Last Updated on April 30, 2026

What is a GCLID and why do we want to track it?

GCLID stands for Google Click Identifier. It’s a unique tracking parameter that Google automatically appends to a destination URL when someone clicks a Google Ad. It looks like a string of random characters added to the end of a URL, and it’s generated fresh for every single click.

When auto-tagging is enabled in Google Ads (which is the default), that ID gets stored and passed back to Google when a conversion happens on the website. This is what allows Google Ads to connect a specific click to a specific action — whether that’s a form submission, a phone call, or a purchase.

Without GCLID-based tracking, you’d know a conversion happened, but you wouldn’t know which ad, keyword, or campaign was responsible for it. With it, Google can report on exactly which clicks are driving results, making it possible to optimize campaigns based on what’s actually working rather than guessing.

How do we track the GCLID in a form submission?

    1. Go to helpforwp.com
    2. Login to our account (info in LastPass)
    3. Go to “Downloads”
    4. Download the plugin by clicking on the file (they are all the same, it is just when we renew, it shows more)
    5. Upload the file to the plugins section on WP and activate the plugin
    6. Add our license key (can be found in our account)
    7. In the form, create hidden fields for the items you want to capture (the plugin has lots. You can look at the options when you go into the plugin)
    8. In the plugin, select the form
    9. Then map the fields to the correct fields in the form