When running multi-step marketing funnels, it’s crucial to retain UTM parameters from the first touchpoint all the way through to conversion. However, transferring these parameters between different domains or pages on the same domain isn’t always straightforward. In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to capture, store, and pass UTM parameters across both same-domain and cross-domain URLs using practical methods, and you can get screenshots with a step guide and code snippets.
Before storing or passing data, you must first capture UTM parameters from the URL. For better capturing, each UTM parameter should have a distinct GTM variable.
After capturing the UTM parameters, you will have to store them so that they persist across all your domains. Having consistent parameters makes cross-domain UTM monitoring and multi-step funnel attribution easier. We’ll use a Custom HTML Tag to store UTM parameters in a cookie when they are present.
<script>
// Enhanced UTM capture with local storage fallback
(function() {
var urlParams = new URLSearchParams(window.location.search);
var utmParams = {};
// Capture standard + custom UTMs
[‘utm_source’, ‘utm_medium’, ‘utm_campaign’, ‘utm_term’, ‘utm_content’].forEach(function(param) {
if (urlParams.has(param)) utmParams[param] = urlParams.get(param);
});
if (Object.keys(utmParams).length > 0) {
// 1. Set cross-domain cookie (30 min expiry)
var expires = new Date();
expires.setTime(expires.getTime() + 30 * 60 * 1000);
document.cookie = ‘pm_utm=’ + encodeURIComponent(JSON.stringify(utmParams)) +
‘; expires=’ + expires.toUTCString() +
‘; path=/’ +
‘; domain=.powermonkeyfitness.com’ +
‘; SameSite=Lax; Secure’;
// 2. Set localStorage (persists across same-domain navigations)
localStorage.setItem(‘pm_utm’, JSON.stringify(utmParams));
console.log(‘UTMs stored:’, utmParams);
}
})();
</script>
After storage, we ensure the stored UTM parameters are attached to links connected to the secondary domain. Therefore, every link connected to another domain has a UTM trail for better cross-domain UTM tracking. When a user clicks a link to the second domain, we’ll append the stored UTM parameters.
<script>
// Enhanced link processor with URL pattern matching
(function() {
function getUTMs() {
try {
// 1. Check cookie first
var cookie = document.cookie.split(‘;’).find(function(c) {
return c.trim().startsWith(‘pm_utm=’);
});
if (cookie) return JSON.parse(decodeURIComponent(cookie.split(‘=’)[1]));
// 2. Check localStorage
var localData = localStorage.getItem(‘pm_utm’);
if (localData) return JSON.parse(localData);
return null;
} catch(e) {
console.warn(‘UTM parse error:’, e);
return null;
}
}
// Process links after slight delay to ensure cookie availability
setTimeout(function() {
var utmParams = getUTMs();
if (!utmParams) return;
console.log(‘Applying UTMs:’, utmParams);
// Match all links to your domains (including relative paths)
var links = document.querySelectorAll(‘a[href*=”powermonkeyfitness.com”], a[href*=”powermonkeycamp.com”], a[href^=”/”]’);
links.forEach(function(link) {
try {
// Skip if no href or non-HTTP link
if (!link.href || link.href.startsWith(‘javascript:’)) return;
// Handle relative paths
var fullUrl = link.href.startsWith(‘http’) ? link.href :
‘https://’ + window.location.host + (link.href.startsWith(‘/’) ? link.href : ‘/’ + link.href);
var url = new URL(fullUrl);
var modified = false;
// Add missing UTMs
Object.keys(utmParams).forEach(function(key) {
if (!url.searchParams.has(key)) {
url.searchParams.set(key, utmParams[key]);
modified = true;
}
});
if (modified) {
link.href = url.toString();
console.log(‘Modified link:’, link.href);
}
} catch(e) {
console.warn(‘Error processing link:’, link.href, e);
}
});
}, 100); // Small delay to ensure cookie availability
})();
</script>
Confirming that your UTM tracking GTM setup is working accurately is essential. If the set-up is effective, you will note that the correct UTM data will be passed on from click to conversion.
The accuracy of your marketing data depends on the correct transfer and preservation of UTM parameters. Whether you are guiding your users through landing pages or sub-domains, ensuring your UTM parameters are transferred correctly will help you monitor your client’s complete journey without missing out on any information. Most importantly, by leveraging practices such as testing and debugging, retrieving UTM parameters on the second domain, storing UTM parameters in a cookie, and creating a GTM Variable to capture UTM parameters, you can make the most of your analytics and make informed decisions.
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