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Connect Shopify tracking

The Shopify app connects one store to one business in Adwave. Verified paid orders supply purchase revenue, and the app pixel adds visit and checkout attribution when the customer permits it.

Use the Shopify app

  1. Open Tracking, choose the business for your store, then open Shopify under Connect your store.
  2. Select Install Shopify app. Choose your store and approve installation on Shopify. If installation is unavailable, contact support for help connecting your store.
  3. Open Adwave from Shopify Apps and select Connect your business. Sign in and confirm the business for this store.
  4. Check the app's tracking, order access, and catalog status. Each has its own next step when attention is needed.

If your store is already linked, Tracking offers Open Shopify app or Reconnect Shopify app. Setup continues in Shopify; you do not need to enter your shop domain here.

Purchases come from Shopify payment records. Refunds and cancellations update those records. Reports keep the order currency; dollar return reports exclude amounts in other currencies. Customer matching requires Shopify-approved access to the relevant fields and the customer's marketing consent.

Once the app manages purchases, old manual checkout snippets no longer create purchase conversions. Remove those snippets and use the app's connection status to verify the setup.

Manual tracking for a store without the app

The steps below apply to stores using the standalone tracking tag. They do not install the Shopify app or enable server-verified paid-order reconciliation.

First, copy your snippet

Your snippet is one line of code that looks like this, with YOUR_SITE_TOKEN replaced by a code that is unique to your website:

<script async src="https://waverunner.adwave.com/t/YOUR_SITE_TOKEN"></script>

Get the real one from your Waverunner account: sign in to copy your site's snippet. You'll land on the Tracking page, which shows your personalized snippet with a Copy snippet button. Each website (business) in your account has its own snippet. If you run more than one site, pick the right one with the switcher at the top of the page. Copy it there, then follow the steps below.

Don't copy the example above: it contains a placeholder instead of your real site token, so nothing would be recorded.

Add the snippet to your theme

  1. In your Shopify admin, go to Online Store → Themes.
  2. On your current theme, click the ⋯ button (three dots), then Edit code.
  3. In the file list on the left, under Layout, click theme.liquid.
  4. Find the line that says </head> (usually within the first 30 to 50 lines. You can press Ctrl/Cmd + F to search).
  5. Paste your snippet on its own line, just above </head>.
  6. Click Save. The change is live immediately.
Nervous about editing theme code? Duplicate your theme first (⋯ → Duplicate) so you have a backup, or copy the snippet and send it to whoever manages your store. It's a one-line change.

Cover checkout with the customer-events pixel

Shopify does not run theme scripts on its checkout and thank-you pages, so the snippet alone can't see purchases. Adwave provides a customer-events pixel that reports browser checkout events and their values when consent permits. This manual option cannot verify payment, refunds, or cancellations:

  1. Open the Tracking page in Adwave and find the Shopify tab under "Connect your store or tools". Open Advanced: manual tracking without the app and copy the pixel code.
  2. In your Shopify admin, go to Settings → Customer events.
  3. Click Add custom pixel, name it Adwave, and paste the code.
  4. Click Save, then Connect.

Check that it's working

  1. Open your website in a new browser tab and load any page. For the manual pixel, a consented checkout verifies browser event delivery. Use the app to verify paid-order reporting.
  2. Go back to the Tracking page in Waverunner (you'll be asked to sign in if you aren't already). The banner at the top turns green on its own the moment your first visit arrives, usually within a few seconds. No need to reload the page.

Want proof in ten seconds instead of waiting for a visit? On the same page, click Send a test ping, then Open your site with the test link. The health card reads Receiving as soon as the tag on your page answers. If it does not, the card says what to check next.

If the banner stays amber after a minute, re-check the steps above: the most common causes are pasting the example snippet instead of your personalized one, or forgetting to save or publish the change.