ValueTrack parameters are used to track information about the source of an ad click. By adding these parameters to your ads and campaigns, you can identify if people who clicked on your ads used mobile devices, where they were located when they clicked your ads, and much more.
This article explains the steps you’ll need to follow to add ValueTrack parameters in “URL options”. We suggest using ValueTrack parameters in your tracking template, but you can also insert them in your final URL and custom parameters.
Before you begin
If you aren’t familiar with ValueTrack parameters or how tracking works, review the following:
How it works
Tracking templates at the account, campaign, or ad group level must include a ValueTrack parameter that inserts your final URL, like {lpurl}. When your ad is clicked, these parameters will insert your final URL. If you don’t include a URL insertion parameter in your tracking template, your landing page URL will break.
If you want to add more than one ValueTrack parameter to a single URL, simply append them together in your URL using an ampersand (&), like this: {lpurl}?matchtype={matchtype}&device={device}.
Note: Dynamic Search Ads and auto-targets require ValueTrack parameters that insert the final URL (for example, {lpurl}, {escapedlpurl}, {lpurl+2}) at all levels.
Instructions
- Sign in to your Google Ads account.
- Click and follow one of the setup instructions below.
- In your Google Ads account, click the Campaigns icon
.
- Click the Campaigns drop down in the section menu.
- Click Campaigns.
- Click the Settings tab at the top and select “Campaign Settings”.
- Add the “Tracking template” column to your table.
- Click the column icon
above the statistics table, then click Modify columns.
- Expand the "Attributes" option and click Tracking template.
- Click Apply.
- Click the column icon
- Use the horizontal scroll bar at the bottom to scroll across the table to find the added column.
- Hover over any entry in the "Tracking template" column.
- Click the pencil icon
when it appears.
- Edit the tracking template or enter
{lpurl}, a question mark, and then any ValueTrack parameters you want to use, separated by ampersands (&). For example, if you want to use the{matchtype}parameter, your tracking template would be:{lpurl}?matchtype={matchtype} - Click Test to test the tracking template.
- Click Save.
above the statistics table, then click Modify columns.- In your Google Ads account, click the Campaigns icon
- Click the Campaigns drop down in the section menu.
- Click Ad groups.
- Add the “Tracking template” column to your table.
- Click the column icon
- Expand the "Attributes" option and click Tracking template.
- Click Apply.
- Click the column icon
- Use the horizontal scroll bar at the bottom to scroll across the table to find the added column.
- Hover over any entry in the "Tracking template" column.
- Click the pencil icon
- Edit the tracking template or enter
{lpurl}, a question mark, and then any ValueTrack parameters you want to use, separated by ampersands (&). For example, if you want to use the{matchtype}parameter, your tracking template would be:{lpurl}?matchtype={matchtype} - Click Test to test the tracking template.
- Click Save.
- In your Google Ads account, click the Campaigns icon
- Click the Campaigns drop down in the section menu.
- Click Ads.
- Hover over the ad.
- Click the pencil icon
- Expand the "Ad URL Options".
- Edit the tracking template or enter
{lpurl}, a question mark, and then any ValueTrack parameters you want to use, separated by ampersands (&). For example, if you want to use the{matchtype}parameter, your tracking template would be:{lpurl}?matchtype={matchtype} - Click Test to test the tracking template.
- Click Save.
- In your Google Ads account, click the Campaigns icon
- Click the Assets drop down in the section menu.
- Click Assets.
- Click the ‘Asset type’ link and select Sitelink.
- Hover over any of the assets and click the pencil icon
- Click Edit and then expand Sitelink URL options.
- Edit the tracking template or enter
{lpurl}, a question mark, and then any ValueTrack parameters you want to use, separated by ampersands (&). For example, if you want to use the{matchtype}parameter, your tracking template would be:{lpurl}?matchtype={matchtype} - Click Test to test the tracking template.
- Click Save.
- In your Google Ads account, click the Campaigns icon
- Click the Audiences, keywords, and content drop down in the section menu, then click Search keywords.
- Add the “Tracking template” column to your table.
- Click the column icon
- Expand the "Attributes" option and click Tracking template.
- Click Apply.
- Click the column icon
- Use the horizontal scroll bar at the bottom to scroll across the table to find the added column.
- Hover over any entry in the new “Tracking template” column, and click when the pencil icon
- Enter {lpurl}, a question mark, and then any ValueTrack parameters you want to use, separated by ampersands (&). For example, if you want to use the
{matchtype}parameter, your tracking template would be:{lpurl}?matchtype={matchtype} - Click Save.
