Why is GA4 showing (direct) / none for my Shopify checkout sales?

When users navigate from WordPress to a separate Shopify domain checkout, GA4 loses client ID cookies and generates a brand-new session. GA4 Linker fixes this by automatically appending the _gl parameter to cross-domain links.

Does GA4 Linker support slide-out AJAX carts and popup checkout buttons?

Yes! The Pro and Agency plans use a high-performance MutationObserver that detects dynamically injected DOM elements and AJAX cart drawers in real-time.

Is coding required to set up GA4 Linker?

Zero coding required. Simply install the plugin, enter your Shopify checkout domain(s) in the WordPress admin panel, and GA4 Linker handles link and form decoration automatically.

How does GA4 Linker preserve UTM parameters?

On Personal, Pro, and Agency plans, GA4 Linker captures incoming utm_source, utm_campaign, utm_medium, and gclid parameters from your landing page and persists them through internal navigation directly into the Shopify checkout destination.

📊 GA4 Referral Exclusion

How to Stop myshopify.com from Showing Up as a Referral in GA4

By Dimsquid Engineering•Published Aug 5, 2026•8 min read

If you open Google Analytics 4 Traffic Acquisition reports and see myshopify.com / referral or checkout.shopify.com / referral listed as your top revenue source, your cross-domain tracking is broken. This guide explains why GA4 self-refers and how to fix it completely.

1. Why GA4 Blames myshopify.com for Your Sales

When a user moves between your WordPress site and your Shopify checkout, GA4 checks if the _gl cross-domain token is present in the destination URL. If the token is missing, GA4 treats the arrival on Shopify as a brand-new session initiated by a referral from your WordPress domain or myshopify.com.

2. Step 1: Configure Unwanted Referrals in GA4 Admin

First, add your Shopify domain to the List Unwanted Referrals configuration in GA4:

Go to GA4 Admin ➔ Data Streams ➔ Select your Web Stream.
Click Configure Tag Settings ➔ Show All ➔ List Unwanted Referrals.
Add Match type: Domain contains ➔ Value: myshopify.com and your custom domain.

3. Step 2: Implement _gl Cross-Domain Token Passing

Listing unwanted referrals alone will NOT fix missing session source data — it will simply shift the traffic to (direct) / (none). To restore original Facebook, TikTok, and organic search sources, outbound links must pass _gl tokens.

⚡ Automated Fix

4. The 60-Second Fix: GA4 Linker

GA4 Linker (by Dimsquid) auto-decorates all outbound links with _gl tokens, stopping myshopify.com referrals automatically.

Get Started Free →