Seeds
Why does gclid disappear on Safari?
Safari's Intelligent Tracking Prevention classifies Google as a cross-site tracker and caps cookies set via decorated links to 24 hours. When a user clicks a...
What is 'link decoration' and why does Safari block it?
Link decoration is the practice of appending tracking parameters like fbclid, gclid, or utm values to URLs so ad platforms can connect a click to...
Why can't I see my Facebook campaign attribution?
Facebook attribution breaks due to: Safari ITP stripping fbclid after 24 hours, iOS 14.5+ ATT opt-outs (75%+ users), ad blockers blocking Facebook Pixel, and UTMs...
Are privacy extensions removing my campaign data?
Yes. Privacy extensions like uBlock Origin, Privacy Badger, and Ghostery can strip UTM parameters, block tracking scripts, and prevent pixels from firing. With 31%+ of...
Which browsers strip tracking parameters?
Safari strips recognized tracking parameters (fbclid, gclid) after 7 days and limits cookies from classified tracking domains to 24 hours. Firefox with Enhanced Tracking Protection...
How do I know if my UTMs are being removed?
Test manually by clicking your campaign URLs from different sources in an incognito browser and watching the address bar through every redirect — if parameters...
Why does all my traffic show as 'direct' in GA4?
Traffic shows as Direct when GA4 receives no source/medium information. This happens when UTMs are stripped by redirects, cookies expire before conversion, Safari ITP limits...
What is stripping my UTM parameters?
Three layers strip them: redirects that don't carry the query string (HTTP-to-HTTPS, regional and mobile redirects, URL shorteners), infrastructure that drops parameters (CDN edge rules,...
What types of redirects strip UTM parameters?
Any redirect that rebuilds the destination URL without carrying the query string drops your UTMs. The common offenders: HTTP-to-HTTPS upgrades, www and non-www canonicalisation, regional...
Why do HTTPS redirects drop my UTM parameters?
Because most HTTP-to-HTTPS redirects are written to fix the protocol, not to carry the data. A typical server or plugin rule rewrites the scheme and...
How does GA4 use UTMs for channel classification?
GA4 reads your UTM parameters, primarily utm_medium and utm_source, and matches them against its default channel grouping rules to label each session (Paid Search, Email,...
Why does paid traffic appear as Direct in GA4?
Because GA4 files a session as Direct whenever it can't read a source, and paid clicks lose their source for several reasons: stripped UTMs, dropped...