Mastering UTM Parameters for Campaign Tracking
UTM (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.
utm_source
Identifies which site sent the traffic. Examples: google, facebook, newsletter.
utm_medium
Identifies what type of link was used. Examples: cpc (cost per click), email, social.
utm_campaign
Identifies a specific product promotion or strategic campaign. Example: spring_sale_2026.
Best Practices for UTM Tagging
- Use lowercase letters only: Google Analytics is case-sensitive. `utm_source=Facebook` and `utm_source=facebook` will show up as two different sources.
- Use underscores instead of spaces: Spaces in URLs are converted to `%20` which makes them ugly and hard to read. Use `spring_sale` instead of `spring sale`.
- Don't use UTMs for internal links: Never put UTM parameters on links pointing from one page of your website to another page of your website. It will overwrite the original referrer data in Analytics.