Microsoft (Bing) Ads UTM tracking
Microsoft Advertising (formerly Bing Ads) can attach an msclkid click identifier or you can add manual UTM parameters. This page explains how the two interact and how to keep utm_medium=cpc consistent so Microsoft paid search groups alongside your other paid channels.
msclkid vs manual UTM
Microsoft Advertising offers auto-tagging that appends an msclkid parameter, used for conversion tracking within Microsoft's ecosystem. Manual tagging adds your own utm_* parameters instead. As with Google, the click ID is meaningful mainly inside the platform's own reporting, while utm_* is what generic analytics tools read.
If you tag manually, use utm_source=bing (or microsoft — pick one and document it) and keep the medium consistent with your other paid search.
- Auto-tagging adds msclkid; manual tagging adds utm_*
- utm_medium=cpc to match other paid-search channels
- Pick utm_source=bing or microsoft and stay consistent
Keep medium consistent across platforms
The main reporting win is consistency. If Google Ads uses utm_medium=cpc, use cpc for Microsoft too, so a single 'paid search' grouping covers both. Splitting one platform under ppc and another under cpc fragments the channel and makes cross-platform comparison harder.
As with Google, avoid setting conflicting auto-tagging and manual values on the same URL; decide which tool is the source of truth for each.
How it appears in analytics and logs
A Microsoft paid-search visit may carry an msclkid and/or your own utm_* parameters. Keeping utm_medium=cpc identical to your Google Ads convention lets all paid search roll up together.
Diagnostic use case
Choose between Microsoft Advertising auto-tagging (msclkid) and manual UTM, and keep paid-search medium values consistent across Google and Microsoft.
What WebmasterID can help detect
WebmasterID attributes visits from utm_* parameters and does not rely on platform click IDs. Manual UTM tagging makes Microsoft Advertising visits attributable here with the same medium=cpc grouping as other paid search.
Common mistakes
- Using utm_medium=cpc for Google but a different value for Microsoft, splitting paid search.
- Switching between utm_source=bing and microsoft without documenting a choice.
- Expecting an msclkid alone to populate tools that read only utm_* parameters.
Privacy and accuracy notes
An msclkid is a click identifier, not personal data, but treat it as opaque. Keep manual utm_* values to generic campaign labels and add no personal data to either.
Related pages
- Google Ads UTM tracking
Google Ads can attach a gclid automatically (auto-tagging) or you can add manual UTM parameters. This page explains how the two interact, why double-tagging a URL with both conflicting schemes causes confusion, and how to keep your utm_* values clean and consistent.
- UTM naming conventions that survive reporting
Most UTM data problems are naming problems. Because tools treat utm_source=Reddit and reddit as different values, inconsistent casing and spelling fragment one campaign across many rows. This page gives a convention — lowercase, hyphenated, documented allow-list — that keeps reports clean.
- Campaign links (docs)
Keep paid-search utm_* consistent across platforms.
Sources and verification notes
- Microsoft Advertising Help — Auto-tagging of UTMDocuments msclkid and UTM auto-tagging in Microsoft Advertising.
- MDN — URL search paramsmsclkid and utm_* are both query-string parameters.
Last reviewed 2026-06-24. Facts are checked against primary/official sources where available; uncertain specifics are marked “Data not yet verified” rather than guessed.