Updated
UTM parameters are tags added to the end of a URL that tell you where a visitor came from. Google Analytics 4 reads them and attributes sessions and conversions to the right campaign.
The five UTM parameters
- utm_source: the source, such as newsletter, facebook or linkedin
- utm_medium: the channel, such as email, cpc or social
- utm_campaign: the campaign name, such as autumn_sale
- utm_content: separates variants, for example two banners in the same email
- utm_term: the keyword, mainly for paid search
Example
A newsletter link could look like this: https://example.com/offer/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=autumn_sale. In GA4 you can then see exactly how many visits and enquiries that email produced.
Rules for clean data
- Always use lowercase, because GA4 is case sensitive
- Agree on one naming convention across the team
- Never use UTM parameters on internal links within your own site
- Keep auto-tagging (gclid) switched on for Google Ads
Digitalman sets up tracking and campaign tagging properly. Learn more on our PPC agency page.
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