Yandex Ads Tracking: yclid and GA4 Integration

Yandex Direct drives paid traffic in Russia and other Russian‑speaking markets, but in GA4 it often looks like regular organic search from yandex.ru. That makes it hard to separate paid vs organic Yandex performance or compare Yandex to Google Ads.

The reason: GA4 doesn’t understand Yandex’s click ID (yclid) out of the box. You need UTM parameters to classify traffic correctly.

This guide explains what yclid does, how to combine it with UTMs, and how to confirm your Yandex ads show up as Paid Search in GA4.

What yclid Is (and Isn’t)

When someone clicks a Yandex Direct ad:

• Yandex appends yclid to the landing page URL.
• Yandex.Metrica uses this ID for conversion tracking, attribution, and optimization.
• GA4 sees yclid as just another query parameter and ignores it for channel classification.

So without UTMs:

• GA4 sees referrer domains like yandex.ru or yandex.com.
• GA4 classifies the traffic as Organic Search, not Paid Search.
• You lose visibility into Yandex ad performance in GA4.

Why You Need Both yclid and UTMs

You need:

• yclid for Yandex Direct + Yandex.Metrica reporting and optimization.
• UTMs (utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign) for GA4 attribution.

Think of it as a dual‑system:

Neither replaces the other; they work together.

Recommended UTM Structure for Yandex Ads

A simple, consistent pattern:

• utm_source=yandex
• utm_medium=cpc (for paid search)
• utm_campaign=your-campaign-name
• utm_content=adgroup_or_creative (optional)
• utm_term=keyword (optional, especially for search ads)

Example landing URL for a Yandex search ad:

• https://example.com/landing?utm_source=yandex&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=brand-search-2025&utm_content=text-ad-1&utm_term=брендовый+запрос

Yandex will automatically add yclid=... to this URL when the ad is clicked.

Where to Configure UTMs in Yandex Direct

The UI wording changes occasionally, but the logic is consistent:

• At the campaign level, you can define URL parameters that apply to all ads.
• At the ad level, you can override or add parameters for individual creatives.

Look for settings like:

• “URL with tags” or “URL parameters”.
• Fields where you can append query parameters to the final URL.

Use those fields to append your UTMs to the base landing page URL.

How GA4 Should Look After Setup

Once UTMs are in place and Yandex continues to append yclid:

• GA4 → Reports → Acquisition → Traffic acquisition should show:
  • Source: yandex
  • Medium: cpc
  • Default channel group: Paid Search
• Yandex Direct / Yandex.Metrica will still see yclid and attribute conversions correctly.

This gives you:

• Paid vs organic Yandex separation in GA4.
• Comparability between Yandex and Google Ads.
• A clear view of Yandex’s role in your paid search mix.

Validation Steps

After updating URLs:

• Click a Yandex ad yourself (or use a test campaign).
• Check the landing page URL in the browser; it should contain both UTMs and yclid.
• In GA4 Realtime, confirm that the test session appears as yandex / cpc and hits the expected landing page.
• Within 24–48 hours, check Traffic acquisition to ensure Yandex paid clicks are showing under Paid Search, not Organic Search.

If you still see Yandex paid sessions in Organic Search:

• Confirm utm_medium is set to cpc (or another Paid Search‑recognized medium) and not left blank.
• Ensure redirects keep query strings (UTMs + yclid) intact.
• Avoid using utm_medium=organic on any Yandex paid links; that will misclassify traffic.

FAQ

Do I need to do anything special for Cyrillic keywords or URLs?
Browsers and GA4 handle percent‑encoded Cyrillic in query parameters. Use utm_term for keywords if you want them in GA4, and let Yandex encode them; GA4 will decode them correctly in reports.

Can I change utm_source from yandex.ru to something else?
For paid Yandex ads, keep utm_source simple—yandex. Use utm_medium and utm_campaign to distinguish search vs display vs other formats.

What about Yandex Advertising Network (YAN) or display?
You can still use utm_source=yandex and vary utm_medium (for example, cpc for search and display or cpm for display) plus descriptive utm_campaign names.

Will adding UTMs affect Yandex’s optimization?
No. yclid continues to power Yandex’s attribution and smart bidding. UTMs are extra parameters that GA4 uses; they don’t interfere with Yandex’s internal systems.

Do I need separate GA4 properties for Russian markets?
Not necessarily. UTMs and yclid work the same in a single GA4 property. If you have complex regional needs, you may choose multiple properties, but it’s not required for Yandex tracking specifically.