture a click string without needing to disable your computer's internet connection.
• Using Charles proxy: You may be able to install the Charles web debugging proxy application and use it to capture click strings, as well as other information about ads. Learn more about Charles proxy
• Using Google Chrome: Chrome's DevTools can capture all traffic and save it into a .HAR file, including the click intermediate destinations such as the click string. To extract the .HAR file in Chrome:
  1. Right-click in the browser window or tab and select Inspect.
  2. In the panel that appears, click the Network tab.
  3. In DevTools settings, enable the option "Auto-open DevTools for popups".
  4. Select the Preserve log checkbox.
  5. Click the ad you want to inspect. DevTools should automatically open in the tab that loads the landing page.
  6. Right-click any of the items in the Name column and select Save as .HAR with content.
  7. Name the file and click Save. Content for all of the items in the column will be saved in the same .HAR file.
     

Capture a click string from a mobile device

First, try  long-pressing on an ad and then tapping Copy URL.

If that doesn't work, disconnect from any internet or cellular service, then click or tap the ad. The ad will attempt to open in a browser window, but because there's no service it will not load. However, the click string is exposed in the URL. This approach can also be used on a computer. 

If this doesn't work, for example when using Safari or Firefox, follow the instructions below to find and capture a click string from a mobile device.

Mobile

iOS

1. Trigger ad
2. Hold down ad headline with finger and swipe up
3. Click "Copy" or "Share"

Android

1. Trigger ad
2. Hold down ad headline with finger
3. Select "Copy link address"