To preserve campaign attribution, make every redirect carry the required query parameters to the final landing page, then test the complete redirect path with a distinctive value. A redirect that drops UTMs can leave Google Analytics without the campaign details attached to the original URL.
Why do UTM parameters disappear after a redirect?
A campaign URL contains query parameters after the question mark, such as utm_source, utm_medium and utm_campaign. Redirects can send visitors to a destination URL that omits that query string, or site-side rules can remove or rewrite individual parameters. Google Analytics Help warns that redirects—including redirects between sites or from HTTPS to HTTP—can strip UTMs and affect traffic-source reporting: [GA4] Understand (direct) / (none) traffic.
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Google’s troubleshooting guidance also identifies 301 and 302 redirects, JavaScript redirects and server-side processes as places where information appended to the original landing URL, including UTMs or GCLID, can be lost: Troubleshoot discrepancies between Google Ads and Analytics. The cause may be at any hop, not necessarily the final page.
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Campaign tags
UTM values let Analytics identify campaign dimensions associated with a destination URL. Google’s URL builder describes utm_source as the source, utm_medium as the marketing medium and utm_campaign as the campaign name. Other supported fields include utm_id, utm_source_platform, utm_term and utm_content. Google recommends using source, medium and campaign, and notes that values are case-sensitive; consistent naming helps avoid fragmented reporting: URL builders: Collect campaign data with custom URLs.
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UTMs are not the only values that may need to survive. If you use Google cross-domain measurement, preserve _gl; Google says a redirect or destination that does not accept arbitrary query parameters can remove it, and recommends configuring redirects to keep it: Set up cross-domain measurement. For applicable Google Ads measurement, preserve relevant gad_* URL parameters so Google Ads and Analytics tags can observe them on the landing page: About GBRAID and GCLID.
How to find the redirect that drops attribution
- Record the exact starting URL. Use the campaign link that exhibits the problem, and note its full query string. Record the redirect path and final landing page.
- Create a controlled test value. On a test URL, add a distinctive value such as
utm_source=redirect_test. Use?if the URL has no query string, or&if it already has one. Do not replace a live campaign’s value with a test value. - Follow the entire redirect chain. Open the test URL and inspect the final address bar. Check whether the distinctive UTM value remains. Google recommends testing a URL with a parameter and checking whether it persists after redirect.
- Inspect browser network requests when needed. If a redirect happens too quickly to observe, use the browser’s developer tools and inspect requests. This is especially useful for
_gl, which may disappear before it is visible by eye. - Identify the first failing hop. Review the server-side redirect rules, proxy or CMS behavior, JavaScript navigation and any redirect or short-link service involved. Determine which hop changes or removes the query values.
- Configure that hop to carry the required values forward. Preserve the incoming campaign parameters needed by your measurement setup, along with
_glor applicablegad_*values when those Google features are in use. - Retest the production path and page. Run the distinctive-value test through the actual route visitors use. Confirm the values reach the final URL and that the analytics tag loads on that page. Missing tracking on the landing page can also prevent campaign data from reaching Analytics.
How to choose or review a redirect configuration
Evaluate the configuration against the full measurement path rather than checking only whether it returns a redirect response. It should:
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- carry the required query string through every hop;
- allow the parameters required by your tracking setup, rather than silently discarding unrecognized values;
- leave the final page able to load its analytics tag; and
- pass a test using the actual landing URL and complete redirect path.
There is no single redirect syntax that applies to every server, proxy, CMS or JavaScript implementation. Google’s guidance identifies what to preserve and how to test, but the configuration change depends on the stack. If the failing hop is unclear or the redirect rules are shared across production routes, have the site developer trace and change that specific behavior.
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Do not treat a successful redirect or a page that loads as proof of preserved attribution. The useful check is that the distinctive test parameter survives every hop to the final landing URL and the tracking tag loads there. For cross-domain setups, inspect network requests as well to verify that _gl is retained when required. Repeat the test through the exact production route before considering the issue resolved.
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