- In your Google Ads account, click the Campaigns icon
- Click Audiences, keywords, and content, then click the Dynamic ad targets page menu.
Note: You may have to click "+ More" at the bottom of the page menu to view “Dynamic ads target”.
- Add the “Tracking template” column to your table.
- Click the column icon
- Expand the "Attributes" option and click Tracking template.
- Click Apply.
- Click the column icon
- Use the horizontal scroll bar at the bottom to scroll across the table to find the added column.
- Hover over any entry in the new “Tracking template” column, and click when the pencil icon
- Enter {lpurl}, a question mark, and then any ValueTrack parameters you want to use, separated by ampersands (&). For example, if you want to use the
{targetid}parameter, your tracking template would be:{lpurl}?targetid={targetid} - Click Save.
Tip: Avoid spaces in your URLs. Spaces will cause your URLs to "break," and the tracking won't work.
You may find %20 in your data in place of a space between words, such as when you have a keyword that's made up of 2 words. %20 is used to replace the space so that your URL will continue to work properly.
Available ValueTrack parameters
Final URL, tracking template, or custom parameter
| Parameter | What it returns |
|---|---|
{campaignid} |
The campaign ID. (Use this when you've set up your tracking information at account level and want to know which campaign served your ad.) |
{adgroupid} |
The ad group ID. (Use this when you've set up your tracking information at the account or campaign level and want to know which ad group served your ad.) |
{feeditemid} |
The ID of the feed-based or legacy asset that was clicked. Update the URL to support the upgraded asset ValueTrack for asset upgrade. Note: |
{extensionid} |
The ID of the asset-based or upgraded asset that was clicked. Update the URL to support the upgraded asset ValueTrack for asset upgrade. Note: |
{targetid} |
The ID of the keyword (labeled "kwd"), dynamic search ad ("dsa") target, remarketing list target ("aud"), product partition ("pla"), or hotel group partition ("hpi") that triggered an ad. For multiple target IDs, the output shows in the following order: "aud, dsa, kwd, pla, hpi." For example, if you add a remarketing list to your ad group (criterion ID "456") and target the keywords ID "123" the Note: |
{loc_interest_ms} |
The ID of the location of interest that helped trigger the ad. Visit the developer website for location IDs. Reported only for campaigns that show ads to people searching for your targeted locations. |
{loc_physical_ms} |
The ID of the geographical location of the click. Visit the developer website for location IDs. Reported only for campaigns that show ads to people in your targeted locations. |
{matchtype} |
The match type of the keyword that triggered your ad: "e" for exact, "p" for phrase, or "b" for "broad". |
{network} |
Where the click came from: "g" for Google search, "s" for a search partner, "d" for the Display Network, “ytv” for YouTube or “vp” for Google video partners. |
{device} |
What device the click came from: "m" for mobile (including WAP), "t" for tablet, and "c" for computer. |
{devicemodel} |
What model of phone or tablet the click came from (for example, "Apple+iPhone"). Note: Only available on Display Network campaigns. |
{gclid} |
The Google click identifier of a click that comes from your ad. |
{ifmobile:[value]} |
Whatever you define for "[value]," if your ad's clicked from a mobile phone. |
{ifnotmobile:[value]} |
Whatever you define for "[value]," if your ad's clicked from a computer or tablet. |
{ifsearch:[value]} |
Whatever you define for "[value]," if your ad's clicked from a site in the Google Search Network. |
{ifcontent:[value]} |
Whatever you define for "[value]," if your ad's clicked from a site in the Google Display Network. |
{creative} |
A unique ID for your ad. |
{keyword} |
For the Search Network, the keyword from your account that matches the search query, unless you're using a Dynamic Search ad, which returns a blank value. For the Display Network, the keyword from your account that matches the content. |
{placement} |
The content site where your ad was clicked (for keyword-targeted campaigns), or the matching placement targeting criteria for the site where your ad was clicked (for placement-targeted campaigns). |
{target} |
A placement category (works with placement-targeted campaigns only). |
{param1} |
Creative parameter #1, if you're using the AdParamService with the Google Ads API (AdWords API). |
{param2} |
Creative parameter #2, if you're using the AdParamService with the Google Ads API (AdWords API). |
{random} |
A random Google-generated number (an unsigned 64-bit integer), commonly used to force the page to reload. |
{ignore} |
Ignores tracking elements of your final URL to help reduce crawl load on your website. It can only be used in your final or final mobile URL. |
Recommended
| Parameter | What it returns |
|---|---|
{lpurl} |
The final URL. It will be escaped unless you put Example Final URL: http://example.com Tracking template: Landing page URL: http://example.com?matchtype={matchtype} |
Advanced
| Parameter | What it returns |
|---|---|
{lpurl+2} |
The final URL escaped twice. Useful when you have a chain of redirects. |
{lpurl+3} |
The final URL escaped 3 times. Useful when you have a chain of redirects. |
{unescapedlpurl} |
The final URL unescaped. |
{escapedlpurl} |
The final URL escaped. Escapes the characters :, /, ?, =, and %. |
{escapedlpurl+2} |
The final URL escaped twice. Useful when you have a chain of redirects. |
{escapedlpurl+3} |
The final URL escaped 3 times. Useful when you have a chain of redirects. |
To use these ValueTrack parameters with other URL parameters in your tracking template, add the following characters after the ValueTrack parameter. Otherwise, your website or third-party system may not properly save the information from your URL parameters.
