How to use the UTM builder
Paste the page you want people to land on, then fill in the campaign fields. Click a quick-fill button such as Facebook ads or Email newsletter to set the source and medium in one step. The finished link appears below as you type; copy it into your ad, post, email or QR code. Anything already in the address, such as existing parameters or a #section link, is kept.
By default, values are converted to lowercase and spaces become underscores. That keeps your reports clean, because tracking values are case-sensitive: Facebook, facebook and FB would otherwise show up as three different sources.
What each UTM parameter means
| Parameter | What it records | Examples |
|---|---|---|
utm_source | Where the visit came from | google, facebook, newsletter |
utm_medium | The type of channel | cpc, paid_social, social, email |
utm_campaign | The campaign or promotion | spring_sale, product_launch |
utm_id | A campaign ID used to join cost data | abc.123 |
utm_term | The paid keyword | running_shoes |
utm_content | Which ad, link or version was clicked | header_button, video_ad |
Source, medium and campaign are the three you should always fill in. Google Analytics 4 uses the source and medium to sort visits into channels such as Paid Social, Email and Organic Social, so standard medium names like cpc, email and social make those reports more accurate.
Best practices
- Agree on names with your team and write them down, so the same channel is always tagged the same way.
- Never tag internal links between pages on your own site. It overwrites the visitor's real source and splits their session in your reports.
- Use utm_content to compare versions, such as two ad images or two buttons in the same email.
- Shorten long links for print and social posts, or turn them into a QR code; the parameters still work after a redirect as long as the redirect keeps the query string.
Do UTM parameters affect SEO?
No, as long as your pages have a canonical tag pointing to the clean address. Search engines then treat the tagged versions as the same page. Check that redirects on your site keep query strings, or the parameters will be lost before Analytics sees them. The Redirect Checker shows exactly where a tagged link ends up.
Frequently asked questions
What is a UTM code?
UTM codes are tags added to the end of a link, like ?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email, that tell Google Analytics and other tools where a visitor came from.
Which UTM parameters are required?
utm_source is required for tracking to work. utm_medium and utm_campaign are strongly recommended; the others are optional.
Should I use uppercase letters in UTM values?
It's best not to. UTM values are case-sensitive, so mixing cases splits the same source into several rows in your reports. This builder converts everything to lowercase by default.
Where do I see UTM data in Google Analytics 4?
Go to Reports, then Acquisition, then Traffic acquisition, and set the table to Session source / medium or Session campaign.
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