UTM parameters explained: source, medium, campaign, term and content

Quick answer: add utm_source, utm_medium and utm_campaign to every link you share outside your site, use lowercase and keep the names consistent. Term and content are optional.

The five parameters

• utm_source: where the click came from, such as newsletter, twitter or partner-site.
• utm_medium: the type of channel, such as email, social or cpc.
• utm_campaign: the campaign or promotion name, such as spring-sale.
• utm_term: a paid keyword. Optional.
• utm_content: tells two links in the same campaign apart, like header-button and footer-link. Optional.

Naming rules that save your reports

• Use lowercase. Analytics treats Email and email as different values.
• Pick one spelling and write it down: newsletter or email-newsletter, not both.
• Use hyphens, not spaces. Spaces become %20 and look messy.
• Keep campaign names short but specific enough to find later.

Common mistakes

• Tagging internal links. UTM tags on links inside your own site can overwrite the original traffic source. Use them only on links that bring people in.
• Overwriting existing parameters. If the URL already has a query string, the tags must be added with &, not a second ?.
• Sharing tagged links in private channels where the visitor may not expect tracking. Be open about it where it matters.

Build them without typos

The UTM link builder cleans the values, keeps parameters that are already on the URL and remembers your last entries. It runs in your browser, so nothing is stored on a server.