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bchic Analytics automatically captures all visitors coming from Google Ads to your website – as long as URLs are tagged with UTM parameters. With the right configuration, you’ll track not just traffic sources, but also campaign names, keywords, ad groups, and more.

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Automatic Tracking

bchic automatically recognizes all visitors with UTM parameters in the URL and categorizes them as Paid Traffic. You’ll see these visits in the dashboard under Traffic Sources → UTM Campaigns.

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Standard UTM Parameters

The most important UTM parameters for Google Ads:
ParameterDescriptionExample
utm_sourceTraffic sourcegoogle
utm_mediumMarketing mediumcpc, ppc
utm_campaignCampaign namesummer_sale_2026
utm_termKeyword (optional)analytics+software
utm_contentAd content (optional)textad_v1
Example URL: 
https://yourdomain.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=summer_sale_2026&utm_term=analytics+software&utm_content=headline_a
1

Enable auto-tagging

Google Ads can automatically append URLs with additional parameters (GCLID), but for bchic you need manual UTM parameters.
  1. Open Google Ads and go to Settings → Account settings.
  2. Navigate to Auto-tagging.
  3. Make sure Auto-tagging is enabled (recommended, even though we’re adding manual parameters).
Auto-tagging adds the gclid parameter, which is important for Google Analytics. For bchic we use UTM parameters in addition, and both can work in parallel.
2

Set tracking template at account level

To automatically append UTM parameters to all campaign URLs, set a tracking template at account level.
  1. Go to Settings → Account settings.
  2. Scroll to Tracking and click on Tracking template.
  3. Add the following template:
{lpurl}?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign={campaignid}&utm_term={keyword}&utm_content={creative}
Parameter placeholders explained:
  • {lpurl} – Your destination URL
  • {campaignid} – Unique campaign ID
  • {keyword} – The matched keyword
  • {creative} – Ad group ID or creative ID
  1. Click Save.
Test the template before going live. Google Ads offers a Test button to verify the URL is generated correctly.
3

Alternative: ValueTrack parameters for more details

Google Ads offers ValueTrack parameters that let you pass even more information:
{lpurl}?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign={campaignid}&utm_term={keyword}&utm_content={creative}&matchtype={matchtype}&network={network}&device={device}
Additional parameters:
  • {matchtype} – Keyword match type (broad, phrase, exact)
  • {network} – Ad network (search, display)
  • {device} – Device type (mobile, desktop, tablet)
  • {placement} – Placement (for display ads)
  • {target} – Targeting criterion
This data appears in bchic under UTM Content or in URL parameters and can be analyzed in custom reports.
4

Campaign-specific customizations (optional)

If you want to set different UTM parameters for individual campaigns:
  1. Open the desired Campaign → Settings.
  2. Scroll to Campaign URL options.
  3. Set a tracking template at campaign level:
{lpurl}?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=black_friday&utm_term={keyword}
This overrides the account template only for this campaign.

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Verify Tracking

After setup, you can verify that UTM parameters are being passed correctly:
  1. Google Ads Preview Tool: Click on an ad in the ad preview and check the URL in the address bar.
  2. bchic Dashboard: Go to Traffic Sources → UTM Campaigns and see if new campaigns appear.
  3. Browser DevTools: After clicking an ad, open DevTools (F12) → Network → check URL parameters in the request.
Example of a correctly tagged URL: 
https://yourdomain.com/landing?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=12345678&utm_term=analytics+tool&utm_content=98765&gclid=abc123xyz

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Analysis in bchic

In the bchic dashboard, you’ll find Google Ads traffic under:
  • Traffic Sources → UTM Campaigns: Overview of all campaigns with sessions, conversions, bounce rate.
  • Traffic Sources → UTM Source/Medium: Filter by google / cpc for all Google Ads traffic.
  • UTM Term: See which keywords drive the most traffic.
  • UTM Content: Compare performance of different ad texts or creatives.

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Track custom events

If you want to track conversions like form submissions or purchases: 
// Example: Conversion after form submission
document.getElementById('contact-form').addEventListener('submit', function() {
    if (window.bchic) {
        window.bchic.track('lead', { source: 'google_ads' });
    }
});
You’ll see these events under Events in the dashboard and can link them to UTM parameters.

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Common Issues

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UTM parameters not being transferred

  • Problem: You see traffic but no UTM data in the dashboard.
  • Solution: Check if the tracking template in Google Ads is saved correctly. Test the URL with the Google Ads Preview Tool.

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Campaign IDs instead of names

  • Problem: Dashboard shows only IDs (e.g. 12345678) instead of campaign names.
  • Solution: This is normal when using {campaignid}. Use {_campaign} (with underscore!) instead for campaign names:
{lpurl}?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign={_campaign}&utm_term={keyword}
{_campaign} returns the campaign name, which may contain spaces and special characters. URLs should be URL-encoded, which Google Ads handles automatically.

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Duplicate parameters (gclid + UTM)

  • Problem: URLs have both gclid and UTM parameters.
  • Solution: This is correct and intended. gclid is for Google Analytics, UTM parameters for bchic. Both can coexist.

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Keywords appear as

  • Problem: The placeholder isn’t being replaced.
  • Solution: Make sure the tracking template is set at account level, not in the final URL. Google Ads only replaces placeholders in templates, not in manually entered URLs.

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Best Practices

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Consistent naming convention

Use consistent names for campaigns and parameters:
  • ✅ utm_campaign=summer_sale_2026_search
  • ✅ utm_campaign=black_friday_display
  • ❌ utm_campaign=Summer Sale 2026! (spaces, special chars)

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Set medium correctly

  • cpc or ppc for paid search
  • display for display ads
  • shopping for Google Shopping
  • video for YouTube ads

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Use UTM builder

For manual campaigns (e.g., newsletter with Google Ads link), you can use a UTM builder: Example tool: Google Campaign URL Builder

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Privacy

UTM parameters contain no personal data and are GDPR-compliant. Keywords and campaign names are technical information, not user identifiers. bchic stores UTM data aggregated and anonymized – just like all other analytics data.

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Support

If you need help setting up Google Ads tracking or have questions about specific ValueTrack parameters: We’re happy to help with configuration and show you how to get the most out of your campaign data.