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Requirements

Tracking set up through Google Analytics and/or Shopify.

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Background

A UTM, also known as the Urchin Tracking Module, is a string that can be attached to a URL to identify the source, medium, campaign, and other context for a marketing click. Consistent UTM naming makes last-click attribution easier to interpret and reduces the amount of traffic that falls into direct or no-source fallback values. For field definitions and naming examples, start with UTM Setup.

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Steps

  1. Apply UTMs to every campaign link you control, including Meta, Google, TikTok, email, SMS, influencer, affiliate, and partner links.
  2. Standardize naming conventions for source, medium, campaign, content, and term. Use our UTM link-building template as a starting point.
  3. Monitor direct and no-source fallback values. A high share of (direct) / (none) or (none) / (none) usually means tracking context is missing or being dropped.
  4. Spot-check live campaign links after launch and confirm the expected UTM values appear on recent orders.

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Additional information

  • Historical UTMs cannot be changed or applied retroactively, so consistent setup matters before traffic launches.
  • Changing UTMs on active Meta, Google, or TikTok campaigns can affect platform learning and reporting continuity. Coordinate changes carefully.
  • Pairing zero-party survey data with last-click UTM attribution can help explain discovery channels that tracking cannot see.

UTM Setup

What UTMs are, what each value means, and how to tag links.

Why (direct) / (none) happens

Diagnose and reduce missing attribution.

Zero-Party Attribution

Use surveys to capture discovery channels tracking can’t see.

Attribution Health

A toolkit for improving overall attribution coverage.