WooCommerce glossary
What are UTM parameters?
UTM parameters are short tags added to the end of a link that say where a visitor came from, such as which newsletter, ad or social post.
How WooCommerce uses them
A tagged link looks like this:
https://yourstore.com/shop/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=spring-sale
The common tags are:
| Tag | What it describes | Example |
|---|---|---|
utm_source |
Who sent the visitor | newsletter, instagram |
utm_medium |
The type of channel | email, social, cpc |
utm_campaign |
The specific campaign | spring-sale |
When order attribution is on, WooCommerce records these values with the order. They appear in the Order attribution box on the order edit screen and are stored as order meta (_wc_order_attribution_utm_source, _wc_order_attribution_utm_medium and _wc_order_attribution_utm_campaign). The order's origin shows the UTM source.
A worked example
Say you send a spring sale email with every link tagged utm_campaign=spring-sale. Over the next week, 42 orders carry that campaign. Without tags, many of those visits would show up as Direct, because email apps often don't pass a referrer.
Why it matters
UTM tags are the most reliable way to credit your own campaigns. Keep the values consistent: "Email" and "email" are counted as different sources. WooCommerce Analytics has no report that totals orders by UTM value, so you'd export orders or use a tool to group them. The guide on tracking UTM campaigns in WooCommerce has naming tips, and measuring a sale or campaign shows how to judge the result.