# msclkid — Microsoft Ads' click ID, explained

- Canonical: https://linkclean.app/trackers/msclkid/
- Updated: 2026-07-20
- Author: Ken Tominaga (https://ken0nek.com)
- Get the app: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/linkclean/id6758604043

Parameter: `msclkid` · Category: Ad-click identifiers · Vendor: Microsoft Advertising (Bing Ads)

> msclkid is the Microsoft Click ID — Bing/Microsoft Ads' equivalent of gclid. It ties the click to the ad-account that paid for it. Strip it before sharing.

## What msclkid does

Click any ad on Bing search, Microsoft's content network, or LinkedIn Sponsored Content, and Microsoft's ad system appends ?msclkid=<opaque token> to the destination URL. The token encodes the advertiser account, the campaign, the ad group, and the click — same job as gclid for Google Ads.

On the destination, the Microsoft UET tag (the Microsoft equivalent of Meta Pixel) reads msclkid and reports the conversion back to Microsoft Advertising. That's how Bing Ads tracks which ad delivered the customer.

## Why it shows up more often than you'd expect

Bing's share of US search is small (~6%) but its ads syndicate to Yahoo, DuckDuckGo (for some queries), and parts of Microsoft's content network. So msclkid lands on outbound URLs from a broader surface than just Bing.com itself.

It's also on ad-driven LinkedIn clicks. LinkedIn's ad platform shares plumbing with Microsoft Advertising, so Sponsored Content clicks frequently carry msclkid alongside LinkedIn's own rcm parameter.

## How LinkClean removes it

msclkid is in LinkClean's default ads catalog alongside the other vendor-specific click IDs (gclid, gbraid, wbraid, fbclid, ttclid, yclid). All stripped on every host — these names don't legitimately appear as functional keys anywhere.

## Example

Looks like this in a URL: `https://example.com/landing?msclkid=8e2a1b3c4d5f6789a0b1c2d3e4f5a6b7`

After LinkClean: `https://example.com/landing`

## Frequently asked

**Will removing msclkid break the link?**

No. The page loads identically. msclkid is only read by Microsoft's UET conversion-tracking script (if it's installed); the destination page server doesn't use it for anything.

**Is msclkid the same as gclid?**

Same role on a different ad network. gclid is Google Ads', msclkid is Microsoft Advertising's. LinkClean strips both by default.

**Does msclkid affect prices or offers I see?**

Not in any common case. It's an attribution token for the advertiser's bookkeeping, not a coupon or merchant-side session ID.


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