The common UTM parameters
On 9 October 2026 we read Google Analytics Help, in the page on collecting campaign data with custom URLs. It lists nine parameters. These five are the ones most teams use.
- utm_source: who sent the visit, such as google or newsletter.
- utm_medium: the kind of channel, such as cpc or email.
- utm_campaign: the product, slogan or promotion, such as spring_sale.
- utm_term: the paid keyword.
- utm_content: tells apart creatives, such as two links in the same email.
Google's page says you should always use utm_source, utm_medium and utm_campaign. If they are missing, reports show a value of (not set). The page also lists utm_id (a campaign ID), utm_source_platform, utm_creative_format and utm_marketing_tactic. It says the last two are not currently reported in Google Analytics properties.
How Google Analytics uses them
GA4 (Google Analytics 4) reads the tags when a visitor lands on your page. It shows the values in its Traffic acquisition report. The dimensions named on Google's page include session source and medium, session medium, session source and session campaign.
The tags are only useful if the link is used as tagged. If someone copies the link without them, the visit shows up as plain traffic.
A made-up example
Say a sweet shop in Jaipur sends one Diwali offer by WhatsApp, email and an Instagram boost. This is a made-up example. The WhatsApp link looks like this.
https://www.example.in/diwali/?utm_source=whatsapp&utm_medium=broadcast&utm_campaign=diwali_offer
The email and Instagram links use the same page, but a different source and medium. After a week, the report shows visits for each. The shop spent ₹6,000 on the Instagram boost. Its own order book shows 12 orders from those visits, each around ₹500. So the cost is ₹500 for each order.
Use your own order record for the orders, not only the tag. The tag tells you where the visit came from. Your order book tells you what it was worth.
Rules to keep tags tidy
- Values are case sensitive. Google's page says google and Google are different, and advises lowercase.
- Keep one shared sheet of names, so everyone writes whatsapp and not WhatsApp, wa or whats-app.
- Tag links that bring people in from outside. Do not tag links between your own pages.
- Never put a name, phone number or email in a tag. Links get copied and shared in many places.
Common mistakes
- Using a capital letter in one link and not in the next, so one campaign splits into two rows.
- Leaving out utm_campaign, so the report shows (not set).
- Using vague names such as test1 or new, which nobody understands six months later.
- Judging a campaign by visits only. Check enquiries and sales as well.
- Tagging a link and never opening it to test that the page loads.
To set up tags and the reports that read them, see our analytics and tracking work.
Related terms
- GA4 (Google Analytics 4): the tool that reads UTM tags and shows the reports.
- Attribution: deciding which source gets credit for a lead or sale.
- Server-side tracking: sending events through a server you control, not only from the browser.
Sources
- Google Analytics Help, "Collect campaign data with custom URLs" (support.google.com/analytics/answer/10917952), read 9 October 2026.
- Wikipedia, "UTM parameters" (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UTM_parameters), read 9 October 2026, for the full form Urchin Tracking Module.
