Tracking basics

What are click IDs (gclid, fbclid, ttclid)?

A click ID is a unique value an ad platform appends to your URL so a later conversion can be matched to that exact click.

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When someone clicks an ad, the platform often adds a unique identifier to the landing URL: gclid for Google Ads (with gbraid and wbraid in some privacy-restricted iOS cases), fbclid for Meta, ttclid for TikTok, msclkid for Microsoft Ads, and others for LinkedIn, Snapchat, Pinterest, Reddit and X.

Click IDs serve two purposes. They identify the visit as coming from that platform, and they let you send a conversion back to the platform tied to the exact click, which is how offline conversion imports and conversions APIs match sales to ads. That's why capturing the click ID on landing, and storing it with the person's journey, matters even when the sale happens weeks later.

The problem

Why this matters for your ad budget

Click ids are how ad platforms recognise their own clicks, and they're essential for conversion uploads. They're easily lost in redirects and cross-domain hops.

Capturing them on every visit and recovering them from ad cookies keeps them available.

Capture every click id automatically

Create your account, install one snippet and see it on your own leads and sales.

Flat monthly price, no revenue tax
No annual contract
Tracking starts the minute the snippet is live

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Key takeaways

Platform identification

A click id signals a paid click, though fbclid also appears on organic Facebook links.

Conversion matching

Uploaded conversions use the click id to find the ad.

Cookie fallbacks

Pixels store click ids in cookies such as _fbc and _gcl_aw.

All of this is built in, ready on day one.

Try it on your own data

Use cases

How marketers use this

20+ click ids

gclid, fbclid, ttclid, msclkid and more captured.

Cookie recovery

Recovered from ad cookies when the URL lost them.

Conversion uploads

Sent back with conversions to ad platforms.

Try it on your own data

Flat monthly price, no revenue tax
No annual contract
Tracking starts the minute the snippet is live

Why BrainyMetrics

From theory to your own numbers

Everything in this guide is built into BrainyMetrics, working on your real ads, leads and sales.

Without BrainyMetrics

With BrainyMetrics

Meta, Google and TikTok each claim the same sale, so platform totals add up to more than your bank account.

Each sale is counted once, from your own checkout data, and reconciled against what each platform claims.

Analytics gives the last click all the credit, so the ads that start journeys look like they lose money.

Seven attribution models are computed for every conversion, so you can compare first click, last click and everything between.

Phone calls and booked calls are a black box. You know they happened, not which ad caused them.

Calls and bookings are matched to the visitor's session and the ad behind it, then tracked through qualified and closed.

Ad blockers, Safari and cross-domain checkouts quietly break your data.

A first-party tracking subdomain, server-set cookies and cross-domain linking keep journeys intact.

Spend lives in one tab, revenue in another, and ROAS is a spreadsheet you rebuild every Monday.

Spend syncs hourly and sits next to attributed revenue, so ROAS, CPA and profit are on every row, down to the ad.

Ad algorithms optimise on the few conversions their pixel happens to see.

Real purchases and leads are sent back to the ad platforms' conversion APIs, deduplicated against the pixel.

Stop guessing which marketing pays.

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Getting started

Put this guide into practice in four steps

No migration project and no agency retainer. Here is the whole path from sign-up to your first attributed sale.

1
Create your account
Sign up, name your workspace and pick the plan that fits. Your tracking snippet is waiting under Settings → Install.
2
Install tracko.js
Paste one snippet into your site's head, or add it with Google Tag Manager, WordPress or your funnel builder's tracking code box.
3
Connect revenue and ads
Connect Stripe, Shopify, your funnel builder or calendar, then Meta, Google or TikTok for hourly spend. Most connections take a click.
4
Watch the first sale land
The setup checklist ticks itself off as data arrives. Your next lead or sale shows up with its full journey and the ad that earned it.

Create your account

Flat monthly price, no revenue tax
No annual contract
Tracking starts the minute the snippet is live

One account

Everything else that comes with it

Tracking, attribution, calls, spend and revenue analytics share one data model, so each feature makes the others more accurate.

Multi-touch attribution

Seven models side by side, down to the ad.

First-party tracking

Your own subdomain and server-set cookies.

Call tracking

Dynamic numbers matched to the click behind each call.

ROAS and profit

Hourly spend sync joined with real revenue.

Conversion APIs

Feed real sales back to nine ad platforms.

Customer journeys

Every visit, ad, order and call per person.

LTV and cohorts

Lifetime value by the channel that acquired them.

Funnels

Drop-offs and cost per step, by ad.

Create your account and start tracking today.

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Frequently asked questions

Common questions about this topic, setup and pricing.

The fastest answer is your own data

Create an account, install the snippet and see how BrainyMetrics handles your real traffic.

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Does fbclid mean the visit was paid?

Not on its own. Facebook adds fbclid to many outbound links, including organic posts, so paid traffic should also carry UTMs or ad ids.

How long does setup take?

The basics take minutes: paste the snippet, connect your checkout or funnel builder, and connect your ad accounts. The setup checklist in your dashboard ticks each step off as data arrives, so you always know what's left.

Do I need a developer?

Usually not. The snippet can go in through Google Tag Manager, WordPress or your funnel builder's tracking code settings, and most revenue sources connect with a click or a webhook URL you paste. The developer guide covers the JavaScript and server API if you do have a developer.

Does the price go up as I grow?

No. Plans are a flat monthly or yearly price. We never bill a percentage of revenue or ad spend, and you can switch, pause or cancel from the Billing page without a call.

Does tracking stop if I hit a plan limit?

No. Plans limit dashboard modules and things like integrations or workspaces; tracko.js, webhooks and syncs keep collecting data, so nothing is lost if you upgrade later.

Is it privacy friendly?

Yes. BrainyMetrics supports consent modes, works with your consent banner, respects Global Privacy Control and handles sensitive form fields strictly. Data is first-party: it belongs to your workspace, not an ad network.