UTM Best Practices

Identifies where the traffic comes from. This is the platform or website sending visitors to you.

Examples: google, facebook, linkedin, newsletter, twitter

Identifies the marketing channel type. This tells you how the traffic got to you.

Examples: cpc, social, email, organic, referral, display, affiliate

Identifies the specific campaign or promotion. Groups all traffic from a single marketing initiative.

Examples: spring_sale, product_launch_q2, webinar_mar2026

Identifies paid search keywords or audience targeting segments. Most useful for PPC campaigns.

Examples: running_shoes, lookalike_audience, brand_keyword

Differentiates similar content or links within the same campaign. Perfect for A/B testing.

Examples: banner_v1, cta_red, hero_image, sidebar_link

1. Always use lowercase

UTM parameters are case-sensitive. "Facebook", "facebook", and "FACEBOOK" create three separate sources in Google Analytics. Pick lowercase and never deviate.

2. Use underscores for spaces

Spaces become "%20" in URLs. Use underscores: "spring_sale" not "spring sale". Hyphens work too, but pick one and be consistent.

3. Use standard medium values

Google Analytics has default channel groupings based on medium values. Stick to the recognized ones: cpc, social, email, organic, referral, display, affiliate. Custom mediums may not map to the right channel.

4. Include time context in campaign names

Add quarter or month: "spring_sale_q2_2026". This makes time-based filtering in analytics trivial and prevents campaign name collisions year over year.

5. Create a shared naming document

Maintain a living document (spreadsheet or wiki) that lists all approved source, medium, and campaign name values. Share it with anyone who creates marketing links.

1. Inconsistent capitalization

"Facebook" and "facebook" are different sources. This fragments your data and makes accurate reporting impossible.

2. Using UTMs on internal links

Never add UTM parameters to links between pages on your own site. This overrides the original source attribution and breaks your analytics.

3. Forgetting utm_medium

Without medium, Google Analytics can't properly categorize your traffic into channels. Always include both source and medium.

4. Using spaces in parameter values

Spaces become "%20" in URLs, look messy, and can break in some email clients or tools. Use underscores or hyphens instead.

5. Generic campaign names

"test", "campaign1", or "ad" tell you nothing three months later. Use descriptive names with date context: "product_launch_q2_2026".

6. Not documenting conventions

Without a shared reference document, team members will inevitably use different naming patterns. Document once, enforce always.

7. Tagging organic search links

Google Analytics automatically tracks organic search. Adding UTMs to your Google Business Profile or organic search results double-counts and corrupts data.

UTMs map to GA4 dimensions

utm_source → Session source, utm_medium → Session medium, utm_campaign → Session campaign, utm_term → Session manual term, utm_content → Session manual ad content.

Channel groupings rely on medium values

GA4's default channel groupings use utm_medium to categorize traffic. Using "cpc" maps to Paid Search, "social" to Organic Social, "email" to Email. Non-standard mediums may end up in "Unassigned".

First-click vs last-click attribution

GA4 supports multiple attribution models. UTM data is captured at the session level, but conversion attribution may credit a different touchpoint depending on your model settings.