Learn how to track permalinks to Shopify Cart or Checkout and prevent tracking errors.

Prerequisites

Before implementing tracking-friendly permalinks, ensure you have:

AnyTrack account with a Property - You'll need an active AnyTrack account with a Property set up for your website or funnel where the AnyTrack Tracking Tag is installed
Shopify integration configured - Connect your Shopify store as a Conversion Source in AnyTrack so purchase data can be received via server-side tracking

What Are Tracking-Friendly Permalinks?

Permalinks are direct links that take visitors straight to a specific page or action on your website. In this case, we're talking about links that send people directly to a preloaded Shopify cart or checkout page.

Tracking-friendly permalinks are these same links, but modified to maintain proper visitor tracking when people click from external websites (like WordPress blogs) to your Shopify store.

Why Use Tracking-Friendly Permalinks?

The Problem You're Solving

When visitors click a regular permalink from an external website to your Shopify cart, they bypass your store's normal visitor flow. This creates several issues:

Lost tracking data: Visitors aren't recognized as tracked users
Attribution errors: Conversion events won't be properly attributed to your marketing efforts
Incomplete analytics: Events show as errors in your Event Log
Wasted ad spend: You can't optimize campaigns without accurate conversion data

The Business Benefits

Using tracking-friendly permalinks ensures you:

Maintain accurate visitor tracking across all touchpoints
Get complete conversion attribution for better ROI analysis
Reduce tracking errors in your analytics
Make data-driven decisions about your marketing campaigns

How to Create Tracking-Friendly Permalinks

Example Scenario

Let's say you have a WordPress button that links directly to a preloaded Shopify cart: https://myshopify.com/cart/44568549196023:1

Without proper tracking setup, visitors who click this link won't be recognized by your analytics.

Here's a live example: Permalink to your product

Step-by-Step Solution

Follow these three steps to fix your permalink tracking:

Step 1: Modify Your Permalink URLs

Add this tracking parameter to the end of your existing permalinks: &attributes[__atclid]=--CLICK-ID--

Before:

https://myshopify.com/cart/44568549196023:1

After:

https://myshopify.com/cart/44568549196023:1?attributes[__atclid]=--CLICK-ID--

What this does: The --CLICK-ID-- parameter passes the unique tracking identifier from your external website to Shopify. This ensures visitors are recognized as the same person throughout their journey.

Step 2: Install the AnyTrack Tag

Make sure your external website (the one hosting these links) has the AnyTrack Tag installed.

What this does: The AnyTrack Tag is a small piece of code that enables proper attribution and event tracking across different platforms. It automatically handles the AutoTag feature that replaces --CLICK-ID-- with the actual tracking identifier.

Step 3: Follow Shopify's Best Practices

Use Shopify's recommended permalink structure instead of generic "Buy Now" buttons.

Why this matters: Shopify specifically advises against using their standard "Buy Now" button for external links.

Reference: Check Shopify's official permalink documentation for detailed guidelines.

Testing Your Implementation

After setting up your tracking-friendly permalinks:

Check the Event Log - Monitor real-time browser-side events to ensure proper tracking
Review the Conversion Log - Verify server-side conversion data from Shopify
Test cross-platform attribution - Confirm that purchases are correctly attributed to the original traffic source

Results

Once you implement these changes:

Visitors will be properly tracked from external websites to your Shopify store
All conversion events will be correctly attributed to your marketing campaigns using AnyTrack's server-side tracking
Your Events Log will show fewer errors
You'll have complete data for optimizing your sales funnel

Technical note: The AnyTrack Tag handles the technical details of passing tracking information between platforms, so you don't need to worry about the underlying mechanics.

Permalinks to Shopify Cart or Checkout: Best Practices