Tracking template builder

The builder on Google Ads → Tracking template (/app/google-ads?tab=template) writes a transparent tracking template for Google Ads or Microsoft Advertising, checks it as you type, and offers the redirect-free Final URL suffix + SDK alternative. Any staff member can use it.

If the workspace has no active tracking domain the page shows No active tracking domain with a Set up a domain button instead of the builder.

Step 1 — Ad platform & campaign type#

1. Choose Google Ads or Microsoft Advertising in the platform switch.
2. For Google Ads, choose the Campaign type. The preset selects the parameters that campaign type fills in and the {lpurl} form it needs:

Details per type: Google Ads campaign types.

Step 2 — Tracking domain & link key#

1. Tracking domain — lists the active domains you may use. Labels after the hostname: default (the workspace default), brand (a shared domain of the brand, not your own), certified. The Google certification badge under the list shows the selected domain's status.
2. Link key — decides what the click is credited to:

3. For One offer or Offer + affiliate, pick the Offer (and Affiliate). Only active affiliates are listed; archived offers are hidden.

With an offer key, conversions and payouts resolve without extra parameters, and the offer's own destination host, allowed domains and landing pages join the allowlist for that link.

Step 3 — ValueTrack parameters#

Tick the parameters to include. Each row shows the pair the template will contain (for example campaignid={campaignid}) and a label. The counter on the right shows how many are selected.

• A ticked parameter the chosen campaign type does not fill shows Not populated for this campaign type. It does no harm; the value arrives empty.
• More parameters & conditional ValueTrack lists only tags that are not in the main list: {product_channel} (online / local), {product_country}, {product_language} and {product_partition_id} (Shopping), {store_code} (local inventory ads), {sourceid} (video source ID) and {random} (a random number) — plus two Conditional parameters:
  • dev={ifmobile:m}{ifnotmobile:d} — Mobile or desktop (m / d);
  • src={ifsearch:s}{ifcontent:c} — Search or Display network (s / c). Demand Gen does not support these; the row then warns Not supported by Demand Gen: the value stays empty.
• Unticking gclid shows gclid is off: without it conversions cannot be matched to Google clicks and offline uploads stay empty.

For Microsoft Advertising the list is Microsoft's URL parameters (msclkid, CampaignId, AdGroupId, AdId, OrderItemId, TargetId, keyword, MatchType, BidMatchType, Network, Device, QueryString); unticking msclkid shows msclkid is off. See Microsoft Advertising.

What every parameter is stored as: ValueTrack reference.

Step 4 — Custom parameters#

Google Ads custom parameters ({_name}, defined on a campaign, ad group or ad) can be mapped to sub IDs or any other name.

1. Click Add (up to 8 rows).
2. Enter the Parameter name (for example sub1). Allowed: letters, digits, _ . -, up to 64 characters. url, force_transparent and token are reserved, and a name already in the template is refused (Already in the template).
3. The value is pre-filled as {_<name>}; change it to the custom parameter you defined in Google Ads, e.g. {_creative}.

Names TrackCrown knows (sub1–sub10, source_id and their aliases) fill those columns; unknown names are stored as extra click parameters. With Microsoft Advertising, more than 3 rows show a warning: Microsoft ad extensions accept at most 3 custom parameters.

Add force_transparent=true before url= (on by default) adds Google's optional secondary parameter immediately before url=. /c/ links are always transparent; the parameter only makes that explicit to reviewers and is never forwarded to the landing page.

Step 5 — Check the ad's final URL#

Enter the ad's final URL in Final URL of your ad. The builder then:

• confirms the host is allowed — "shop.example.com is allowed by Workspace allowed destinations (shop.example.com). The tracker will redirect to it." — or shows … is not in the allowlist with an Edit allowlist button (Admins only). Without the fix the tracker answers 403 Destination not allowed and Google disapproves the ad;
• refuses a final URL on a tracking domain (final_url_on_tracker_domain) or one containing {lpurl};
• rewrites a final URL with a #fragment under Use this final URL in Google Ads, e.g. https://site.com/page?{ignore}tc=1#anchor, and switches the template to end with url={unescapedlpurl}.

With a Whole workspace key and an empty workspace allowlist, the builder warns that every destination is refused until you add your landing-page domains.

The result panel#

Certification gate#

If the selected domain is not certified, Not yet certified by Google appears and the builder defaults to Final URL suffix + SDK. Tick This Google Ads account used this tracker before 28 Aug 2023 to work with the template anyway. Microsoft Advertising has no certification programme, so the gate does not apply there.

Setup switch#

• Tracking template — the transparent template. Its badge reads Recommended, Fix errors (the linter found an error) or Not recommended (uncertified domain).
• Final URL suffix + SDK — the parameters for Google's Final URL suffix field plus the SDK snippet for your landing pages. See Final URL suffix + SDK.

Tracking template panel#

1. Copy the template with the copy button (Show full expands long templates).
2. Template checks lists every error and warning and the length (n / 2048). Codes: Template linter, simulator and tester.
3. Follow the numbered instructions: Google Ads → Admin → Account settings → Tracking (or a campaign's Settings → Campaign URL options), paste into Tracking template, leave Final URL suffix empty.
4. Redirect behaviour states what the tracker does: 302 to exactly the url= value plus &<click id param>=<click id> when append click ID is on, or nothing appended when it is off.
5. Simulate in Google opens the Simulator with this template and final URL; Transparency test opens the tester with them.

Which template Google uses#

The diagram shows the level precedence: Keyword › Ad › Ad group › Campaign › Account. Google takes the most specific level with a value; tracking template, Final URL suffix and each custom parameter are resolved independently. A template at a lower level replaces the account template completely for that level.

Building templates through the API#

GET /api/v1/tracking-link?offer=<id|code>&affiliate=<id|code>&type=transparent returns the same kind of template (with every core ValueTrack parameter, url={lpurl} last), plus google_ads.cert_status, google_ads.certified and a ready google_ads.final_url_suffix. On an uncertified domain the response carries the warning "Not yet certified by Google: new Google Ads accounts may only use certified trackers. Use Final URL suffix + SDK mode." See API reference.