---
title: "GCLID meaning: what is a GCLID? | Product Metrics"
description: "A GCLID is the Google Click Identifier that Google Ads adds to your landing page URL after an ad click. See an example and why it matters for conversions."
canonical: "https://www.productmetrics.io/glossary/gclid"
pageType: article
language: en
publisher: "Product Metrics"
author: "Berend Vrakking"
datePublished: 2026-10-07
dateModified: 2026-10-07
---

> Content index: https://www.productmetrics.io/llms.txt

# Google Click Identifier (GCLID)

A GCLID, short for Google Click Identifier, is a parameter that Google Ads auto-tagging adds to the landing page URL after someone clicks your ad.

## Example

One ad click, as the landing page URL shows it:

| Part | Value |
| --- | --- |
| URL the ad links to | https://shop.example/trail-runner-2 |
| URL the visitor lands on | https://shop.example/trail-runner-2?gclid=abc123example |
| Click ID (the value after gclid=) | abc123example |

Auto-tagging bolts the parameter on after the click; your shop never builds it. Illustrative data.

## For one product, and for an account

The GCLID is the thread between a purchase and the ad click behind it. Google says the parameter is required for Google Ads website conversion tracking; it also links data between Google Ads and Google Analytics, and works with offline conversion tracking.

Auto-tagging is an account setting, and Google turns it on by default for new accounts. A GCLID only helps if it survives until the order is recorded. Full Signal Tracking keeps the click ID and sends it to Google Ads with the purchase; Google Ads then does the attributing, because Product Metrics is not an attribution tool.

## Common mistake

Redirecting visitors and losing the parameter on the way. Google says the GCLID has to reach the final landing page for conversions to be tracked, so a redirect that strips it takes the conversion with it.

## Questions

### What does GCLID stand for in Google Ads?

It stands for Google Click Identifier. When auto-tagging is on, Google Ads adds it as a gclid parameter to the URL people click through to your site.

### How do I find my GCLID?

Look at the landing page URL after an ad click. With auto-tagging on, it carries a gclid parameter, as in Google’s own example, www.example.com/?gclid=123xyz. The value after gclid= is the click ID.

### What is a GCLID number?

It is the click ID itself, the string after gclid= in the landing page URL. Google says the value identifies the campaign along with other attributes of the click.

## Sources

- [Google Ads Help: Google Click Identifier (GCLID)](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/9744275)
- [Google Ads Help: About auto-tagging](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/3095550)

## Keep reading

- [First-party cookie](https://www.productmetrics.io/glossary/first-party-cookie): Where a click ID can be kept after the landing page.
- [Full Signal Tracking](https://www.productmetrics.io/server-side-tracking): See the click ID travel with an order to Google Ads.
- [Enhanced conversions vs server-side tracking](https://www.productmetrics.io/blog/enhanced-conversions-vs-server-side-tracking): Compare two ways to send purchases to Google Ads.
- [Last click attribution](https://www.productmetrics.io/glossary/last-click-attribution): How Google Ads shares credit between the clicks before an order.

---

Written by Berend Vrakking, founder of Product Metrics. Last updated 2026-10-07.

HTML version: https://www.productmetrics.io/glossary/gclid