Email & SMS + Detectly

The Email Attribution Problem

Email platforms over-attribute revenue. This is one of the most widely acknowledged issues in ecommerce marketing. Klaviyo, Omnisend, Mailchimp, and other platforms use their own attribution windows, typically crediting a sale to email if the customer opened or clicked an email within a set period before purchasing — regardless of what actually drove the purchase.

A typical scenario: a customer clicks your Google ad in the morning, receives your weekly newsletter at lunch, opens it but does not click, and then goes directly to your site that evening to buy. Your email platform counts that as an email-attributed sale. Google Ads also counts it. You have double-counted revenue, and your budget decisions are based on inflated numbers.

Detectly provides UTM-based attribution that only credits email when the customer actually clicked an email link before purchasing. This gives you a more honest picture of what email truly drives.

How Email Attribution Works in Detectly

The concept is straightforward: add UTM parameters to every link in your email campaigns and flows. When a subscriber clicks a link, they land on your Shopify store with those parameters in the URL. Detectly captures them and ties them to the resulting order.

Recommended UTM Structure

For consistent tracking across all your email and SMS efforts, use this structure:

Email campaigns:

• utm_source=klaviyo (or omnisend, mailchimp, etc.)
• utm_medium=email
• utm_campaign={campaign_name}

Email flows/automations:

• utm_source=klaviyo
• utm_medium=email
• utm_campaign={flow_name}
• utm_content={email_number} (e.g., “welcome-1”, “welcome-2”)

SMS campaigns:

• utm_source=klaviyo
• utm_medium=sms
• utm_campaign={campaign_name}

Use the UTM Builder to generate tagged links quickly and consistently.

What Gets Tracked

Every order placed after a click from a UTM-tagged email or SMS link shows in Detectly with the full attribution trail:

• Which email platform sent it
• Whether it was email or SMS
• Which campaign or flow the message came from
• Which specific email in a sequence (if you use utm_content)

This data appears in the orders table and in the channel analytics dashboard.

Platform-Specific Guidance

Klaviyo

Klaviyo supports UTM parameters natively in campaign and flow settings. You can set default UTM parameters at the account level so every link is automatically tagged. See our Klaviyo integration guide for detailed setup instructions and segmentation strategies.

Omnisend

Omnisend includes UTM tracking options in its campaign builder. Enable UTM tagging in your campaign settings and ensure utm_source=omnisend and utm_medium=email are configured. For automations, add the workflow name as utm_campaign.

Mailchimp

Mailchimp has a built-in option to add Google Analytics tracking parameters to campaign links. Enable this in campaign settings and customize the source and medium values. For automated emails (journeys), you may need to add UTM parameters manually to each link.

Other Platforms

Any email or SMS platform that lets you add URL parameters works with Detectly. Drip, ActiveCampaign, Postscript, Attentive — if you can add ?utm_source=... to your links, Detectly can attribute the resulting orders.

Measuring True Email ROI

Once your email and SMS campaigns are UTM-tagged and orders are flowing into Detectly, you can answer critical questions:

What percentage of revenue does email actually drive? Compare email-attributed revenue against total store revenue and other channels. Most merchants find that email drives less revenue than their email platform claims, but the revenue it does drive is highly profitable because there is no ad cost.

Which flows generate the most revenue? See welcome series, abandoned cart, post-purchase, and win-back flow performance based on actual order attribution. Identify which automations deserve more attention and optimization.

Is SMS worth the cost? Compare SMS-attributed revenue against your SMS platform costs. Detectly shows the real revenue from SMS clicks separately from email, so you can evaluate each channel independently.

How does email compare to paid channels? View email alongside Meta Ads, Google Ads, TikTok, and organic channels in a single dashboard. Understand the true contribution of each channel to make better budget allocation decisions.

Common Questions

Why does Detectly show less email revenue than my email platform? Email platforms use open-based and click-based attribution windows that are more generous than UTM-based attribution. Detectly only credits email when a customer clicked an email link and then purchased. The difference represents sales where email was present but was not the driving force behind the purchase.

Should I still look at my email platform’s analytics? Yes. Email platform analytics are valuable for measuring engagement metrics like open rates, click rates, and unsubscribe rates. Use your email platform for email-specific optimization and Detectly for cross-channel revenue attribution.

What about transactional emails? Transactional emails (order confirmations, shipping notifications) should not be tagged with marketing UTM parameters. Only tag promotional and lifecycle marketing emails.

Does this work with plain text emails? Yes, as long as the links in the email include UTM parameters, Detectly tracks them regardless of email format.

Get Started

Add UTM parameters to your email and SMS campaigns today. Install Detectly to see how much revenue your email channel truly drives.

Install Detectly free or view pricing to compare plans.