Steam UTM links: where your wishlists come from
2 min read
By Eduardo Orellana ·
Steam's UTM Analytics, under Marketing & Visibility in Steamworks, counts visits to your store page from links carrying UTM parameters (utm_source or utm_campaign is required; utm_medium, utm_content and utm_term are optional), and the wishlists, purchases and activations that follow within 72 hours. Visits update hourly; conversions settle four days later. Only logged-in Steam users can be tracked, and no personal data is shown, so read it as relative, not complete.
Every link you share can tell you whether it worked
A trailer on YouTube, a post on Reddit, a creator's video description, an ad: each sends people to your store page. Without tags they all look the same in Steamworks. With a UTM tag on each link, Steam tells you which brought wishlists.
How to tag a link
Add parameters to your store page URL, for example ?utm_source=reddit&utm_campaign=demo_launch. Steam requires utm_source or utm_campaign, and supports utm_medium, utm_content and utm_term. The link must point to the app's page or a sale page.
Use one consistent scheme: source is where (reddit, youtube, newsletter), campaign is why (demo_launch, next_fest), content distinguishes variants (trailer_a, trailer_b).
Reading the report
- Total visits: all tagged visits.
- Trusted visits: without bots and crawlers.
- Tracked visits: logged-in Steam users, the ones conversions can be counted for.
- Conversions: wishlists, purchases and activations of the same app within 72 hours of the click.
Visits update hourly; conversions are final four days after the visit. Small combinations are hidden under a minimum threshold.
What it cannot tell you
Players who are not signed in, or block tracking, are not counted; nobody's identity is shown; and a player who sees your clip, searches Steam a week later and wishlists is invisible to it. Compare channels against each other, not against your total wishlists.
Where Flockbay fits
Flockbay's Steam numbers read your followers and an estimated wishlist range, and your exact wishlists from your own Steamworks key, which never leaves your machine. Flockbay does not add UTM tags or track links; tag them yourself as above. The Steam numbers are free on every account.
Questions
- How long does Steam attribute a wishlist to a UTM link?
- 72 hours from the click, for the same app.