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Google and Microsoft tracking templates: account vs campaign, Brand vs PMax, Final URL suffix

FAQ on account vs campaign templates, Brand vs PMax kb= tags, Final URL suffix, Bing bn_* templates, and how to verify after a fix.

Written by Juan Garzon

Correct kb= tags are how Kickbite maps Google and Microsoft ads into the right channels and campaign types. Wrong tags — or the right tag at the wrong level — cause Brand, Search, PMax, and Shopping traffic to land in the wrong bucket.

Account-level vs campaign-level

You can set a Tracking template and a Final URL suffix at account level and at campaign level.

  • Campaign-level settings override account-level for that campaign — but only when they are actually applied to that campaign.

  • An account-level Final URL suffix can overwrite campaign intent if every campaign inherits the same suffix.

  • Before you fix one campaign, check both levels so Brand Search is not forced onto a PMax-style tag, or the reverse.

Checklist by campaign type (Google)

Campaign type

Typical Kickbite tag pattern

Brand Search

ga_sb

Non-brand Search

Search template per your Google URL Parameters article

Performance Max

ga_pm

Shopping

ga_shp — do not reuse Brand ga_sb

Exact parameter strings live in the URL Parameters articles — use those as the source of truth for the full template.

Microsoft / Bing uses bn_* — not Google ga_*

Microsoft Ads must use Microsoft (bn_*) templates. A Bing campaign tagged with ga_sb will not map cleanly into Kickbite's Microsoft channeling. If you auto-import Google campaigns into Bing, check that Google templates did not come along with them.

Google Ads “Test” and Shopping

Google's template Test can report “no valid ads found” for Shopping (and sometimes similar formats) even when the template is fine. That message alone is not proof the Kickbite tag is wrong. Prefer a live click check and a Kickbite channel check after one complete day.

After you fix a template

  1. Confirm Tracking template and Final URL suffix at the right level (account vs campaign).

  2. Drive a real click from the live ad and confirm the landing URL carries the expected kb= value.

  3. Wait one complete Kickbite day.

  4. Open the channel / campaign view and confirm the bucket looks right.

New sessions are mapped correctly going forward. Kickbite does not repair past history that arrived with the wrong tag.

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