Search traffic source
Track Google Ads with UTMCAP
Google Ads fills in ValueTrack parameters like {campaignid} and runs parallel tracking, so a Google campaign in UTMCAP uses a Final URL and a tag on your page rather than a redirect link. Spend syncs from the Google Ads API once you sign in, and each conversion goes back to Google as an offline conversion, matched on gclid.
No redirect link: a Final URL instead
Google Ads runs parallel tracking: the visitor goes straight to your page and the tracking URL is fetched in the background, so a redirect link never gets used. The campaign’s Tracking tab in UTMCAP builds the Final URL for you — your page address with the macros below and the campaign’s utm_id on it — and the tag on your page records the click.
Put that Final URL in the ad, not your plain page address. The plain address still loads, which is why the mistake is quiet: the click lands on whichever campaign last used that page. How parallel tracking works
What each macro records
Google Ads replaces each macro with the real value when the ad is clicked, and UTMCAP stores it in the matching field — so reports can be grouped by campaign, placement or device.
| Field | What it records | Google Ads macro |
|---|---|---|
| sub1 | Campaign ID | {campaignid} |
| sub2 | Ad Group ID | {adgroupid} |
| sub3 | Keyword | {keyword} |
| sub4 | Match Type | {matchtype} |
| sub5 | Creative ID | {creative} |
| sub6 | Target ID | {target} |
| sub7 | Placement | {placement} |
| sub8 | Network | {network} |
| sub9 | Device | {device} |
| sub10 | Google click ID | {gclid} |
Worth knowing
ValueTrack parameters. Google passes no cost macro, so bill the campaign on CPC.
Macros from Google Ads’s own documentation.
How conversions get back to Google Ads
Spend lives in the Google Ads API. Conversions go back as an offline conversion import keyed on gclid — an authenticated upload, not a postback.
Set it up in three steps
- 1. Add Google Ads as a traffic source in UTMCAP and choose its template — the macros above are filled in for you.
- 2. Create a campaign with that source, and open its Tracking tab for the Final URL and the tag.
- 3. Put the Final URL in your Google Ads ad and install the tag on your page.
Every field of the traffic source form is explained in the traffic sources guide.
Point a domain at us and run a click through it.
The free plan takes a hundred thousand clicks a month and no card. If it does not do what you need, you have lost twenty minutes.