fbclid and gclid stripped by redirects: how to test your ad links
Updated · TagGap
Quick answer: When a redirect between your ad and your landing page drops the query string, the click id (fbclid, gclid, ttclid) and UTMs never reach your store, and the purchase cannot be tied back to the ad. Test each ad destination URL with the free ad link checker and fix the redirect that drops them.
Where click ids get lost
- Country or language redirects (for example to a market subfolder) that rebuild the URL without the query string.
- Old product or collection URLs redirected by a URL redirect app or a theme rule.
- Link shorteners and link-in-bio tools that do not pass parameters through.
- http → https or non-www → www hops set up outside Shopify.
- Cart and checkout links that lose their parameters when a cart is rebuilt.
Why it matters
Meta’s pixel uses fbclid to set the click cookie (fbc) that ties a purchase to an ad click. Google Ads uses gclid for attribution and conversion import. Lose the parameter at the first hop and the sale shows up as direct or organic, and the campaign that drove it looks unprofitable.
Test it
- Copy the final URL from the ad, exactly as configured.
- Paste it into the ad link checker. It adds test click ids and UTMs, follows every redirect and shows where a parameter disappears.
- Fix the redirect that drops them, or point the ad straight at the final URL.
- Re-test after theme, market or app changes. The TagGap app re-checks every ad link on a schedule and alerts you after two failed checks.
Related fix guides
- Click id is dropped on the way to the landing page
- UTM parameters are dropped
- Long redirect chain
- Ad link redirects in a loop