UTM parameters are being removed from product URLs that include a variant parameter, preventing campaign and affiliation tracking. UTM (Urchin Tracking Module) tags track marketing sources; the variant query param selects a specific product option.
Using ampersand (&) to chain params after ?variant=ID initially worked for one user, but several others report all non-variant params still get stripped. This is not an HTTP redirect (responses show 200), likely a Shopify JavaScript URL rewrite on product pages with variants.
Suggestions included using the anchor (#) for UTMs and checking analytics library differences (analytics.js reads anchor; ga.js needs _setAllowAnchor). These help tracking but do not stop Shopify’s query-string cleanup.
One workaround: custom code that captures/sends query params before Shopify’s rewrite executes. This solved tracking for one site but the code wasn’t shared and isn’t a general fix.
Another idea: remove variant-specific URLs via theme changes to keep a single product URL; downside is losing direct variant links and potential add-to-cart issues.
Current status: No confirmed platform/app fix. Multiple users still affected; some ask for shared code. A recent report claims UTMs now appear on a sample link, but no changes were disclosed. Discussion remains open.
I’m struggling with this issue too and the suggested solutions do not work. Take this URL:
If I add a utm_medium=email like so:
The utm_medium parameter is stripped (I believe by JS) and I end up at the original URL:
This happens with any added query param other than variant.
Does anyone know how I can resolve this?