How to capture the GCLID in Microsoft Dynamics 365
Use Attributer to capture the GCLID alongside every new lead in Dynamics 365 and feed it back to Google Ads as an Offline Conversion
Use Attributer to capture the GCLID in Microsoft Dynamics 365. Just add a hidden field to your forms, Attributer writes the GCLID into it, and it gets captured by your form builder and sent to Dynamics 365. You'll also get other lead source data (like UTM parameters, organic channel details, and more).
Google Ads can be a brilliant way to bring in new leads.
But if you don't know which of those leads actually turn into paying customers, you can easily end up pouring budget into campaigns that look like winners on paper but aren't really moving the needle.
The good news? There's a straightforward fix.
In this article, we'll walk you through how to use a tool called Attributer to capture the GCLID in Microsoft Dynamics 365, and then send it back to Google Ads as an offline covnersion so you can ultimately track how many leads and customers your ads are generating.
4 steps for capturing the GCLID in Microsoft Dynamics 365
Attributer makes it easy to capture the GCLID in Dynamics 365. Here's a quick rundown of how it all works:
1. Install Attributer on your website and add a hidden field
To get started, sign up for a 14-day free trial of Attributer. You'll be given a small snippet of code to install on your website.
The exact process depends on what your site is built with (WordPress, Webflow, Squarespace, etc), but it generally just involves dropping the code into your site's settings area. You can also add it through Google Tag Manager if that's easier.
Once the code is in place, the next step is to add a 'GCLID' hidden field to the lead capture forms on your site. This is the field Attributer will write the GCLID into whenever someone completes a form.
Full setup instructions are available on our help site.
2. Attributer captures the GCLID and writes it into the hidden field
Whenever a visitor clicks one of your Google Ads and lands on your website, Attributer grabs the GCLID out of the URL and saves it in their browser. That means the GCLID is preserved even if they click around to other pages on your site, or leave entirely and return days or weeks later.
Then, when they eventually complete a form, Attributer automatically writes the saved GCLID into the hidden field you set up.
3. GCLID is captured with each form submission
When the visitor hits submit, the GCLID that Attributer wrote into the hidden field is captured by your form tool alongside everything else the lead entered (their name, email, phone number, etc.)
4. GCLID is passed to Microsoft Dynamics 365 with each new lead
Finally, the GCLID can be sent into Dynamics 365 alongside the rest of the details the lead provided on the form, like their name, email, phone number, and so on.
If you're using a form builder like Gravity Forms, Jotform, Typeform, or Tally Forms, you can send the GCLID to Dynamics 365 using the form tool's built-in integration (if it has one) or a connector like Zapier, Make, or Power Automate.
In most cases, you're probably already sending the name, email, and phone into Dynamics 365 from your form tool, so it's just a matter of updating the mapping to also pass through the GCLID.
How to send the GCLID back to Google Ads and mark it as an offline conversion
Before you can push the GCLID back to Google Ads, you'll first need to set up a new conversion action inside your Google Ads account.
To do that, log in to Google Ads, click Goals in the left sidebar, and head to Conversions. From there, click the button to create a new Conversion and pick 'Offline Conversion'.
On the last screen, when it asks you to add a data source, just select the option to 'Add data source later'.
With the conversion action now set up in Google Ads, the next job is actually sending the GCLID back. But before you do, you'll need to decide which stage in your sales process should count as a conversion.
It's tempting to only send conversions back once a deal is actually won. But that can work against you. Google's smart bidding strategies (things like Maximise Conversions, Maximise Conversion Value, and Target CPA) typically need around 50 conversions a month to perform at their best. So if your business closes fewer than 50 deals a month, you're much better off tracking an earlier stage in your pipeline (like when an Opportunity is created in Dynamics 365) to give Google enough data to optimise with.
Once you've locked in the right conversion point, jump into your Zapier account and set up a new Zap. Set the trigger to match your chosen conversion event. For instance, if you want to fire the offline conversion whenever an Opportunity is created in Dynamics 365, that becomes your trigger.
Next, choose Google Ads as the Action and pick 'Send Offline Conversion' as the event.
The final step is mapping the GCLID from Dynamics 365 to the GCLID field in Google Ads.
And that's it! You've got offline conversions configured in Google Ads. Before you start pouring more budget into your ads, it's worth checking that the data is flowing through properly. You can read more about how to do that here.
Why Attributer is the best way to capture the GCLID in Microsoft Dynamics 365
There are a handful of ways you could go about getting the GCLID into Dynamics 365. So what makes Attributer the best pick?
Here's what sets it apart:
1. Remembers the GCLID as visitors browse your site
A lot of form tools have some form of built-in URL parameter capture, but they generally only grab whatever is in the URL right when the form is submitted.
So if a visitor clicks your Google Ad, lands on your homepage, and then wanders over to your Contact Us page to fill in a form, the GCLID has long since dropped out of the URL and won't get captured.
Attributer works differently. It saves the GCLID in the visitor's browser the moment they arrive, so no matter how many pages they view, or whether they leave and come back later, the GCLID is always passed through when they submit a form.
2. Captures UTM parameters as well
Attributer doesn't stop at the GCLID. It also picks up any UTM parameters behind your ads.
For example, imagine you run marketing for a law firm and a potential client clicks on one of your Google Ads before filling out a form on your site. Depending on the UTM parameters you've set up, Attributer would grab details along the lines of:
- Channel = Paid Search
- Channel Drilldown 1 = Google
- Channel Drilldown 2 = Personal Injury Campaign (or whatever you called the campaign)
- Channel Drilldown 3 = Car Accident Lawyer (or whichever keyword triggered the ad)
- Channel Drilldown 4 = Free Case Review Ad (or the specific ad they clicked)
3. Captures information on users from organic channels
On top of paid traffic, Attributer also tracks leads arriving through organic channels like Organic Search, Organic Social, Referral, Direct Traffic, and more.
Sticking with the law firm example, if a lead found your site via a regular Google search, Attributer would capture something like:
- Channel = Organic Search
- Channel Drilldown 1 = Google
- Channel Drilldown 2 = www.google.com (or whichever search engine domain they came in from)
- Channel Drilldown 3 = Personal Injury Lawyer Near Me (or whatever search term they used, when available)
Wrap Up
If you're looking to capture the GCLID in Microsoft Dynamics 365 so you can push it back to Google Ads as an offline conversion, Attributer makes it easy.
It holds onto the GCLID as people browse your site (even if they leave and come back days later) and automatically passes it through whenever a lead submits a form.
Best of all, it's free to get started and setup usually takes less than 10 minutes. Start your 14-day free trial today!
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About the Author
Aaron Beashel is the founder of Attributer and has over 15 years of experience in marketing & analytics. He is a recognized expert in the subject and has written articles for leading websites such as Hubspot, Zapier, Search Engine Journal, Buffer, Unbounce & more. Learn more about Aaron here.