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The Google Ads tracking template: what Tapper sets and why

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When you connect a Google Ads account to a workspace with Block, Tapper puts its own tracking template on the account. There is nothing to install by hand.

Why Tapper needs it

For every ad click, Google loads the address in the tracking template, filled in with details of that click, and the visitor lands on your page. Tapper's template points to protect.tapper.ai and asks for the campaign, ad group and ad, keyword and match type, device, location, network, placement and the GCLID (Google's click ID). Tapper uses these to judge each click and to write exclusions to the right campaigns. Clicks that skip the template are clicks Tapper can't see.

What Tapper sets, and when

WhenWhat happens to the account-level template
You connect the accountTapper keeps a copy of the template you had and replaces it with its own.
The account stays connectedTapper's template stays, including when a rule set is in Monitor-only.
You disconnect the accountTapper puts back your old template, or clears the field if there was none.

The template

The Tracking template tab of the Google Ads page shows it, with your entity's public key in pk:

https://protect.tapper.ai/google-ads/click?pk=YOUR_PUBLIC_KEY&campaign_id={campaignid}&ad_segment_id={adgroupid}&ad_id={creative}&feed_item_id={feeditemid}&extension_id={extensionid}&target_id={targetid}&device={device}&device_model={devicemodel}&physical_location={loc_physical_ms}&interest_location={loc_interest_ms}&network={network}&keyword={keyword}&match_type={matchtype}&target={target}&placement={placement}&param1={param1}&param2={param2}&ad_position={adposition}&ad_type={adtype}&merchant_id={merchant_id}&product_channel={product_channel}&product_id={product_id}&product_country={product_country}&product_language={product_language}&product_partition_id={product_partition_id}&store_code={store_code}&gclid={gclid}&redirection_url={lpurl}

The words in braces are Google's ValueTrack placeholders, filled in for each click. Two matter most:

  • gclid={gclid} carries Google's click ID.
  • redirection_url={lpurl} carries your landing page. Keep it exactly as it is.

The rest describe the click: campaign, ad group, ad, keyword, device, location, network, placement, ad position and ad type, plus product and store details for Shopping ads.

Copy it from the app

  1. Pick the entity in the sidebar switcher if you have more than one.
  2. Under Setup, click Ad accounts, then Google Ads.
  3. Open the Tracking template tab and click Copy the tracking template.

Copy it from the app, not from this page, so it carries your own key. You paste it yourself in two cases only:

Check it in Google Ads

Open Admin, Account settings, Tracking. Tracking template holds an address starting https://protect.tapper.ai/google-ads/click?pk=. It matches the copy in Tapper except that the ad group travels as ad_group_id={adgroupid} instead of ad_segment_id={adgroupid}.

The Tracking section of Google Ads account settings with Tapper's template in the Tracking template field

If a tool already sets a template

Google Ads holds one tracking template per account. If you had one before, your own UTM template or one from a tool such as HubSpot or Search Ads 360:

  • Save a copy before you connect. Tapper also keeps one and puts it back when you disconnect.
  • If the tool writes its template back after you connect, it replaces Tapper's and clicks stop passing through Tapper.
  • With Search Ads 360, make template changes there: it rewrites templates on every sync, reverting changes made in Google Ads.
  • Before you connect an account whose template a tool manages, write to support@tapper.ai and describe your setup.

The public guide Tracking Template covers the same setup.

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