| Parameter | Location in tracking template | Followed by | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
{lpurl} |
Beginning | ? | {lpurl}? |
{lpurl} |
Not at the beginning | %3F | {lpurl}%3F |
{lpurl+2} |
Not at the beginning | %253F | {lpurl+2}%253F |
{lpurl+3} |
Not at the beginning | %25253F | {lpurl+3}%25253F |
{unescapedlpurl} |
Anywhere | ? | {unescapedlpurl}? |
{escapedlpurl} |
Anywhere | %3F | {escapedlpurl}%3F |
{escapedlpurl+2} |
Anywhere | %253F | {escapedlpurl+2}%253F |
{escapedlpurl+3} |
Anywhere | %25253F | {escapedlpurl+3}%25253F |
If your final URL already contains a question mark, Google Ads will replace the question mark in your tracking template with an ampersand (&) or a correctly escaped version of &.
Final URL only
| Parameter | What it does |
|---|---|
{ignore} |
Ignores tracking elements of your final URL to help reduce crawl load on your website. It can only be used in your final or final mobile URL. For example, if your final URL is http://www.example.com/product?p1=a&p2=b&p3=c&p4=d, and the tracking info following the question mark in the URL doesn’t change the landing page, you can insert {ignore} before your tracking info to indicate that everything after it's merely tracking info. Here’s an example of how to do this: http://www.example.com/product?{ignore}p1=a&p2=b&p3=c&p4=d |
Here are some things to keep in mind when using {ignore}
{ignore}can’t be embedded inside other ValueTrack parameters (for example,{ifmobile:{ignore}}isn't allowed).- You must use
{ignore}in your final URL if anything in your final URL can be modified by a third party when someone clicks on your ad. Learn more about our editorial policies
Example
Final URL: http://www.example.com/product?p1=a&p2=b&p3=c&p4=d
Tracking info: p1=a&p2=b&p3=c&p4=d
If the tracking information following the question mark in the URL doesn’t change the landing page, you can insert {ignore} before your tracking information to indicate that everything after it's merely tracking information.
Final URL with {ignore}
http://www.example.com/product?{ignore}p1=a&p2=b&p3=c&p4=d
Shopping campaigns only
You can use the following parameters with Product Shopping ads.
| Parameter | What it returns |
|---|---|
{adtype} |
For Product Shopping ads, one of the following is returned:
|
{merchant_id} |
The ID of the Merchant Center account directly owning the clicked Shopping ad. |
{product_channel} |
The type of shopping channel (“online” or “local”) through which the product featured in the clicked Shopping ad is sold. If an ad includes options for both shopping channels, {product_channel} will show the type of channel clicked on (“online” or “local”) and {adtype} will show “pla_multichannel.” |
{product_id} |
The ID of the product featured in the clicked ad, as indicated in your Merchant Center data feed. |
{product_country} |
The country of sale for the product in the clicked ad. |
{product_language} |
The language of your product information, as indicated in your Merchant Center data feed. |
{product_partition_id} |
The unique ID for the product group the clicked product ad belongs to. |
{store_code} |
For local products in Shopping campaigns, you’ll find the unique ID of the local store. This parameter has a 60 character limit. |
Video campaigns only
| Parameter | What it returns |
{adgroupid} |
The ad group ID. (Use this when you've set up your tracking information at the account or campaign level and want to know which ad group served your ad.) |
{campaignid} |
The campaign ID. (Use this when you've set up your tracking information at account level and want to know which campaign served your ad.) |
{creative} |
A unique ID for your ad. |
{device} |
What device the click came from: "m" for mobile (including WAP), "t" for tablet, and "c" for computer. |
{loc_interest_ms} |
The ID of the location of interest that helped trigger the ad. Visit developer website for location IDs. Reported only for campaigns that show ads to people searching for your targeted locations. |
{loc_physical_ms} |
The ID of the geographical location of the click. Visit developer website for location IDs. Reported only for campaigns that show ads to people in your targeted locations. |
{network} |
|
{placement} |
The content site where your ad was clicked (for keyword-targeted campaigns), or the matching placement targeting criteria for the site where your ad was clicked (for placement-targeted campaigns). |
{sourceid} |
Hotel campaigns only
| Parameter | What it returns |
{hotelcenter_id} |
The ID of the Hotel Center account linked to the campaign that generated the ad when clicked. |
