UTM links for campaign tracking
A plain-English guide to UTM links — what they are, why you need them, and how they help you track which emails, social posts, and ads are actually driving visitors to your website.
Have you ever sent an email campaign and wondered how many people actually clicked through to your website — and then what they did? That is exactly what UTM links help you find out. This guide explains what they are and how they work.
Quick summary
UTM links are normal website links with extra tracking information added to the end. When someone clicks a UTM link, Google Analytics records where that click came from, which campaign it was part of, and which specific link was clicked. You use them in email newsletters, social posts, and ads to track which campaigns drive real traffic.
What is a UTM link?
A UTM link is a normal URL with extra text added to the end — called "UTM parameters." These parameters are invisible to the visitor but tell Google Analytics exactly where that click came from.
For example, a regular link might look like this:
https://yourwebsite.com/servicesA UTM-tagged version of the same link might look like this:
https://yourwebsite.com/services?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=spring-offerThe extra text at the end (?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=spring-offer) is the UTM data. The visitor goes to the same page — they just cannot see the tracking labels.
The five UTM parameters
| Parameter | What it tracks | Example |
|---|---|---|
utm_source | Where the traffic is coming from | newsletter, facebook, google |
utm_medium | The type of marketing channel | email, social, cpc (paid ads), banner |
utm_campaign | The specific campaign name | spring-sale, product-launch |
utm_content | Which specific link or creative (optional) | header-button, footer-link |
utm_term | The keyword, for paid search (optional) | web-design-agency |
For most purposes, you only need the first three: source, medium, and campaign.
Why does this matter?
Without UTM tags, many of your marketing clicks show up in Google Analytics as "Direct" traffic — because the source is lost when someone clicks a link in an email app or a social media app.
With UTM tags, those clicks appear correctly under the "Email" or "Social" channel, attributed to the right campaign.
This lets you answer questions like:
- Did my April newsletter drive more website visits than my March one?
- Are my Instagram posts or my Facebook posts sending more traffic?
- Which specific email link (the top button vs the footer link) gets more clicks?
How to create UTM links
The easiest way is to use Google's free Campaign URL Builder tool at ga-dev-tools.google/campaign-url-builder.
Enter your website URL. Paste the page you want to link to.
Fill in the UTM parameters. At minimum: Campaign Source, Campaign Medium, and Campaign Name.
Copy the generated URL. Use this link in your email, social post, or ad instead of the plain URL.
Where to see UTM data in GA4
In GA4, go to Reports > Acquisition > Traffic acquisition. Change the "Session default channel group" dimension to "Session source / medium" or "Session campaign" to see your UTM data.
You can also add a filter to look at a specific campaign.
Easy to miss
UTM parameters are case-sensitive. "Newsletter" and "newsletter" are counted as two different sources. Pick a consistent naming convention and stick to it. Use lowercase and hyphens (no spaces) for the cleanest results.
Best practice for using UTMs
- Always use UTMs in email campaigns
- Always use UTMs in paid social posts and ads
- Use UTMs for any promotional link you share — in a podcast bio, a directory listing, a partner's website
- Do not use UTMs for internal links on your own website — this breaks session tracking
Common questions
Related guides
- Understanding where traffic comes from
- What is Google Analytics (GA4)?
- Key metrics, explained simply
- E-commerce tracking explained
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