\n| Content\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n | utm_content\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n| Term<\/span><\/td>\n | utm_term<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n GA4 also reads three newer optional tags: utm_source_platform, utm_creative_format and utm_marketing_tactic. Almost nobody sets these by hand. They matter mainly if you’re importing ad cost data.<\/p>\n Here’s what each one is for.<\/p>\n <\/span>UTM Source<\/span><\/h3>\nNames the specific place the traffic came from. facebook, linkedin, mailchimp, partner-site.<\/p>\n The easiest way to keep source and medium straight: source is who sent the click, medium is how they sent it.<\/strong> A paid Facebook ad is utm_source=facebook<\/code> with utm_medium=cpc<\/code>. That exact same link in an organic Facebook post is utm_source=facebook<\/code> with utm_medium=social<\/code>. Same sender, different delivery method.<\/p>\nGet this one wrong and your channel reports quietly stop meaning anything, because paid and organic traffic from the same platform end up in the same bucket.<\/p>\n <\/span>UTM Medium<\/span><\/h3>\nThe delivery method. email, cpc, social, affiliate, qr, referral, banner.<\/p>\n Keep this list short and boring. Medium is the field GA4 uses to sort traffic into its default channel groupings, so inventing new values \u2014 medium=emailblast<\/code> one month, medium=email-campaign<\/code> the next \u2014 fragments your own reporting. Six or seven mediums is usually enough for an entire company.<\/p>\n<\/span>UTM Campaign<\/span><\/h3>\nThe name of the specific initiative. black-friday-2026, q3-webinar, product-launch.<\/p>\n This is the field you’ll actually filter reports by, so name it after something you’ll still recognise in nine months. spring-sale<\/code> is fine. campaign-4-final-v2<\/code> is not.<\/p>\n<\/span>UTM Term<\/span><\/h3>\nRecords the keyword that triggered a paid click.<\/p>\n Google Ads can fill this in automatically using the {keyword}<\/code> value track parameter, so you rarely set it by hand on search campaigns. It stays genuinely useful anywhere auto-tagging doesn’t reach: Bing, LinkedIn, or a manually built set of keyword-specific links.<\/p>\nOne caveat worth knowing \u2014 Google encrypts organic search keywords, so utm_term will never tell you what someone typed into Google before landing on your blog. Paid clicks only.<\/p>\n <\/span>UTM Content<\/span><\/h3>\nDistinguishes between two links pointing at the same page.<\/p>\n This is the A\/B testing field. Two CTAs in one email, both going to your pricing page? utm_content=header-button<\/code> and utm_content=footer-link<\/code> tell you which one people actually clicked. Same for two versions of an ad creative, or a text link versus a banner in the same newsletter.<\/p>\n<\/span>UTM ID<\/span><\/h3>\nAn identifier for the campaign itself, used to tie a tagged URL back to a specific campaign record.<\/p>\n If you’re importing ad cost data into GA4 so it can calculate ROAS, this is the field that stitches the click to the spend. If you’re not doing cost imports, you can skip it.<\/p>\n <\/span>Anatomy of a UTM-Tagged URL<\/span><\/h2>\nHere’s a standard URL with no UTM tags:<\/p>\n \n \n www.example.com\/product<\/code><\/pre>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nAnd the same URL tagged:<\/p>\n \n \n www.example.com\/product?utm_source=new+subscribers&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=black+friday+sale&utm_content=first+cta+button<\/code><\/pre>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nPiece by piece:<\/p>\n \n- www.example.com\/product<\/strong> \u2014 the page you’re sending people to.<\/li>\n
- ?<\/strong> \u2014 tells the browser everything after this point is extra data, not part of the page address.<\/li>\n
- utm_source=new+subscribers<\/strong> \u2014 the traffic source. The
+<\/code> stands in for a space, because URLs can’t contain literal spaces. (%20<\/code> does the same job.)<\/li>\n- &<\/strong> \u2014 separates one parameter from the next. Every tag after the first one needs one.<\/li>\n
- utm_medium=email<\/strong> \u2014 the delivery method.<\/li>\n
- utm_campaign=black+friday+sale<\/strong> \u2014 the campaign name.<\/li>\n
- utm_content=first+cta+button<\/strong> \u2014 which link inside the email was clicked.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Read together, that URL says: Black Friday offer, sent by email to the new-subscriber segment, clicked via the first CTA button.<\/p>\n Notice utm_term isn’t there. It’s optional and this isn’t a paid search click, so it’s fine to leave off. Source, medium and campaign are the three you should never skip.<\/p>\n <\/span>7 Best Examples of Using UTM Parameters Effectively<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\nThese are all real URLs, captured from live campaigns.<\/p>\n <\/span>1. UTM in Product\/Shopping Campaign<\/span><\/h3>\nHere’s what Coach sent to people who’d browsed but not bought:<\/p>\n .\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Coach\"](\"https:\/\/gaconnector.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Coach.jpg\") https:\/\/www.coachoutlet.com\/shop\/utm_medium=em_mktg&utm_source=SFMC&utm_campaign=20220922_WK12_COH_OTL_FriendsFamilyBagsUnder150_FullFile__FY23_US____PERS&sfmc_id=108914146&utm_term=Amperity_COHNA_Outlet_US_Unengaged_NonBuyer<\/em><\/p>\nUnpacked:<\/p>\n \n- utm_medium:<\/strong> em_mktg<\/li>\n
- utm_source:<\/strong> SFMC (Salesforce Marketing Cloud)<\/li>\n
- utm_campaign:<\/strong> 20220922_WK12_COH_OTL_FriendsFamilyBagsUnder150_FullFile__FY23_US____PERS<\/li>\n
- utm_term:<\/strong> Amperity_COHNA_Outlet_US_Unengaged_NonBuyer<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/span>2. UTM in a Travel Website<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\nThat\u2019s what the interface of Get Your Guide looks like.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Travel](\"https:\/\/gaconnector.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Get-Your-Guide.jpg\") <\/p>\n
Get Your Guide’s affiliate link:<\/p>\n https:\/\/www.getyourguide.com\/s?partner_id=CXOA4OX&utm_medium=online_publisher&placement=%22other%22&cmp=Milan&q=Milan&et=209769&lc=139<\/em><\/p>\n\n- utm_medium:<\/strong> online_publisher<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
This is an affiliate link shared by a travel blogger on their own blog, hence the medium of online_publisher.<\/p>\n <\/span>3. UTM in a Facebook Campaign<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\nA Facebook ad by ClickFunnels:<\/p>\n ![\"ClickFunnels\"](\"https:\/\/gaconnector.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/ClickFunnels.jpg\") <\/p>\n
https:\/\/www.clickfunnels.com\/?cf_affiliate_id=513513&affiliate_id=513513&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=advertising&utm_campaign=CFTrial&utm_term=CFretarget&utm_content=russellreact&fbc_id=6266713392263&h_ad_id=6266713392063&WickedSource=Facebook&WickedID=6266713392063&fbclid=IwAR1LOAYlG8gOsLjPAoef2XSpIfLBJV658ZTVAyC337lUG5Vf6UGRTZ498hc<\/em><\/p>\n\n- utm_source:<\/strong> facebook<\/li>\n
- utm_medium:<\/strong> advertising<\/li>\n
- utm_campaign:<\/strong> CFTrial (ClickFunnels trial)<\/li>\n
- utm_term:<\/strong> CFretarget (retargeting audience)<\/li>\n
- utm_content:<\/strong> russellreact (the creative \u2014 Russell’s reaction shot)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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