Click ID
Also known as: fbclid, gclid, ttclid, click identifier, fbc
A click ID is a parameter an ad platform appends to the link when someone clicks an ad, such as `fbclid` for Meta or `gclid` for Google Ads. It lets the platform recognise, when a sale is later reported, that the visit began with one of its own clicks.
Why is a click ID worth more than any other detail?
Because it is the platform's own reference rather than a guess. An email address has to be matched against a profile; a click ID names a click the platform already recorded. It is the strongest attribution signal a shop can return, and it costs nothing to keep.
How do shops lose the click ID?
Three ways, all mundane. A redirect strips the query string on the way to the site. The visitor browses, and the parameter never survives to the checkout page. Or it is stored in a browser cookie that Safari expires within a day, because the visit arrived carrying tracking parameters.
What form does Meta expect it in?
Meta does not want the raw `fbclid`. It wants an `fbc` value built from it, of the form `fb.1.<timestamp>.<fbclid>`, where the timestamp records when the click happened. It is sent as plain text, never hashed, which is the opposite rule from customer details.
Sources
- Meta expects the click identifier as an `fbc` value shaped `fb.1.<creation time>.<fbclid>`, sent unhashed alongside the hashed customer parameters.Meta for Developers
- Safari caps script-written first-party cookies at 24 hours when the visit arrived through a link carrying tracking parameters, which is exactly the case of a click ID.WebKit
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