Google Ads Integration

Overview

• GCLID capture — reads gclid from landing URL and stores it alongside utk_click_id
• Google Transparency Mode — passes clientId to Google's Consent-Mode compatible endpoint
• Server-side conversions — sends conversion events to Google Ads API from your server, not the browser
• Enhanced Conversions — hashes PII and passes to Google for improved match rates

GCLID Capture

The SDK automatically reads gclid from the landing URL and stores it as utk_gclid in a first-party cookie (30-day TTL). No extra configuration is needed.

var gclid = AffclixSDK.getAttribution().gclid;
console.log(gclid); // e.g. "Cj0KCQj..."

Google Transparency Mode

Transparency Mode is Google's Consent Mode v2 compatible approach for advertisers in the EEA and UK. When enabled, the SDK routes conversion events through the Transparency endpoint and includes clientId for modelled conversion support.

AffclixSDK.init({
  trackingDomain:        't.yourdomain.com',
  useGoogleTransparency: true,
  clientId:              'AW-123456789'
});

When useGoogleTransparency is true, client_id is appended to every tracking request. Clicks and conversions still go to the standard /c and /p endpoints on your tracking domain, which handle Google Ads transparency server-side.

Send Conversion to Google Ads

Client-side (gtag)

// 1. Fire the Affclix conversion postback
AffclixSDK.trackConversion({
  campaignID: 'YOUR_CAMPAIGN_ID',
  eventName:  'purchase',
  conversionData: {
    txn_id:   'ORDER-1001',
    sale:     '99.00',
    currency: 'USD'
  }
}).then(function() {
  // 2. Mirror it to Google Ads — fires gtag 'conversion' with your label
  AffclixSDK.adPlatforms.google.sendConversionEvent('AW-123456789/AbCdEfGhIjKl', {
    value:          99.00,
    currency:       'USD',
    transaction_id: 'ORDER-1001'
  });
});

Server-side postback

GET https://t.yourdomain.com/p
    ?auth={YOUR_SECURITY_TOKEN}
    &c={CAMPAIGN_ID}
    &click_id={CLICK_ID}
    &txn_id={ORDER_ID}
    &sale=99.00
    ¤cy=USD
    &gclid={GCLID}

Enhanced Conversions

Pass hashed customer data to improve conversion matching in Google Ads. The SDK automatically SHA-256 hashes PII before sending.

// Forwarded to gtag('set', 'user_data', ...) — Google normalises and
// hashes these values before they leave the browser.
AffclixSDK.adPlatforms.google.setUserData({
  email:        'customer@example.com',
  phone_number: '+919876543210',
  address: {
    first_name:  'Arjun',
    last_name:   'Sharma',
    city:        'Mumbai',
    postal_code: '400001',
    country:     'IN'
  }
});

AffclixSDK.trackConversion({
  campaignID: 'YOUR_CAMPAIGN_ID',
  eventName:  'purchase',
  conversionData: { txn_id: 'ORDER-1001', sale: '99.00', currency: 'USD' }
});

UTM + Google Attribution Flow

Link Tracking & Certified Click Trackers

Everything above covers conversions. This section covers the click — what Google will and will not accept as a tracking template pointing at Affclix.

Google accepts a third-party click tracker only when every host in the redirect chain is one it certifies. A chain like Google → Affclix → partner network → advertiser fails on the middle hop even though the first two are fine, and the disapproval names the ad rather than the host.

Build the template

The Tracking Link Generator builds a compliant template for you: pick the campaign, switch on "Google Ads tracking template", and generate. Three values come back, each labelled with the Google Ads box it belongs in.

https://acme.affclix.com/c?c=101&a=55&url={lpurl}&gclid={gclid}&gbraid={gbraid}&wbraid={wbraid}

Redirect Transparency

When the click passes through anything beyond Affclix, each hop consumes the landing URL instead of forwarding it. Google then loses sight of the destination and disapproves the ad for a destination mismatch — even though the page loads perfectly when you click it yourself.

The transparency flag tells every step of the chain to keep the original {lpurl} visible:

https://acme.affclix.com/c?c=101&a=55&url={lpurl}&gclid={gclid}&force_transparent=true

Add the flag only when the click really does redirect onward. On a direct Affclix-to-advertiser link it does nothing.

Destination Matching

Google compares the URL the user actually reaches against the final URL the ad declares. Three rules decide whether they match.

Parallel Tracking & GCLID Capture

Parallel tracking is mandatory on Google Ads. Instead of redirecting the user through the tracker, Google sends the browser straight to the landing page and fires the tracking URL as a background beacon.

How the Tracker Handles Google Clicks

A click counts as a Google Ads click when it arrives with a real gclid, gbraid, wbraid or dclid, or with force_transparent=true. Ordinary affiliate traffic has none of these and is handled exactly as before.

Operational Guidance

Before you spend

• Auto-tagging is on — Settings → Account Settings → Auto-tagging. Without it Google appends no gclid at all and every {gclid} in every template resolves to nothing.
• The generated audit shows no blocking issues.
• One live test click has run, and the gclid is visible in the landing page URL and stored in the cookie.
• One test conversion has been sent and appears in both Affclix and Google Ads.

Audit what is actually configured

A template built correctly here and then pasted into the wrong Google Ads box — or edited later by whoever runs the ads — is the ordinary way this breaks, and nothing on the Affclix side can see it. With a connected Google Ads integration, read the live account instead:

# Audit every tracking template on a connected account
php artisan google-ads:audit-tracking --integration=12 --final-url=https://example.com/offer

# Pre-flight a tracking URL without calling Google
php artisan google-ads:audit-tracking \
    --url="https://acme.affclix.com/c?c=101&a=55" \
    --final-url="https://example.com/offer" \
    --chain="partner-network.com" --s2s

For a connected account the audit reads the account-level tracking template, final URL suffix and auto-tagging setting, then every campaign that is not removed:

• A campaign with no template of its own is audited against the account-level template it inherits, and is labelled as inheriting it.
• A campaign with no template anywhere is listed but not audited — its clicks go straight to the final URL, which is a valid setup.
• Auto-tagging switched off is reported once for the whole account, not repeated as a missing gclid on every campaign.
• Add --json for machine-readable output.

The command exits non-zero when anything blocking is found — including auto-tagging switched off — so it can gate a deploy.

When something is wrong