What are UTM parameters?
UTM parameters are extra text added to a URL that tell your analytics tool where a visit came from. They show up in Google Analytics as the source, medium and campaign of each click.
Without them, all traffic from a shared link looks identical. With them, you can see which email, ad or social post actually brought people in.
How to build a campaign URL
- Paste the destination URL.
- Enter the source, such as google or newsletter.
- Enter the medium, such as cpc or email.
- Name the campaign, such as summer-sale.
- Add term and content if you track keywords or ad variants.
- Press generate and copy the finished link.
Naming rules that keep reports tidy
- Keep every value lowercase to avoid duplicate entries.
- Use hyphens instead of spaces and special characters.
- Follow the same pattern every campaign, every month.
- Define the names once and write them down for the whole team.
When the parameters are not needed
Skip UTM tags on links that already carry their own tracking, like your own internal navigation. Doubling up can clutter your reports with misleading entries.
Frequently Asked Questions
It records where the traffic came from, like a newsletter, Google, or a specific website that linked to you.
It records the general channel, such as email, cpc (paid ads), social or organic.
Only source, medium and campaign are required. Term and content are optional extras for finer tracking.
Yes. Analytics treats utm_source=Facebook and utm_source=facebook as different sources. Consistent lowercase keeps reports clean.
Yes, they appear in the address bar. The link still works the same, and the extra text is harmless.
In Google Analytics under the Acquisition reports, where source, medium and campaign appear as separate dimensions.
No. It builds the full tagged URL. You can then run it through any link shortener you prefer.
