How to Set Up the Google Ads Precautionary Tracking Script

The precautionary tracking script is a fail-safe for the Google Ads UTM template. If a click bypasses the template, this script captures it and forwards attribution data to Google Analytics so reporting in Sparkforge stays clean.

Steps to install the script

1. Open Google Ads. Sign in to the account you connected to Sparkforge.
2. Go to Scripts. Click Tools and Settings → Bulk Actions → Scripts. If the menu is hidden, switch to advanced view.
3. Paste the script. Remove the predefined code and paste the full precautionary script (below).
4. Name and schedule. Save the script with a clear name and set frequency to Hourly.
5. Authorize. The first run requires authorization because the script writes to your Google Ads account. Preview before activating — most campaigns should show landing page found.

The script

function main() {
  var TrackingTemplate = "{lpurl}?utm_source=adwords&utm_medium={AdName}&utm_campaign={CampaignName}&utm_content={AdGroupName}&utm_keyword={keyword}&utm_matchtype={matchtype}&campaign_id={campaignid}&ad_group_id={adgroupid}&ad_id={creative}";
  var _CAMPAIGN_CONTAINS = "";
  var _ADGROUP_CONTAINS = "";
  var STATUS = "ENABLED";

  if (TrackingTemplate.search(/{AdGroupName}|{CampaignName}|{AdName}/g) == -1) {
    Logger.log("Enter at least one of the {CampaignName} or {AdGroupName} or {AdName} parameter in the tracking template");
    return;
  }

  if (TrackingTemplate.search("{AdGroupName}") > 0) {
    var adgroupIterator = { hasNext: function() { return false; } };
    if (_ADGROUP_CONTAINS == "" && _CAMPAIGN_CONTAINS == "") {
      adgroupIterator = AdsApp.adGroups().withCondition("Status = " + STATUS).get();
    } else if (_ADGROUP_CONTAINS == "" && _CAMPAIGN_CONTAINS !== "") {
      adgroupIterator = AdsApp.adGroups().withCondition("CampaignName contains '" + _CAMPAIGN_CONTAINS + "'").withCondition("Status = " + STATUS).get();
    } else if (_ADGROUP_CONTAINS !== "" && _CAMPAIGN_CONTAINS !== "") {
      adgroupIterator = AdsApp.adGroups().withCondition("CampaignName contains '" + _CAMPAIGN_CONTAINS + "'").withCondition("Name contains '" + _ADGROUP_CONTAINS + "'").withCondition("Status = " + STATUS).get();
    } else if (_ADGROUP_CONTAINS !== "" && _CAMPAIGN_CONTAINS == "") {
      adgroupIterator = AdsApp.adGroups().withCondition("Name contains '" + _ADGROUP_CONTAINS + "'").withCondition("Status = " + STATUS).get();
    }

    if (!adgroupIterator.hasNext()) {
      Logger.log("No Campaigns/Adgroups matched with this condition");
      return;
    }

    while (adgroupIterator.hasNext()) {
      var adgroup = adgroupIterator.next();
      var adgrouptemplate = TrackingTemplate.replace(/{AdGroupName}/g, adgroup.getName().replace(/\s/g, '%20'));
      if (TrackingTemplate.search("{CampaignName}") > 0) {
        adgrouptemplate = adgrouptemplate.replace(/{CampaignName}/g, adgroup.getCampaign().getName().replace(/\s/g, '%20'));
      }
      adgroup.urls().setTrackingTemplate(adgrouptemplate);
      Logger.log(adgroup.getCampaign().getName() + " => " + adgroup.getName() + " => " + adgrouptemplate);
    }
  }
}

The full version (with handling for every ad type — expanded text, gmail, html5, image, responsive search, and so on) is in the original Google Ads script library. The skeleton above is enough for most accounts.