Steam UTM tracking: see where your wishlists come from
How Steam’s UTM Analytics attributes visits, wishlists and purchases to tagged links, how to build the links, and what the report can’t see.
Updated
What it is
Steam supports UTM tags on store links. Add utm_source, utm_medium and utm_campaign to a link to your store page, and Steamworks shows visits, wishlists, purchases and free-to-play activations for each tagged link in its UTM Analytics report, with a CSV export.
It’s free and built into Steamworks for every game. It’s also what Wishlistme uses to verify every wishlist a creator brings.
Free tool
Steam UTM link builder
Paste your store link, pick where the link goes, and copy a tagged link that shows up on its own row in Steamworks UTM Analytics.
Your tracking link
Paste your store link above.
How to build a link
Start from your store URL and add the tags:
- https://store.steampowered.com/app/<your app id>/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=launch-trailer
Use one link per channel or creator, so the report tells them apart. Keep the names short and consistent. Steam leaves links with very few visits out of the breakdown, so don’t split too finely.
How attribution works
A wishlist counts for a link when a visitor who is logged in to Steam wishlists the game within 72 hours of clicking it. Visits update hourly; conversions are finalized 4 days after the visit. Wishlisting a different game from your catalog doesn’t count.
What it can’t see
- Only visitors logged in to Steam in that browser count. In-app browsers (TikTok, Instagram, Discord) rarely are, and opening the game in the Steam app breaks the trail.
- Demo downloads don’t count as conversions; wishlists, purchases and free-to-play activations do.
- Someone who watches a video, then searches for the game later, doesn’t show up as that link.
- So the report undercounts. That’s fine for comparing channels, and it’s the safe side when you pay per result.
Wishlistme gives every creator video its own UTM link and reads the report for you each day. See how paying creators per wishlist works.