{hotel_id} |
The hotel ID of the hotel from the associated account’s hotel feed. |
{hotel_partition_id} |
The unique ID of the hotel group that the clicked hotel ad belongs to. |
{hotel_adtype} |
|
{travel_start_day} {travel_start_month} {travel_start_year} |
The check-in date’s day, month, and year displayed in the ad. |
{travel_end_day} {travel_end_month} {travel_end_year} |
The check-out day, month, and year displayed in the ad. |
{advanced_booking_window} |
The number of days between the date of the ad click and the check-in date being advertised (for example, ‘3’ for an ad clicked on June 5 with a check-in date of June 8). |
{date_type} |
|
{number_of_adults} |
The number of adults who will stay in the room that was shown in the ad. |
{price_displayed_total} |
The total cost of the room that is displayed to the user in the user's local currency. |
{price_displayed_tax} |
The amount of taxes and fees displayed to the user in the user's local currency. |
{user_currency} |
Three-letter currency code indicating the user's local currency. This is also the currency for {price_displayed_total} and {price_displayed_tax}. For example, "USD" or "CAD". |
{user_language} |
The two-letter language code that specifies the display language of the ad. For example, "en" or "fr". |
{adtype} |
The type of Travel ad that was clicked on.
|
{rate_rule_id} |
The identifier of any special price that was clicked on. Travel advertisers can apply conditional rates to specific users (for example, loyalty members), specific devices (for example, discount for mobile users), and specific countries. |
The following ValueTrack parameters aren't supported for Demand Gen ads:
{placement}{target}{keyword}{ifsearch:[value]}{ifcontent:[value]}{network}
Check the available ValueTrack parameters for the values supported.
Performance Max campaigns
Some ValueTrack parameters are fully supported within Performance Max campaigns. Parameters with limited support only apply to some channels or ad formats within the campaign.
| Parameter | Compatibility | What it returns |
{adtype} |
Limited support | The type of ad that was clicked on.
|
{campaignid} |
Fully supported | The campaign ID. (Use this when you've set up your tracking information at account level and want to know which campaign served your ad.) |
{device} |
Fully supported | What device the click came from: "m" for mobile (including WAP), "t" for tablet, and "c" for computer. |
{gclid} |
Limited support | The Google click identifier of a click that comes from your ad. |
{ifmobile:[value]} |
Fully supported | Whatever you define for "[value]," if your ad's clicked from a mobile phone. |
{ifnotmobile:[value]} |
Fully supported | Whatever you define for "[value]," if your ad's clicked from a computer or tablet. |
{loc_interest_ms} |
Fully supported | The ID of the location of interest that helped trigger the ad. Visit the developer website for location IDs. Reported only for campaigns that show ads to people searching for your targeted locations. |
{loc_physical_ms} |
Fully supported | The ID of the geographical location of the click. Visit the developer website for location IDs. Reported only for campaigns that show ads to people in your targeted locations. |
{lpurl} |
Fully supported |
The final URL. It will be escaped unless you put Example Final URL: http://example.com Tracking template: Landing page URL: http://example.com?matchtype={matchtype} |
{lpurl+2} |
Fully supported | The final URL escaped twice. Useful when you have a chain of redirects. |
{lpurl+3} |
Fully supported | The final URL escaped 3 times. Useful when you have a chain of redirects. |
{merchant_id} |
Limited support | The ID of the Merchant Center account directly owning the clicked Shopping ad. |
{product_channel} |
Limited support | The type of shopping channel (“online” or “local”) through which the product featured in the clicked Shopping ad is sold. If an ad includes options for both shopping channels, {product_channel} will show the type of channel clicked on (“online” or “local”) and {adtype} will show “pla_multichannel.” |
{product_country} |
Limited support | The country of sale for the product in the clicked ad. |
{product_id} |
Limited support | The ID of the product featured in the clicked ad, as indicated in your Merchant Center data feed. |
{product_language} |
Limited support | The language of your product information, as indicated in your Merchant Center data feed. |
{random} |
Fully supported | A random Google-generated number (an unsigned 64-bit integer), commonly used to force the page to reload. |