When a link in a newsletter, an ad or a social post brings visitors to your site, your analytics tool needs a hint where they came from. UTM parameters are that hint: a few extra words at the end of the address that tell Google Analytics and similar tools which source, medium and campaign a visit belongs to. This builder adds them to any address correctly, so you can tag links without hand-typing question marks and ampersands.
Tag a link in three steps
- Enter the address of the page that visitors should land on.
- Fill in the source, the medium and the campaign. Pick one of the common pairs to fill source and medium at once.
- Check the tagged link below and press Copy.
The six parameters
- utm_source: where the traffic comes from, such as newsletter, google or linkedin.
- utm_medium: the kind of channel, such as email, cpc, social or print.
- utm_campaign: the name of the promotion, for example spring_sale.
- utm_term: the keyword of a paid search ad, if you use one.
- utm_content: tells apart two links in the same message, such as header_button and footer_link.
- utm_id: an optional campaign identifier.
Keep the data clean
Analytics treats Newsletter and newsletter as two different sources, so the builder can convert everything to lowercase. Spaces are replaced by an underscore, a dash or a plus sign, depending on your convention. Parameters already present in the address, such as a product id or an earlier utm value, are kept or replaced as needed, and the part after a hash sign stays where it is. Decide on naming rules with your team and write them down.
Where not to use them
Do not tag links inside your own site: a click on a tagged internal link starts a new session and hides the real source of the visit. Use UTM tags for links that come from outside. Anything you type is processed in your browser only.