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UTM Campaign Tracking & the URL Builder

In this article

UTM parameters are tags added to your URLs that tell the analytics platform exactly where a visitor came from and which campaign brought them. Without UTM tags, campaign visits may appear as generic Direct or Referral traffic, making it impossible to evaluate the true performance of your marketing efforts.

What are UTM parameters?

A UTM-tagged URL looks like this:

https://yoursite.com/offer?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=spring2025

The available parameters are:

ParameterPurposeExample values
utm_sourceWhere the traffic originates.newsletter, google, facebook
utm_mediumThe marketing channel or delivery method.email, cpc, social, banner
utm_campaignThe specific campaign name or promotion.spring2025, product-launch, black-friday
utm_contentOptional. Differentiates links within the same campaign (e.g., for A/B testing).banner-top, cta-blue, text-link
utm_termOptional. Used for paid search to identify the keyword that triggered the ad.cookie-consent-tool, gdpr-compliance

Using the UTM URL Builder

Instead of building UTM URLs manually, use the built-in UTM URL Builder to generate correctly formatted links every time:

  1. Go to Web Statistics → UTM Campaigns → UTM URL Builder.
  2. Enter your destination URL.
  3. Fill in the campaign parameters (at minimum: source, medium, and campaign name).
  4. Copy the generated link using the copy button.
  5. Use the tagged link in your campaigns — emails, ads, social posts, QR codes, or anywhere you share links to your site.

Tip: The UTM URL Builder prevents formatting errors that can occur when building links manually. Always generate links through the builder to ensure they are parsed correctly by the analytics platform.

Viewing campaign results

Once tagged links have been clicked and visitors have arrived on your site, campaign data will appear under Web Statistics → UTM Campaigns. You can:

  • View sessions, conversions, and engagement metrics broken down by campaign name, source, and medium.
  • Compare campaigns side by side to identify your best-performing channels.
  • Filter results by date range to analyse specific campaign periods.
  • Use the Compare button to benchmark the current period against a previous period or year over year.

Important: UTM campaign data only appears after tagged links have been clicked. Historical visits without UTM tags cannot be attributed retroactively. If you want accurate campaign data going forward, start tagging all outbound campaign links immediately.

Naming conventions

Consistent naming is essential for clean, filterable campaign data. Follow these guidelines:

  • Use lowercase only — UTM parameters are case-sensitive. Newsletter and newsletter will appear as two separate sources.
  • Use hyphens instead of spaces — e.g., spring-2025 not spring 2025.
  • Be consistent across campaigns — always use the same value for the same channel (e.g., always email, never sometimes mail or e-mail).
  • Use descriptive campaign names that will still make sense months later when reviewing historical data.

Related article: If campaign visits are appearing as Direct traffic even with UTM tags, refer to Traffic Structure & Channel Attribution for guidance on using GET parameters to improve attribution accuracy.

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