Glossary · Attribution
What is a click ID (gclid, fbclid, twclid)?
A click ID is a unique identifier that an ad platform or social network appends to a link's URL when someone clicks it — such as gclid for Google Ads, fbclid for Meta or twclid for X — so the click can be matched to a later conversion.
Also called: gclid, fbclid, twclid, msclkid, Click identifier
Updated
Common click IDs
| Parameter | Platform |
|---|---|
gclid, gbraid, wbraid | Google Ads (gbraid/wbraid are used for some iOS traffic) |
fbclid | Meta (Facebook, Instagram) — added to outbound links, ads or not |
msclkid | Microsoft Advertising (Bing) |
ttclid | TikTok |
twclid | X (Twitter) ads |
li_fat_id |
How click IDs work
https://example.com/pricing?gclid=Cj0KCQjw…
The platform generates the id at click time and stores which ad, campaign and user it belongs to. Your site (or the platform's pixel) keeps the id; when a conversion is reported back — through a pixel or a server-side conversions API — the platform matches the id to the click and attributes the conversion to the ad. Unlike UTM parameters, a click ID means nothing to anyone but the platform that issued it.
Click ID example
A visitor clicks your Google ad and lands on /pricing?gclid=Cj0K…. The URL has no UTM tags. An analytics tool that only reads referrers sees google.com and files the visit as organic search — inflating SEO and hiding the ad. A tool that recognizes gclid files it as paid Google traffic instead.
Why click IDs go missing
- Safari's Link Tracking Protection (since iOS 17 and macOS Sonoma) strips known click IDs in Private Browsing and in links opened from Mail and Messages.
- Some privacy browsers and extensions remove them from all URLs.
- Redirects and link shorteners can drop the query string.
- Single-page apps that rewrite the URL before the analytics script runs lose them.
How VisitTrack uses click IDs
When a landing URL has no UTM source, the VisitTrack script checks for gclid, gbraid, wbraid, fbclid, msclkid, ttclid, twclid and li_fat_id, sets the source to the platform (google, facebook, bing, tiktok, twitter, linkedin) and the medium to paid. Explicit UTM tags always win. The id itself isn't stored — it's only used to classify the visit, so ad clicks don't get counted as organic or social. Combine it with revenue attribution to see which ad platforms produce paying customers.
Frequently asked questions
What does fbclid mean in a URL?
fbclid is the Facebook Click Identifier, a parameter Meta adds to links clicked on Facebook and Instagram so it can match visits and conversions back to clicks. It is added to outbound links in general, not only to ads.
Is it safe to remove gclid from URLs?
Removing it from the address bar after the page has loaded and your tracking has read it is fine. Stripping it before tracking runs breaks Google Ads conversion attribution and makes paid clicks look organic.
Related terms
- UTM parametersUTM parameters are five standard query-string tags — utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign, utm_term and utm_content — added to a link so analytics tools can attribute the visit to a specific source, channel and campaign.
- utm_mediumutm_medium is the UTM parameter that describes the type of marketing channel that sent a visit — such as email, cpc, social, referral or affiliate — and is what most tools use to assign the visit to a channel group.
- Attribution windowAn attribution window, or lookback window, is the maximum time between an ad interaction or visit and a conversion for that interaction to receive credit for it.
- Channel groupingChannel grouping is the set of rules an analytics tool uses to sort every visit into a marketing channel — such as direct, organic search, paid search, social, email or referral — based on its referrer, UTM parameters and ad click ids.
- Server-side trackingServer-side tracking is sending analytics or conversion events from your own server to the analytics or ad platform, instead of (or in addition to) from a script running in the visitor's browser.
Tools and guides
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