How to Use Steam’s UTM Feature to Track Marketing Performance

Key insights

7 takeaways

01
Steam's UTM tracking allows developers to attribute specific marketing efforts, such as social media posts or influencer campaigns, directly to wishlist and sales data.
02
Data from nine developers using UTM links on Twitter showed that approximately 90.35% of visitors arrived at the Steam store unlogged, preventing them from wishlisting the game.
03
Even among users who were logged into Steam, the average wishlist conversion rate from Twitter traffic was only 8.43%.
04
UTM links are created by appending parameters like ?utm_source= and ?utm_campaign= to a Steam store URL, with no prior setup required in the Steamworks dashboard.
05
Steam provides a testing tool within the Marketing & Visibility section of the Steamworks dashboard to verify UTM tags before they are deployed.
06
Developers can use UTM data to calculate the exact cost per wishlist for paid advertising and to negotiate performance-based revenue splits with influencers.
07
To ensure data consistency, teams should maintain a shared document of standardized UTM tags to avoid fragmented reporting across different marketing channels.

Summary

The introduction of UTM tracking on Steam provides game developers with a critical tool to measure the efficacy of marketing efforts by attributing specific traffic sources to wishlists and sales. By appending UTM parameters to URLs, developers can bypass the platform's historical lack of granular conversion data, allowing for precise analysis of how different promotional channels, such as social media campaigns or influencer partnerships, drive user engagement.

A pilot study involving nine developers testing #ScreenshotSaturday on Twitter revealed significant challenges in converting social media traffic into actionable data. The findings indicated that approximately 90% of visitors arriving from Twitter were not logged into their Steam accounts, creating a substantial barrier to conversion. Furthermore, even among logged-in users, the wishlist conversion rate remained low, suggesting that social media platforms often function more as awareness drivers than direct conversion funnels. These results highlight the importance of optimizing calls to action, potentially by directing traffic toward platforms with higher persistent login rates, such as Discord.

To maximize the utility of this feature, developers are encouraged to implement consistent UTM tagging across all digital touchpoints, including social bios, email newsletters, and influencer collaborations. By standardizing these tags and utilizing the Steamworks dashboard for performance monitoring, developers can calculate the cost-per-wishlist for various marketing activities. This data-driven approach enables more efficient budget allocation and provides a clearer understanding of the marketing funnel, ultimately allowing for more informed decisions regarding promotional strategies and influencer revenue-sharing models.