About Google Ads custom URL parameters

In Google Ads accounts, you can use custom parameters to dynamically insert parameter values into your landing page URLs. 

Example

1. You have campaigns that target specific geographic areas and you want this targeting information to be passed to your landing pages.
2. You create a custom parameter named "_geo" and have each campaign set its geographic target as the value:

   • Campaign 1: {_geo} = MA

   • Campaign 2: {_geo} = NY

   • Campaign 3: {_geo} = CT

3. You add a parameter to a Final URL Suffix and specify {_geo} as the value:
   geo={_geo}
   (You can add this parameter directly to your landing page URLs instead of a Final URL Suffix.)
4. When a customer clicks an ad from Campaign 1, the landing page URL will look something like this:
   https://www.example.com/shoes?geo=MA

Create in Google Ads or Search Ads 360

You can create custom parameters in Google Ads and sync them into Search Ads 360, or create custom parameters in the Search Ads 360 UI or bulksheets.

Create at multiple levels

You can create custom parameters at the following levels:

• Campaign
• Ad group
• Ad
• Keyword, product group, or DSA target
• Ad extension

If custom parameters at different levels use the same name, Google Ads will use the most specific custom parameter that you create. For example, CampaignA contains two ad groups, AdGroup1 and AdGroup2. You create the following custom parameters:

• {_geo}=MA at the campaign level
• {_geo}=boston for AdGroup1

Ads in AdGroup1 will use the ad group-level custom parameter: {_geo}=boston.

Ads in AdGroup2 will use the campaign-level custom parameter: {_geo}=MA.

Number of custom parameters available

While Google Ads allows 8 custom parameters at each level, Search Ads 360 creates up to 4 custom parameters in some levels to store data such as names and IDs of campaigns and engine accounts. If you create campaigns and other items in Google Ads, be sure to leave enough empty custom parameters for Search Ads 360 to create its custom parameters when you sync in the new items. 

Learn more about Search Ads 360 custom parameters.

Don't use custom parameters in local inventory ads

It's recommended that you don't use custom parameters in Google Ads local inventory ads. In most cases, Google will remove custom parameters from the landing page URLs of local inventory ads. This applies to custom parameters you create and to Search Ads 360 custom parameters.

Ready to get started?

1. Create custom parameters.
2. Add the custom parameters to a Final URL Suffix or landing page URLs.