What are UTM tracking parameters and how to use them effectively in 2025

What are UTM tracking parameters?

UTM tracking parameters are snippets of code that you append to the end of a URL to help track where your website traffic originates from. These parameters provide detailed information to Google Analytics 4 (GA4) about your marketing campaigns, allowing you to measure the effectiveness of different channels, campaigns, and content pieces.

When someone clicks on a UTM-tagged link, the parameters don't affect the user experience at all—they still reach your intended page. However, GA4 captures and processes this additional information, giving you granular insights into your traffic sources and campaign performance.

Understanding the five UTM parameters

There are five UTM parameters available, though you'll primarily use three core parameters for most campaigns:

Essential UTM parameters

utm_source

The source identifies where your traffic originates from. This could be a specific platform, website, or publication. Examples include 'facebook', 'newsletter', 'google', or 'partnersitename'. Always use utm_source along with utm_medium and utm_campaign as these three parameters are essential for proper attribution in GA4.

utm_medium

The medium categorises the broader marketing channel or method used to deliver your message. Common examples include 'email', 'social', 'cpc' (cost-per-click), 'organic', 'referral', or 'display'. Many universities and analytics teams adopt lowercase enforcement for long-term data hygiene, and GA4 documentation uses this convention universally.

utm_campaign

The campaign parameter helps you group related marketing activities together, even across different channels. For example, 'spring-sale-2025', 'product-launch', or 'webinar-series-march'. This enables you to track the overall performance of integrated campaigns that span multiple mediums and sources.

Additional UTM parameters

utm_term

Originally designed for tracking specific keywords in paid search campaigns, utm_term can also be used to differentiate audience segments or targeting criteria within the same campaign.

utm_content

This parameter is valuable for A/B testing and distinguishing between different creative elements within the same campaign. For instance, if you have two call-to-action buttons in the same email, you might use 'cta-header' and 'cta-footer' to see which performs better.

How UTM tracking works in Google Analytics 4

With Universal Analytics having completely shut down in July 2024, Google Analytics 4 is now the primary platform for web analytics. UTM tracking in GA4 works differently than in the previous version, with enhanced capabilities and new reporting features.

GA4 UTM parameter mapping

In GA4, UTM parameters appear with specific dimension names: utm_source becomes "Session source" in Traffic Acquisition reports, utm_medium becomes "Session medium," and utm_campaign becomes "Session campaign". Understanding this mapping is crucial for navigating GA4 reports effectively.

New GA4 UTM parameters

GA4 introduces additional UTM parameters including utm_id for campaign identification (required for data import), utm_source_platform for platform attribution, utm_creative_format for creative types, and utm_marketing_tactic for targeting criteria. However, not all of these are currently reported in GA4 interfaces.

Channel grouping and attribution

GA4 uses rule-based channel grouping to automatically categorise traffic. If you see traffic in the "Unassigned" channel group, it means GA4 couldn't automatically categorise your campaign based on its built-in rules. Proper UTM naming conventions help ensure accurate channel attribution.

UTM best practices

Naming convention standards

• Use lowercase consistently: Standardise on lowercase letters, avoid spaces, and choose hyphens for separation. Maintain uniformity in naming (e.g., always use utm_source=facebook, not utm_source=Facebook)
• Be descriptive but concise: Make your campaign names intuitive enough that team members can understand them without referring to documentation
• Use hyphens instead of spaces: Replace spaces with hyphens (spring-sale-2025) rather than underscores or plus signs
• Establish team-wide standards: Maintain a single shared registry of approved UTM values, such as a Google Sheet or internal data dictionary. Include columns for source, medium, campaign, content, and term with definitions and usage notes

Quality assurance and testing

Always test links in a clean browser or incognito session before going live. Confirm that clicks populate the correct GA4 acquisition dimensions. Catching errors early prevents weeks of reporting gaps or corrupted datasets.

URL shortening for user experience

UTM parameters can make URLs excessively long and cumbersome, especially on mobile devices. You can use URL shorteners like Bit.ly or Rebrandly to keep links clean and user-friendly while preserving tracking integrity. 

How to build UTM-tagged links

While you can manually add UTM parameters to URLs, using a dedicated builder tool ensures accuracy and saves time.

Recommended UTM builders for 2025

• Google's Campaign URL Builder: The official Google Analytics tool for creating UTM-tagged URLs with built-in validation is the tool that we use ourselves
• Third-party tools: Tools like MeasureSchool's UTM Tracking Tool offer additional features like bulk generation and team collaboration

UTM builder process

1. Enter your destination URL
2. Fill in your UTM parameters following your naming conventions
3. Generate the tagged URL
4. Test the link in an incognito browser
5. Shorten the URL if necessary for better user experience
6. Document the campaign in your UTM tracking sheet

Automation and integration

Many platforms now offer UTM parameter automation. For example, you can use UTM Builder Chrome extensions or integrate UTM generation directly into your marketing tools and CRM systems. Many social media management tools such as Social Pilot and others offer the facility to append UTM tags automatically to any links that you post. 

Common UTM tracking mistakes to avoid

Even experienced marketers can run into issues when setting up UTM tracking. These mistakes create messy data, broken attribution and reporting gaps that can take weeks to untangle.

