UTM Parameters Cheat Sheet

Your complete guide to campaign tracking URLs

What are UTM Parameters?

UTM (Urchin Tracking Module) parameters are tags added to URLs that help you track where your website traffic comes from. When someone clicks a link with UTM parameters, the data is sent to Google Analytics (or other analytics tools), allowing you to see exactly which campaigns, sources, and content drive the most traffic and conversions.

The 5 UTM Parameters

utm_source

Required

Identifies where the traffic is coming from

Examples: google, facebook, newsletter, twitter, linkedin

Tip: Use lowercase, no spaces. Be consistent across campaigns.

utm_medium

Required

Identifies the marketing medium or channel type

Examples: cpc, email, social, organic, referral, banner

Tip: Use standard values for easier reporting in Google Analytics.

utm_campaign

Required

Identifies the specific campaign or promotion

Examples: spring_sale, product_launch, black_friday_2024, weekly_newsletter

Tip: Include date or version for time-based campaigns.

utm_term

Optional

Identifies paid search keywords

Examples: running_shoes, best_crm, marketing_tools

Tip: Mainly used for paid search (Google Ads). Can be auto-filled by ad platforms.

utm_content

Optional

Differentiates similar content or links within the same ad

Examples: header_link, sidebar_banner, cta_button, version_a

Tip: Great for A/B testing different ad creatives or link placements.

Example UTM URL

https://example.com/landing-page?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=spring_sale_2024&utm_content=carousel_ad

Common Source/Medium Combinations

Source	Medium	Use Case
google	cpc	Google Ads paid search
google	organic	Organic Google search
facebook	social	Facebook organic posts
facebook	cpc	Facebook paid ads
instagram	social	Instagram posts/stories
twitter	social	Twitter/X posts
linkedin	social	LinkedIn posts
linkedin	cpc	LinkedIn sponsored content
newsletter	email	Email newsletters
partner	referral	Partner/affiliate links

Best Practices

Always use lowercase (Google Analytics is case-sensitive)
Use underscores (_) instead of spaces
Be consistent with naming conventions across all campaigns
Document your UTM taxonomy in a shared spreadsheet
Never use UTM parameters on internal links
Use a URL shortener for cleaner social sharing
Test your UTM URLs before launching campaigns
Create templates for recurring campaign types

Common Mistakes to Avoid

✗

Using spaces in values

Fix: Use underscores: spring_sale not spring sale

✗

Inconsistent capitalization

Fix: Always use lowercase: facebook not Facebook

✗

Using UTM on internal links

Fix: Only use for external traffic sources

✗

Forgetting to encode special characters

Fix: Use URL encoding or avoid special chars

✗

Not documenting UTM taxonomy

Fix: Create a shared naming convention guide

Quick Reference Card

Required Parameters

utm_source - Where from?
utm_medium - What channel?
utm_campaign - Which campaign?

Optional Parameters

utm_term - Paid keywords
utm_content - A/B testing

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