FIX GCLID STRIPPING
ON REDIRECT

1) Google Ads Final URLs: stop triggering redirects

• • Make Final URLs match your canonical format (https, www vs non-www, trailing slash).
• • Avoid extra hops through old domains, link shorteners, or “helper” redirects.
• • Fewer hops = fewer failure points.

# Redirect with argument preservation
rewrite ^/old-path$ /new-path$is_args$args permanent;

# Trailing slash enforcement (preserving args)
rewrite ^([^.]*[^/])$ $1/$is_args$args permanent;

# WordPress try_files: DO NOT drop args
# Bad: try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php;
try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php$is_args$args;

3) Apache (.htaccess): use QSA

RewriteEngine On

# BAD: can strip existing query string
RewriteRule ^old-page/?$ /new-page/ [R=301,L]

# GOOD: preserves query string (QSA)
RewriteRule ^old-page/?$ /new-page/ [R=301,L,QSA]

4) WordPress: protect canonical redirects

WordPress can issue “clean” canonical redirects that drop unknown query parameters. Add a filter that re-attaches the tracking params.

/**
 * Preserve attribution parameters during WordPress canonical redirects.
 */
function preserve_tracking_parameters( $redirect_url, $requested_url ) {
  $tracking_params = [
    'gclid','wbraid','gbraid','gclsrc',
    'utm_source','utm_medium','utm_campaign','utm_term','utm_content'
  ];

  $parsed = parse_url( $requested_url );
  if ( empty( $parsed['query'] ) ) return $redirect_url;

  parse_str( $parsed['query'], $query );
  $keep = [];

  foreach ( $tracking_params as $p ) {
    if ( isset( $query[$p] ) ) $keep[$p] = $query[$p];
  }

  if ( ! empty( $keep ) ) $redirect_url = add_query_arg( $keep, $redirect_url );
  return $redirect_url;
}
add_filter( 'redirect_canonical', 'preserve_tracking_parameters', 10, 2 );

5) CDN + WAF: the “hidden strippers”

• • In Cloudflare redirect/transform rules, ensure “Preserve query string” is enabled.
• • If APO or caching ignores query strings, consider bypassing cache when gclid/wbraid/gbraid are present.
• • In security plugins (Wordfence/Solid Security), allowlist those params to prevent false positives.

6) Defense in depth: capture on first touch

Even after you fix redirects, capture IDs immediately and store them. This protects you from future config changes.

(function() {
  function getParam(p) {
    var m = RegExp('[?&]' + p + '=([^&]*)').exec(window.location.search);
    return m && decodeURIComponent(m[1].replace(/\+/g,' '));
  }

  function setCookie(name, value, days) {
    var d = new Date();
    d.setTime(d.getTime() + (days*24*60*60*1000));
    document.cookie = name + '=' + value +
      ';expires=' + d.toUTCString() +
      ';path=/;SameSite=Lax;Secure';
  }

  var keys = ['gclid','gclsrc','wbraid','gbraid'];
  keys.forEach(function(k) {
    var v = getParam(k);
    if (v) {
      setCookie(k, v, 90);
      localStorage.setItem(k, v);
    }
  });
})();

If you need those IDs in a CRM or offline pipeline, see: offline conversions and CRM uploads .

7) WooCommerce: store IDs on the order for offline conversion import

Save gclid/wbraid/gbraid from cookies to order meta at checkout. Then you can export and upload conversions later.

add_action( 'woocommerce_checkout_create_order', 'save_attribution_data_to_order', 10, 2 );
function save_attribution_data_to_order( $order, $data ) {
  $keys = ['gclid','wbraid','gbraid'];
  foreach ( $keys as $key ) {
    if ( isset( $_COOKIE[ $key ] ) ) {
      $value = sanitize_text_field( $_COOKIE[ $key ] );
      $order->update_meta_data( '_' . $key, $value );
      $order->update_meta_data( $key, $value );
    }
  }
}

If GA4 purchase/revenue is also off, fix it in parallel: GA4 purchase and revenue mismatches (WooCommerce) .