Push notification campaign tracking
Push notifications drive re-engagement, but their clicks blur into direct or app traffic unless tagged. This page shows how utm_medium=push keeps notification-driven visits as a distinct channel, with a worked example and the rule against personal data in the link.
Tag the notification link
Both web push and app push deliver a tappable link. Put UTM tags on that destination so every tap is attributed:
- utm_source=<web-push or app-push>
- utm_medium=push (kept distinct from email and sms)
- utm_campaign=<the notification campaign>
- utm_content=<notification variant to compare wording>
Worked example
For a re-engagement web push pointing at a saved-items page:
https://example.com/saved?utm_source=web-push&utm_medium=push&utm_campaign=winback-june&utm_content=variant-a
Reuse the campaign across variants and change utm_content to compare two notification messages, so the campaign rolls up while you still see which wording worked. Keep device tokens and subscriber IDs out of the URL — they are identifiers, not campaign labels.
How it appears in analytics and logs
A visit with utm_medium=push confirms a notification-driven click. Without it, push clicks tend to fall into direct or generic app traffic, hiding how much re-engagement the notifications produce.
Diagnostic use case
Tag the links inside web and app push notifications with utm_medium=push so re-engagement traffic is reported as its own channel.
What WebmasterID can help detect
WebmasterID reads utm_medium=push at ingest and attributes the visit to your push campaign, so notification-driven re-engagement appears as a measured channel rather than direct.
Common mistakes
- Leaving push links untagged so taps fall into direct or app traffic.
- Encoding a device token or subscriber ID into the notification URL.
- Folding push under utm_medium=email so the channels blur.
Privacy and accuracy notes
Keep push UTM values generic — campaign and notification labels only. Never encode a device token, subscriber ID, or personal data. The link is logged and may be shared.
Related pages
- SMS campaign tracking with UTM
SMS messages are tiny and links open in whatever browser the phone uses, so SMS needs short, UTM-tagged links to be measurable. This page shows how utm_medium=sms keeps text traffic distinct, and the privacy rule that a recipient's number or identity must never appear in the URL.
- UTM for app deep links
When a campaign link opens a native app instead of a web page, the UTM values have to survive a web-to-app handoff that does not always preserve query strings. This page covers passing campaign data into deep links and the caveats that can drop it along the way.
- Campaign links (docs)
Tag push notification links with a distinct UTM medium.
Sources and verification notes
- MDN — Push APIWeb push delivers a tappable link you can UTM-tag.
Last reviewed 2026-06-24. Facts are checked against primary/official sources where available; uncertain specifics are marked “Data not yet verified” rather than guessed.