Order attribution GCLID e UTM priority

Hi there,

Thank you for reaching out!

The behavior you’re describing, where the GCLID parameter takes priority over the UTM parameters, is expected. This happens because when both GCLID (Google Click Identifier) and UTM parameters exist, Google Analytics and tracking systems typically prioritize GCLID to attribute the traffic as part of Google Ads campaigns.

If you’d prefer the UTM parameters to take precedence instead, this would require custom configuration or adjustments to your tracking setup, as WooCommerce itself doesn’t control the priority of these parameters.

You may need to check your Google Analytics or Google Ads settings or consult with your developer or tracking specialist to explore custom solutions that suit your needs.

Let us know if you have further questions or need additional guidance!

Hi,
thanks for your reply.

I understand that it is a default behavior.

However, I do not agree with this setting.

GA4 prioritizes the GCLID instead of the UTMs because it is then able to decode the information contained in the GCLID and return details such as “source”, “medium” and especially “campaign”.

If the Woocommerce system is not able to decode the GCLID, in the case of co-presence of GCLID and UTM, we will lose the data manually set in the UTM parameters (especially “Campaign”) thus obtaining less information.

Let’s also consider that currently in the “world of web tracking” it is strongly recommended to use both types of tracking (UTM + GCLID)

== Example ==

utm_source=google&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=my_campaign&gad_source=1&gclid=abcd1234

A) Information currently obtainable in Woocommerce with the default behavior:

Source type: utm
Campaign: google_cpc (generic)
Source: google (generic)
Medium: cpc (generic)

B) Information obtainable in Woocommerce with UTM:

Source type: utm
Campaign: my_campaign (specific) => Information lost
Source: display (specific) => Information lost
Medium: cpc (generic)

What is your opinion?
Thanks

Hi @alexandros79,

Thank you for providing more context!

We understand your concerns about the current behavior where the GCLID parameter takes priority over the UTM parameters, leading to a loss of specific campaign, source, and medium information from the UTM tracking.

As this is the default behavior, it’s not something that can be changed through the settings in WooCommerce. However, if you’d like to see this adjusted so that the UTM parameters are prioritized when both UTM and GCLID are present, we encourage you to submit a feature request or vote for the existing one here: Order Attribution Should Include Google Ads UTM Terms.

This will help raise awareness of the issue, and if it gains enough traction, the development team may consider it for future updates.

Let us know if you have any further questions!