Critical mistakes that damage your data

Never use UTMs on internal links

Never tag links within your own site or app with UTMs. Internal tagging creates false sessions, inflates traffic and breaks lead source attribution. Use events, custom dimensions, or GA4's enhanced measurement instead for tracking on-site interactions.

Inconsistent capitalisation and formatting

Using different capitalisation or formatting, like SummerSale, Summer-Sale, and summer-sale, for the same campaign causes GA4 to treat each variation as a separate value, fragmenting data and inflating the number of line items in reports.

Swapping source and medium values

GA4 documentation and leading analytics frameworks use specific conventions universally. Swapping these fields breaks consistency across reports, confuses attribution, and makes cross-channel comparisons unreliable.

Advanced pitfalls to watch for

• Over-parameterising URLs: Stick to essential parameters—campaign source, medium, name, term and content. Overcomplicating URLs with unnecessary tags can make reporting messy and increase the risk of errors
• Failing to monitor regularly: Check your UTM data regularly to spot any anomalies or issues, like broken links or campaigns pulling in inaccurate data

UTM tracking for different campaign types

Email marketing campaigns

It's particularly useful to tag any links in your emails with UTM tracking parameters. That's because if you don't, Google does not know that the traffic came from an email. You can only see email traffic as a separate category in Google Analytics if you have tagged your email links with the medium 'email'.

Best practices for email UTM tracking:

• Use utm_source to identify the specific email list or segment
• Set utm_medium to 'email' consistently
• Use descriptive campaign names that include the date or campaign theme
• Differentiate between newsletter content and promotional campaigns

Social media campaigns

Social campaigns are a perfect fit for UTM tracking. Each platform performs differently, so tagging lets you measure clicks, conversions and engagement by channel. When setting up UTMs for social, the medium should be 'social', and the source should be the platform name—like 'instagram' or 'linkedin'.

Facebook has dynamic parameter values that can be automatically inserted including ad placement information like 'Instagram_Stories', 'Facebook_Right_Column' or 'Facebook_Desktop_Feed'.

Paid advertising campaigns

Google Ads does not require manual UTM setup as there is an account level setting to enable 'auto-tagging'. In addition, make sure the Google Ads and Google Analytics platforms are linked. Auto-tagging does more than forgo the need to define UTMs manually including passing data via gclids.

Content marketing and PR campaigns

For content distribution and PR efforts:

• Use utm_source for the specific publication or website
• Set utm_medium to 'referral', 'guest-post', or 'pr' depending on the content type
• Include the content piece or campaign theme in utm_campaign

Measuring UTM campaign performance in GA4

In GA4, you can find UTM data in your Traffic Acquisition reports. For more detailed analysis, exploration reports provide the flexibility to analyse UTM parameters alongside conversion metrics and custom dimensions.

Key GA4 reports for UTM analysis

Traffic Acquisition report

The Traffic Acquisition report shows session data based on UTM parameters. You can add secondary dimensions by clicking the plus sign (+) to see campaign names alongside source and medium data.

User Acquisition report

This report focuses on first-time user interactions, showing how new users discovered your site through different UTM-tagged campaigns.

Exploration reports

If the pre-defined Acquisition reports don't provide exactly what you want, you can view your UTM parameters in an Exploration. Go to Explore and create a blank report, finding relevant dimensions in the Traffic source section.

Advanced UTM analysis techniques

• Conversion attribution: Connect UTMs to CRM or transaction data to measure revenue impact, not just activity
• Cross-platform analysis: Ensure your analytics platform can handle cross-device tracking. UTM parameters combined with first-party data collection help build accurate customer journeys
• Cohort analysis: Group users by their initial UTM campaign to understand long-term value differences

The future of UTM tracking 

Privacy-first attribution

With increasing privacy laws (GDPR, CCPA) and cookie restrictions, UTM tracking provides a first-party data solution that doesn't rely on third-party cookies. URL shortening tools now prioritise safe click redirection and compliance with privacy regulations.

AI and machine learning integration

AI-powered tools now offer dynamic UTM experiences, including time-based redirects (different landing pages for morning vs. night traffic) and automated UTM parameter optimisation based on performance data.

Multi-platform attribution

The shift towards using alternative discovery tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity means businesses need to think beyond traditional search. Future UTM strategies should consider how conversations about products and services occur across different platforms.

Enhanced automation and integration

Tools now offer centralised control over thousands of links, embedded UTM parameters with QR codes, and automated A/B testing of different UTM strategies from a single link management platform.

Conclusion

UTM tracking parameters remain a cornerstone of effective digital marketing measurement in 2025. By implementing a consistent UTM strategy in GA4, you can clearly identify which marketing efforts drive traffic and conversions. Proper parameter structure ensures accurate attribution, enabling you to optimise campaigns for maximum impact.

As we navigate an increasingly complex digital landscape with AI-powered search, privacy regulations, and multi-device customer journeys, UTM tracking provides the reliable attribution data needed to make informed marketing decisions. The key to success lies in establishing clear naming conventions, avoiding common pitfalls, and regularly analysing your campaign performance data.

Whether you're running email newsletters, social media campaigns, or integrated marketing initiatives, proper UTM implementation will help you understand what's working, optimise your budget allocation, and demonstrate the true impact of your marketing efforts.

About the author

Rachel Clinton has led sales and business development teams across a range of companies, from local SMEs and family businesses through to large multinationals.