What are UTM Parameters?

    The definitive guide to tracking digital marketing campaigns accurately in Google Analytics 4.

    The Short Answer

    UTM parameters (Urchin Tracking Module parameters) are five variants of URL parameters used by marketers to track the effectiveness of online marketing campaigns across traffic sources and publishing media.

    By adding UTM parameters to a URL, you can pass specific information to your analytics tool about where a visitor came from, what medium they clicked on, and which specific campaign drove them to your site.

    Beyond Google Analytics: While originally created by Urchin (which was acquired by Google to become Google Analytics), UTM parameters have become the universal standard for marketing attribution across the entire web. They are fully supported out-of-the-box by almost every modern data tool, including Snowplow Analytics, PostHog, Mixpanel, Matomo, and Adobe Analytics.

    Why Do You Need UTM Parameters?

    If you post a link to your website on Facebook, Google Analytics will track that someone arrived from Facebook. But what if you posted that link on your Facebook business page, ran it as a paid Facebook Ad, and also posted it in a Facebook Group?

    Without UTM parameters, GA4 (and other platforms like Snowplow) pull all of this traffic together as generic "referral" or "social" traffic. With UTM parameters, you can tell your analytical engine exactly which post, ad, or group drove the sale. This lets you calculate your Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) accurately.

    The Core 5 UTM Parameters

    There are five standard UTM parameters, although only utm_source is technically required by most analytics engines. Best practice dictates using at least Source, Medium, and Campaign.

    • utm_source (Required): Identifies the platform or advertiser sending traffic to your property.
      Examples: google, facebook, newsletter, bing.
    • utm_medium (Recommended): Identifies the advertising or marketing medium.
      Examples: cpc, banner, email, social.
    • utm_campaign (Recommended): The individual campaign name, slogan, or promo code.
      Examples: summer_sale, black_friday_2025.
    • utm_term: Used predominantly for paid search campaigns to track the exact keywords that triggered the ad.
      Examples: running+shoes, cheap+flights.
    • utm_content: Used to differentiate similar content or links within the same ad. For example, if you have two call-to-action links in the same email.
      Examples: logolink, textlink, hero_image.

    The 3 New GA4 Parameters

    With the release of Google Analytics 4, three new parameters were introduced to help marketers capture even more granular campaign data. Remember: while these were introduced by Google, modern platforms like Snowplow, PostHog, and others can be configured to capture these parameters too!

    • utm_source_platform: The platform responsible for directing traffic to a given property.
      Examples: Search Ads 360, Display & Video 360, manual.
    • utm_creative_format: The type of creative used in your campaign.
      Examples: display, video, search, carousel.
    • utm_marketing_tactic: The targeting criteria applied to the campaign.
      Examples: remarketing, prospecting, cart_abandonment.

    Pro Tip for Marketers!

    Always use lowercase letters for your UTM parameter values. GA4 is case-sensitive, meaning utm_source=Facebook and utm_source=facebook will be recorded as two entirely different traffic sources in your reports! You can easily check for case and spacing errors using our free UTM Validator.

    How to Build a UTM URL

    Building a UTM tracked link manually is prone to human error. A single typo, space, or incorrect question mark can break the entire tracking setup.

    A typical URL looks like this:
    https://www.yourwebsite.com/landing-page?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=spring_sale

    Instead of typing this out, you should always use a tool to generate and validate your links. Check out our UTM Builder Tool to generate perfectly formatted links in seconds.

    Common UTM Mistakes to Avoid

    1. Using spaces: URLs cannot contain spaces. Use underscores (_) instead.
    2. Inconsistent tagging: Mixing up mediums (e.g., using "email" for one campaign and "newsletter" for another) makes reporting a nightmare.
    3. Internal tagging: Never use UTM parameters for links pointing from one page of your website to another. This overrides the external referrer data!
    4. Exposing personally identifiable information (PII): Do not put email addresses or names in UTM tags. This violates GDPR and GA4's Terms of Service.

    Ready to audit your campaigns?

    Upload your spreadsheet to our Bulk UTM Validator to ensure your tracking is flawless.