How to use UTM parameters to track campaigns
Updated
Short answer
UTM parameters are tags you add to a link, such as ?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=october-launch, so your analytics knows where a visit came from even when the browser hides the referrer. Use utm_source, utm_medium and utm_campaign on every link you publish, keep values lowercase and consistent, and never tag internal links on your own site.
The five UTM parameters
- utm_source: who sent the visit, such as newsletter, x or producthunt.
- utm_medium: the type of channel, such as email, social, cpc or referral.
- utm_campaign: the specific push, such as october-launch or black-friday.
- utm_term: the paid keyword, mostly for search ads.
- utm_content: which link or creative was clicked, useful when one email has several links.
Why tag links at all
Browsers often share only a site’s origin, or no referrer at all. A post on X may arrive as https://x.com/ with no hint of which post, and links in email apps, PDFs and chat apps frequently arrive as Direct. UTM tags survive those cases because they are part of the URL itself.
Naming rules that keep reports clean
- Use lowercase everywhere. Many tools treat Newsletter and newsletter as different sources.
- Use hyphens instead of spaces.
- Pick one name per channel and write it down, for example always x rather than a mix of x, twitter and twitter.com.
- Put the campaign name in utm_campaign, not in utm_source.
When not to use UTM parameters
- Internal links on your own site. In many tools a tagged internal link starts a new attributed visit and overwrites the real source.
- Organic search results. Search engines already identify themselves through the referrer.
- Links you do not control. Tag what you publish; other people’s links show up through the referrer.
Build a tagged link
- Start with the landing page, for example https://example.com/pricing.
- Add ?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=october-launch to the end.
- If the URL already contains a ?, join the tags with & instead.
- Open the link once yourself and check that the visit appears with the right source.
See campaigns in Tracwell
Tracwell reads all five UTM parameters automatically. Acquisition shows tracked campaigns next to sources and referrers, Realtime confirms a new link within seconds of publishing it, and in Product mode the Revenue report credits payments to the campaign that started the session.