UTM Builder & Campaign URL Generator

Build campaign tracking URLs with UTM parameters for Google Analytics — single or bulk mode

Analytics dashboard showing campaign performance metrics on a laptop screen

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Please enter a valid URL starting with http:// or https://
The referrer (e.g. google, newsletter)
Marketing medium (e.g. cpc, email)
The individual campaign name, slogan, or promo code
Paid search keyword term
Use for A/B testing or ad differentiation
Format: url,source,medium,campaign,term,content (first row is treated as header if it starts with "url")

Saved campaign presets are stored in your browser's localStorage. Click a preset to load it into the single URL builder.

TB
Written by Thibault Besson-Magdelain
Published June 15, 2025 · Updated February 10, 2026 · 8 min read

What Are UTM Parameters?

UTM parameters, an abbreviation for Urchin Tracking Module parameters, are standardized query string tags appended to URLs that enable analytics platforms to identify and categorize the traffic sources driving visitors to a website. The system was originally developed by Urchin Software Corporation, a web analytics company that Google acquired in 2005. Google integrated Urchin's tracking technology into what became Google Analytics, and the UTM parameter format became the de facto standard for campaign tracking across the digital marketing industry.

When a user clicks a UTM-tagged URL, the analytics platform reads the parameter values and attributes that visit to the specified source, medium, and campaign. This attribution data is fundamental to understanding marketing performance. Without UTM tagging, analytics platforms rely on automatic source detection, which often misclassifies traffic or groups it under the generic "direct" or "referral" categories, making it impossible to measure the ROI of individual campaigns.

The practical value of UTM tracking cannot be overstated. Consider a company running simultaneous campaigns across email, social media, paid search, and display advertising. Without UTM parameters, the marketing team knows overall traffic increased, but cannot determine which campaign or channel drove the growth. With proper UTM tagging, they can trace every conversion back to the specific email blast, social post, or ad creative that generated it.

The Five UTM Parameters Explained

The UTM system consists of five parameters, three of which are considered essential and two that are optional. Understanding the purpose and proper usage of each parameter is critical for maintaining clean, actionable analytics data.

utm_source (Required)

The source parameter identifies the referrer that sent the traffic. Common values include google, facebook, twitter, linkedin, newsletter, and partner-site. This parameter answers the question "where did this visitor come from?" and should always be populated, even when other parameters are omitted.

utm_medium (Required)

The medium parameter classifies the general category of the traffic source. Standard values aligned with Google Analytics conventions include cpc (cost per click), email, social, organic, referral, display, and affiliate. Using consistent medium values across all campaigns enables accurate channel-level reporting.

utm_campaign (Required)

The campaign parameter identifies the specific marketing campaign, promotion, or initiative that the link belongs to. Examples include spring-sale-2026, product-launch-v2, or weekly-newsletter-feb-10. This parameter allows you to compare the performance of different campaigns within the same channel.

utm_term (Optional)

The term parameter is primarily used in paid search campaigns to identify the keyword or search term that triggered the ad. For example, if you are bidding on the keyword "running shoes," setting utm_term=running+shoes allows you to track which specific keywords drive conversions, supplementing the data provided by ad platform dashboards.

utm_content (Optional)

The content parameter differentiates between multiple links within the same campaign. It is commonly used for A/B testing (e.g., utm_content=blue-button vs. utm_content=red-button) or to distinguish between different ad creatives, link placements, or call-to-action variations within a single email or landing page.

UTM Tracking in Google Analytics 4

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) processes UTM parameters differently from its predecessor, Universal Analytics. In GA4, UTM data is captured as event parameters on the session_start event and mapped to traffic source dimensions. The key report for analyzing UTM data in GA4 is found under Reports, then Acquisition, then Traffic Acquisition, where you can group sessions by source, medium, campaign, or any combination of these dimensions.

GA4 also introduces the concept of user-scoped and session-scoped traffic dimensions. The "First user" dimensions capture the UTM parameters from the user's very first visit, while "Session" dimensions capture the parameters for each individual session. This distinction is important for understanding the difference between acquisition attribution (how did this user first discover us?) and session attribution (what brought them back this time?).

For deeper analysis, GA4's Explorations feature allows you to build custom reports combining UTM dimensions with conversion events, revenue data, and user engagement metrics. You can create funnels filtered by specific campaigns, compare cohorts based on acquisition source, or build path analyses that show how users from different campaigns navigate through your site. More information about using UTM parameters across all our link and URL tools is available in our comprehensive guide.

