What are UTM URLs?
UTM URLs let you track visitors to your marketing campaigns in Google Analytics. By adding certain parameters to the end of your URLs, you can attribute visits to those URLs to particular marketing channels and campaigns.
For example, let's say you're sending an email to all your customers. To see how well the email does – and see how many people click through to your website – you'd add UTM parameters to the URLs in your email.
A UTM URL for a campaign like this might look like this:
https://yourwebsite.com/your-page/?utm_source=subscribed_customers&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=winter_sale
Which values should I use?
Google Analytics 4 sorts traffic into channels, such as Paid Social and Email, using the source and medium. If you pick a channel in the builder, it fills in values GA4 knows. A medium GA4 doesn't know can end up as “Unassigned”.
Values are case-sensitive, so Facebook and facebook show up as two separate sources. Stick to lowercase letters, numbers, hyphens and underscores, and use the same spelling every time. The builder warns you when a value breaks these rules and can fix it in one click.
What are the optional fields for?
Source, medium and campaign name are all you need. Open “Add a campaign ID, content or term” for the extras:
- Campaign ID lets GA4 match your clicks to cost data you import, so you can see spend next to results.
- Campaign content tells apart links to the same page, such as two versions of an ad or two buttons in one email.
- Campaign term records the keyword for paid search campaigns.
Can I set my own naming rules?
Yes. Open “Naming rules” under the form to choose whether values are forced to lowercase, whether spaces become underscores, hyphens or nothing, and whether special characters are removed. You can also pick the date format that “Add this month” adds to a campaign name, turn off the unrecognised-medium note, or switch from warnings to automatic fixes.
Your rules and your last chosen channel are remembered the next time you visit. They are saved in this browser, and to your account too if you're signed in. The address and campaign fields always start empty.
What does UTM stand for?
Before it was called Google Analytics, the popular web analytics platform was called Urchin (before Google bought it and rebranded it).
UTM simply stands for Urchin Tracking Module.
Bear in mind...
UTM parameters are only going to be any good if you have Google Analytics running on your website. And they're only good for tracking visits to your own website, so don't bother adding UTM parameters to links that go to other people's websites (unless they've asked you to include them for their tracking).
Can I shorten a UTM link once it's built?
Yes. Sign in and use “Create short link” to turn the finished link into a short link with the link shortener. It keeps every parameter and counts clicks, so you get a second set of numbers next to Google Analytics. “Make a QR code” sends the link to the QR code generator.