UTM Parameters Cheat Sheet: Every Parameter Explained with Examples

UTM parameters are five query string tags you append to any URL to tell Google Analytics exactly where your traffic came from. This cheat sheet covers every parameter, the exact values to use, and the most common patterns for email, social, ads, and more — so you can start tracking campaigns correctly today.

The Five UTM Parameters

utm_source (required)

Identifies who sent the traffic. Think of it as the publisher or the platform.

• utm_source=google — Paid search on Google
• utm_source=facebook — Paid or organic traffic from Facebook
• utm_source=newsletter — Your own email newsletter
• utm_source=instagram — Instagram (distinguish from Facebook in reports)
• utm_source=partner — A partner site or referral program

utm_medium (required)

Identifies the marketing channel or type of traffic. Think of it as how the link was distributed.

• utm_medium=cpc — Cost-per-click paid advertising (Google Ads, Meta Ads)
• utm_medium=email — Any email campaign
• utm_medium=social — Organic social media posts
• utm_medium=referral — Links from other websites
• utm_medium=display — Banner or display advertising
• utm_medium=affiliate — Affiliate partner links

utm_campaign (required)

The name of the specific campaign, promotion, or initiative. Use something you'll recognize in reports six months from now.

• utm_campaign=summer_sale_2026
• utm_campaign=product_launch_june
• utm_campaign=weekly_newsletter
• utm_campaign=brand_awareness_q2

utm_term (optional)

Used for paid search campaigns to identify the keyword that triggered the ad. Generally auto-populated by Google Ads when you enable auto-tagging, but can be set manually:

• utm_term=whatsapp+link+generator
• utm_term=free+qr+code+maker

utm_content (optional)

Differentiates between multiple links within the same campaign. Useful for A/B testing ad creatives or email button placement:

• utm_content=hero_banner vs utm_content=sidebar_ad
• utm_content=blue_cta_button vs utm_content=orange_cta_button
• utm_content=text_link vs utm_content=image_link

UTM Naming Conventions (Follow These or Reports Get Messy)

• Always lowercase — Google Analytics treats Facebook and facebook as two different sources. Pick lowercase and stick with it.
• Use underscores, not spaces — Spaces become %20 in URLs and make reports hard to read. Use summer_sale not summer sale.
• No special characters — Avoid &, ?, # in UTM values. These break the URL parsing.
• Be consistent across campaigns — If you used utm_source=newsletter last quarter, don't switch to email_list this quarter.
• Document your conventions — Keep a shared spreadsheet with approved values for each parameter. New team members will thank you.

Common Campaign Templates

Email Newsletter

https://yoursite.com/offer?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=april_digest&utm_content=hero_cta

Google Ads

https://yoursite.com/landing?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=brand_search_q2&utm_term={{keyword}}

Note: Google Ads uses {{keyword}} as a dynamic insertion placeholder — it gets replaced by the actual search term automatically.

Facebook / Instagram Paid Ad

https://yoursite.com/product?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=summer_sale&utm_content=video_ad_v1

LinkedIn Organic Post

https://yoursite.com/blog/guide?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=content_marketing&utm_content=article_share

Partner or Affiliate Link

https://yoursite.com/?utm_source=partnersite&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=collab_april2026

Building UTM Links Quickly

Building links manually is error-prone — one typo in a parameter name breaks your tracking silently. Use our UTM Builder to assemble links in seconds: enter your base URL and campaign values, and get a clean, properly formatted UTM URL ready to copy.

What to Do With UTM Data in Google Analytics

Once your UTM links are live, view campaign performance in Google Analytics under Acquisition → Campaigns → All Campaigns (GA3) or Reports → Acquisition → Traffic acquisition (GA4). You'll see sessions, conversions, and revenue broken out by source, medium, and campaign name.

Common Mistakes

• Forgetting internal links — Never add UTM parameters to internal links (links within your own site). They overwrite the original traffic source in Analytics, making your data wrong.
• UTMs on social bios — A link in your Instagram bio is organic traffic (utm_medium=social), not paid. Don't tag it as CPC.
• Reusing campaign names — Using the same utm_campaign value across different time periods makes historical comparison impossible.

Conclusion

UTM parameters are the foundation of attribution — knowing which campaigns, channels, and creatives actually drive conversions. Use the templates above as a starting point, establish your naming convention in a shared document, and build every external link through a UTM builder to catch errors before they cost you data.