UTM Naming Conventions and Best Practices

The single most important practice for effective UTM tracking is establishing and enforcing consistent naming conventions across your entire organization. Inconsistent naming is the primary reason UTM data becomes unreliable. Here are the key conventions to adopt:

  • Use lowercase exclusively: Google Analytics treats UTM values as case-sensitive, so "Email" and "email" create separate entries. Standardize on lowercase to prevent fragmentation.
  • Use hyphens as word separators: Replace spaces with hyphens in multi-word values (e.g., spring-sale rather than spring_sale or spring%20sale). This improves readability and avoids encoding issues.
  • Create a documented taxonomy: Maintain a shared spreadsheet or wiki page listing approved values for source, medium, and campaign naming patterns. New team members should reference this document before creating tagged URLs.
  • Include dates in campaign names: For recurring campaigns, include the date or period in the campaign name (e.g., weekly-newsletter-2026-02-10) to enable time-based analysis without relying solely on analytics date filters.
  • Keep values descriptive but concise: Balance clarity with brevity. fb is too cryptic, while facebook-main-company-page-organic-post is excessive. facebook or fb-page strikes the right balance.

Common UTM Mistakes to Avoid

Even experienced marketers occasionally make UTM errors that compromise their analytics data. Understanding these pitfalls helps you avoid them:

Tagging Internal Links

Never apply UTM parameters to links within your own website. When a visitor clicks an internal UTM-tagged link, Google Analytics starts a new session attributed to the UTM source, overwriting the original traffic source. This inflates your self-referral numbers and breaks conversion attribution for the actual campaign that brought the visitor to your site.

Inconsistent Capitalization

Mixing utm_source=Facebook on one link with utm_source=facebook on another creates two separate source entries in your reports. What looks like poor performance from "facebook" might actually represent excellent performance when combined with "Facebook" data. Always use lowercase.

Forgetting to Tag All Links

If an email campaign contains five links and only three are UTM-tagged, clicks on the untagged links appear as "direct" traffic in analytics. Tag every outbound link in your campaigns for complete attribution. This is where bulk UTM generation tools become essential for efficiency and consistency.

Advanced Campaign Tracking Strategies

Beyond basic UTM tagging, several advanced strategies can enhance your campaign tracking capabilities. First, consider integrating UTM data with your CRM system to connect web analytics sessions with individual customer records, enabling revenue attribution at the campaign level. Second, use the utm_content parameter systematically for email heatmap analysis: tag each link in an email with a descriptive content value (e.g., hero-image, cta-button-1, footer-link) to understand which email elements drive the most engagement.

For organizations managing large numbers of campaigns, building a centralized UTM management system with saved presets and templates prevents naming drift over time. A preset for "Google Ads - Search" might automatically populate source as google, medium as cpc, and prompt only for the campaign name and keyword term, ensuring consistency across every tagged URL your team creates.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are UTM parameters?
UTM parameters are five special query string tags (utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign, utm_term, utm_content) appended to URLs. They allow Google Analytics and other analytics platforms to identify exactly where traffic originates, which marketing medium delivered it, and which specific campaign drove the visit. This attribution data is essential for measuring marketing ROI.
Which UTM parameters are required?
Only utm_source is technically required by Google Analytics. However, best practice recommends always including utm_source, utm_medium, and utm_campaign for complete attribution. The utm_term parameter is typically reserved for paid search keywords, and utm_content is used for A/B testing or distinguishing between multiple links in the same campaign.
Are UTM parameters case-sensitive in Google Analytics?
Yes, Google Analytics treats UTM parameters as case-sensitive. "Email" and "email" will appear as separate medium values in your reports. This is why establishing and enforcing a lowercase naming convention across your organization is critical for clean, accurate analytics data that combines all related traffic correctly.
Can I use UTM parameters on internal links?
No, you should not use UTM parameters on internal links within your own website. When a user clicks an internal UTM-tagged link, Google Analytics starts a new session with the UTM source, overwriting the original traffic source. This breaks your attribution data, inflates your traffic source counts, and makes it impossible to accurately measure the original campaign that brought the visitor to your site.
How do I track UTM campaigns in Google Analytics 4?
In Google Analytics 4, navigate to Reports, then Acquisition, then Traffic acquisition. You can view traffic grouped by Session source/medium, Session campaign, or other UTM dimensions. Use the search bar to filter by specific campaign names. GA4 also supports custom Explorations for deeper UTM analysis, including funnels and path analysis filtered by campaign parameters.