WordPress plugin

Without Google Tag Manager, the official way to add ClickPatrol to a WordPress site is the ClickPatrol Click Fraud Protection plugin. You paste Your Unique ID, and the plugin loads the same measurement script as the ClickPatrol tag in GTM. Ad visits on your site are then classified as legitimate or suspicious. ClickPatrol uses that classification on the ad networks you connect in the dashboard.

Use the plugin or Google Tag Manager?#

Keep to one install path per site, and do not use both.

• Use the plugin if your WordPress site has no GTM container and you want ClickPatrol to classify ad traffic for protection on your connected networks.
• Use the GTM tag when you also want to work with the classification in GTM, for example audiences through GTM triggers, a clean traffic pixel trigger, conversion tracking to ClickPatrol, or conversions that only count legitimate visits. Those setups are written for the GTM tag. See Google Tag Manager.

If the official ClickPatrol tag already fires in GTM on your site, leave the plugin off.

What you need first#

• A ClickPatrol account. You can create one at dashboard.clickpatrol.com/register. Plans and the 7-day trial are on clickpatrol.com/pricing.
• WordPress 5.2 or newer, and PHP 7.4 or newer.
• Your Unique ID. Open Integration in the ClickPatrol dashboard, then the Google Tag Manager tab, and copy Your Unique ID. That same ID is what the plugin uses.

How to install#

1. From WordPress, open Plugins, then Add New Plugin.
2. Search for ClickPatrol Click Fraud Protection. Install it, then activate it. You can also find it on WordPress.org.
3. Open Settings, then ClickPatrol.
4. Paste Your Unique ID, then save.

After you save, the top of the settings page reads Measurement script: on. Before an ID is saved, the plugin loads nothing.

Then connect your ad accounts in the Integration Hub of the ClickPatrol dashboard. On its own, the plugin does not connect to Google Ads, Meta or any other network.

Confirm it works#

1. Add ?source=f to the URL of a public page on your site. That forces a test classification.
2. In your browser, open developer tools, go to the Network tab, and filter on clckptrl.
3. Reload the page. You should see a request to trck-002.clckptrl.com.

It is fine to use a caching plugin. Cached pages still send the right parameters, since the plugin reads the URL in the browser. Sites that change pages without a full reload, such as some themes with page transitions, send a new request on each page change.

Optional extras#

Two settings sit under Optional: same extras as the Google Tag Manager tag. They match the GTM tag, and both are off until you turn them on.

• GCLID recovery. When Safari removes the Google Ads click ID from the URL, this restores it. Your Google Ads final URL suffix needs vd={gclid}. See Restore the Google Ads click ID in Safari.
• Cookie lifetime extension. For each provider, this refreshes existing advertising cookies so they keep a longer lifetime. See Extend advertising cookie lifetime.

What this plugin sends#

On every public page, the plugin sends your Unique ID, the page URL and query string, a first-party visitor ID and a first-party session ID to ClickPatrol. Advertising parameters such as gclid or UTM values can be part of the query string. The visitor's IP address, user agent and referrer reach ClickPatrol as part of that request.

It sets two first-party cookies: cp_visitor_id for 400 days and cp_session_id for 24 hours. The plugin does not change your page content.

Privacy and consent#

WordPress offers a suggested paragraph for your privacy policy after activation. You will find it under Tools, then Privacy. Treat that text as an example. It is not legal advice. See also Do we need to put ClickPatrol in our Privacy Policy?

The plugin loads on every public page after an ID is saved. It has no built-in link to a consent banner. If your site has to wait for consent before loading this script, block it through your consent plugin, if it can block scripts by URL. Or install ClickPatrol through GTM with your consent settings instead.

Removing the plugin#

Under Plugins, deactivate the plugin and then delete it. The measurement script stops loading right away. Your ClickPatrol account stays as it is, and so do your connected ad networks. To stop protection as well, see How to cancel or delete your account.