Steam UTM Documentation
Steam UTM Analytics lets you attach UTM parameters to your Steam store page links and measure visits plus conversions such as wishlists, purchases, and activations. Steam records the parameters when someone visits your store page, and the report shows traffic over time, conversion counts, and a breakdown by UTM combination.
What This Is For
The main use case for wishlist attribution is simple: send people to your Steam store page with a tagged link, then see how many of those visits turned into wishlists. Steam only reports conversions for tracked visits, which means the user must be logged in when Steam can connect the UTM click to the account action.
This makes UTM links useful for comparing channels like Reddit, Instagram, influencers, paid social, newsletters, and press coverage. The practical goal is not perfect attribution; it is consistent attribution that lets you compare campaign efficiency over time.
How Steam Attributes Wishlist conversions
Steam’s documentation distinguishes between total visits, trusted visits, and tracked visits. Tracked visits are the subset that matter for wishlist attribution because only tracked visits are eligible for conversion reporting.
Steam reports wishlists when the user adds your game to their wishlist within 72 hours of clicking the UTM link, even if they visit other pages in between. The dashboard updates visit counts hourly, and conversion totals are finalized four days after the visit.
Supported Link Format
UTM links must point to a Steam app page or Steam sale page, and the URL must include at least utm_source or utm_campaign. Supported parameters are utm_source, utm_campaign, utm_medium, utm_content, and utm_term.
A common convention is to use utm_source for the channel, utm_medium for the traffic type, and utm_campaign for the promotion or time window. Some
community guides also use utm_term for more specific source detail like a particular
influencer or subreddit.
Recommended Naming Scheme
Pick a naming scheme before you publish anything, then use it everywhere.
Use distinct UTM links for each source you want to compare. For example, you might create separate links for Reddit organic posts, Reddit ads, Discord announcements, newsletter sends, and each influencer partner, then compare wishlist conversions per tracked visit.
A useful pattern is to keep the campaign stable and vary the source or term. That way you can answer questions like “Which channel created the most wishlists?” and “Which specific creator sent the best traffic?” without rebuilding your reporting every time.
| Field | Use for | Example value |
|---|---|---|
utm_source | Traffic channel | |
utm_medium | Traffic type | organic_social |
utm_campaign | Promotion or time period | demo_launch |
utm_term | Specific placement or partner | r/gamedev |
reddit in one place and reddit_ads or social_reddit in another, because that fragments your reporting.Example UTM Links
Reddit organic
https://store.steampowered.com/app/123456/My_Game?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=organic_social&utm_campaign=summer_sale&utm_term=r/gamedevInstagram campaign
https://store.steampowered.com/app/123456/My_Game?utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=paid_social&utm_campaign=wishlist_push&utm_content=video_01Influencer
https://store.steampowered.com/app/123456/My_Game?utm_source=twitch&utm_medium=creator&utm_campaign=demo_launch&utm_term=creator_namePractical Setup Steps
- Choose one canonical naming convention for every channel, campaign, and partner.
- Build your Steam store URL and append UTM parameters directly to the end of it.
- Keep links pointing to an app page or sale page, since those are the supported destination types.
- Test each link in Steamworks using the Test a UTM Link button before publishing it.
- Publish the link in your ad, post, newsletter, or influencer brief exactly as written.
- Wait for hourly refreshes on visits and four-day finalization for conversions.
Interpreting the Report
Steam’s UTM report gives you an overview, a time-series graph, and a breakdown table for unique UTM combinations. You can also export the data as CSV for your own analysis.
When interpreting the report, pay attention to the ratio of wishlists to tracked visits instead of raw wishlist counts alone. That ratio is often the clearest way to compare channels with very different traffic volumes.
Limitations
- Not every visit can be tracked, because Steam only counts users it can connect to a logged-in state and it excludes some abnormal traffic.
- Cross-browser and cross-device journeys can break attribution, especially when people click in one place and wishlist later in another.
- Some unique UTM combinations may be hidden in the breakdown table if they do not meet minimum thresholds.
- Only app pages and sale pages are supported destinations right now.