gclid, gbraid and wbraid
Google appends a click identifier to your landing page URL when auto-tagging is on, and there are now three of them rather than one. gclid is the long-standing parameter; gbraid and wbraid were introduced for iOS traffic where privacy constraints prevent the usual identifier. Any implementation that captures gclid alone silently loses attribution on a growing share of traffic — and because the loss is invisible, it usually goes unnoticed until someone audits how many CRM records carry an identifier.
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Google click identifiers · what breaks
Where teams get this wrong — Google click identifiers
- 01
Capturing only gclid
iOS traffic arrives with gbraid or wbraid. Capturing one parameter loses the rest, silently.
- 02
Storing the identifier in a cookie only
It has to reach your CRM record if you ever want offline conversion import.
- 03
Turning off auto-tagging for cleaner URLs
The identifier is what makes attribution, Enhanced Conversions and offline import work at all.
Google click identifiers · the fix
What a correct implementation looks like — Google click identifiers
All three captured on landing
Plus fbclid if you run Meta.
Persisted through every form step
Multi-step forms drop them by default.
Written to the CRM record
Where they survive longer than any cookie.
Auto-tagging enabled everywhere
On every ad account, verified.
Google click identifiers · architecture
The three identifiers and when each appears
What each is for. Google's documentation is the authority on the precise conditions under which each is issued, and those conditions change.
- 1
gclid
The long-standing Google click identifier. Appears on most traffic where auto-tagging is enabled.
- 2
gbraid
Introduced for iOS app-to-web traffic, where privacy constraints prevent the standard identifier.
- 3
wbraid
Introduced for iOS web-to-web traffic under the same constraints.
- 4
Where they come from
Auto-tagging appends them. Turning auto-tagging off removes them and breaks attribution.
- 5
What they enable
Conversion attribution, Enhanced Conversions and offline conversion import. All three depend on the identifier existing.
Google click identifiers · diagnose
Common mistakes and how to validate each — Google click identifiers
Ordered by how often we find them. Each one has a specific check rather than a general instruction to be careful.
- 01
Only gclid in the capture code
Read the capture script. If it names one parameter, it's losing the others.
- 02
Lost between form steps
Submit a real multi-step form from a tagged click and check the final record.
- 03
Lost to a redirect
Follow every redirect in your real paths. Shorteners and login bounces strip query parameters routinely.
- 04
Not mapped through CRM lead conversion
The classic Salesforce failure: the field is on Lead, nothing carries it to Opportunity, no error is raised.
- 05
Auto-tagging disabled
Check every account. It gets turned off for cleaner analytics URLs more often than you'd expect.
Google click identifiers · prove
How to prove your implementation is right — Google click identifiers
Against your own records and a live payload, not against a preview screen.
Source of truth
your CRM records — the share carrying any click identifier
- Auto-tagging confirmed enabled on every ad account.
- All three parameters confirmed captured on landing.
- Identifier present on a live CRM record after a full multi-step journey.
- The share of records carrying an identifier measured, not assumed.
- Checked on a live conversion, not in preview mode.
- Reconciled over a fully closed window, matched per record.
- Re-checked 30 days later.
Google click identifiers · free audit
What we check in the free audit
- Only gclid in the capture code
- Lost between form steps
- Lost to a redirect
- Not mapped through CRM lead conversion
- Auto-tagging disabled
Checked against
your CRM records — the share carrying any click identifier
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Google click identifiers · when not to buy
What this reference deliberately leaves out — Google click identifiers
Stated openly, because a reference that's silent about its own gaps is the dangerous kind.
- The precise conditions under which Google issues gbraid versus wbraid are documented by Google and change. We've described what each is for rather than guessing at current triggers.
- Identifier lifetime and import window behaviour are Google's to define. The 90-day offline import window is the figure to plan around; verify it before a build.
- Other platforms' click identifiers — fbclid, ttclid, msclkid and the rest — follow the same principle and aren't covered in detail here.
- Vendor documentation is the authority, not this page. Where the two disagree, the vendor is right and we'd like to know so we can correct it.
- Parameter names and behaviour change. Anything here is accurate as we last verified it; verify against the current documentation before you rely on it for a build.
Google click identifiers · what we deliver
The checklist — Google click identifiers
Auto-tagging is on in every Google Ads account
Check each one, not just the main account.
gclid, gbraid and wbraid are all captured
Not just the first.
The value survives every form step
Multi-step forms lose it unless it's carried deliberately.
It's written to the CRM record
A field per parameter, mapped through lead conversion.
Redirects don't strip it
Test your real paths, including shorteners and login bounces.
Pricing
Pick the package that fits your ad spend
Browser-side starter
$400One-time fee · lifetime ownership
Repairs and verifies your existing browser-side setup against this reference, on a live conversion.
- Implementation checked against the spec
- Verified on a live conversion
- Reconciled against your own records
- Written handover
1st-party server-side
Recommended$800One-time fee · most popular
Money events sent from your own records through a first-party container on your subdomain, built to this specification.
- First-party server container on your own subdomain
- Events from your records, not the browser
- Deduplicated on a shared event ID at every destination
- First-party cookies beyond Safari's 7-day cap
- 95%+ accuracy and 8+ Meta EMQ, guaranteed in writing
Full 1st-party stack
$1,800One-time fee · lifetime ownership
Every paid channel server-side plus the offline loop, documented to this standard.
- Everything in 1st-party server-side
- Pinterest, Snapchat, Reddit and LinkedIn CAPI
- CRM and offline conversion loop
- Refunds and cancellations corrected wherever each platform allows it
- Monitoring so the next break surfaces in days
FAQ
Google click identifiers questions, answered
It's issued for iOS traffic where privacy constraints prevent the standard identifier. It's normal, and if your code only looks for gclid you're losing that click.
Yes. Capturing only gclid loses a growing share of iOS traffic, and the loss is invisible until you audit how many records carry an identifier.
No. The identifier is what makes conversion attribution, Enhanced Conversions and offline import work. Run auto-tagging and UTMs together.
On the CRM or order record, not just in a cookie. Cookies don't survive long sales cycles; a database field does.
Free · 30 min
Find out how many of your leads carry a click ID
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