Troubleshoot diagnostics for parameter stripping

Aggregate identifiers are leveraged by Google Analytics to attribute paid traffic to traffic source dimensions including source, medium, source platform, campaign, when GCLID can’t be used to identify the dimensions. This occurs when users deny ad_user_data consent. These aggregate identifiers enable accurate attribution of paid Google Ads traffic from organic to paid campaigns.

The parameter stripping diagnostic identifies instances where aggregate identifier parameters (GBRAID and gad_ parameters) appended to click URLs are being stripped. This stripping negatively impacts the Google Analytics aggregate identifier-based attribution coverage.

Note: All property users (Admin, Editor, Marketer, Analyst, Viewer) can view diagnostics. However, only those with Editor access or higher can take specific action to resolve the issues shown in the diagnostic alerts. Once data issues have been resolved, it may take up to 48 hours for the fix to reflect in the property.

On this page

• Affect to property
• Diagnostics in reports
• Diagnostic alert

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Affect to property

When these parameters are stripped, attribution data becomes inaccurate. Misattributed data will contain "(not set)" or "organic" in your reports. This directly affects current mitigation strategies, meaning these properties won't benefit from GBRAID or gad_ parameter-based attribution.

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Diagnostics in reports

If your User-ID implementation or URL configuration is impacting data specific to reports, a diagnostic will appear in the Data quality indicator within your reports. This diagnostic will appear when GBRAID or gad_ parameters are missing from URLs with GCLID.

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Diagnostic alert

We may show you the following diagnostic alert to help you identify issues with your URL parameters:

Diagnostic

Description

Campaign data accuracy is affected by missing URL parameters

Some URLs are missing one or both of the aggregate identifiers (GBRAID and gad_). These identifiers ensure accurate reporting, especially in instances where Google Analytics can't automatically retrieve data using the standard GCLID or DCLID parameters. Ensure that both parameters are included in your URLs. To resolve this issue: Fix the implementation problem preventing these automatically added parameters from reaching Google Analytics. You can view the problematic page paths by clicking View URLs in the diagnostic alert. Implementation changes may take 24 to 48 hours to take effect.

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Related links

• Troubleshoot data issues with diagnostics in Google Analytics
• Google Analytics Data quality