How to Check UTM Links in Google Analytics

Trying to see if your UTM-tagged campaigns are actually working in Google Analytics 4? You’ve meticulously built your links, added all the right parameters, and now it’s time to see the results of your hard work. This article will show you exactly where to find and analyze your UTM campaign data in GA4, so you can stop guessing and start making data-driven marketing decisions.

A Quick Refresher: What Are UTM Parameters?

Before we jump into GA4, let’s quickly cover what UTM parameters are. ‘UTM’ stands for Urchin Tracking Module, which is a holdover from a company Google acquired years ago. In simple terms, UTMs are short snippets of text you add to a URL to help you track the effectiveness of your digital marketing campaigns.

When someone clicks a link with these parameters, the tags are sent to Google Analytics and captured in your reports. This allows you to attribute website traffic to specific sources and campaigns with incredible precision.

There are five standard UTM parameters you can use:

• utm_source: Identifies which site sent the traffic (e.g., google, facebook, newsletter).
• utm_medium: Identifies the marketing medium (e.g., cpc, social, email).
• utm_campaign: Identifies a specific promotion or campaign (e.g., summer_sale_2024, q4_promo).
• utm_content: Used to differentiate similar content or links within the same ad or promotion. For example, if you have two CTA links in an email, you could use this to track which one was clicked (e.g., header_link, footer_button).
• utm_term: Originally for paid search keywords, this identifies the keywords you've paid for in an ad (e.g., running_shoes, productivity_software).

For example, a URL for a summer sale promotion shared on your Facebook page might look like this:

[www.yourstore.com?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=summer_sale_2024](http://www.yourstore.com?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=summer_sale_2024)

Using these parameters consistently is the key to unlocking powerful insights about where your best traffic and conversions are coming from.

Finding Your UTM Data in Google Analytics 4

In Google Analytics 4, your campaign data is primarily located in the Traffic Acquisition report. This report shows you how users are finding your website. Here's how to navigate to it and find your UTM data step-by-step.

1. Navigate to the Traffic Acquisition Report

First, log into your GA4 property. From the left-hand navigation menu, follow this path:

1. Click on Reports.
2. In the Life cycle section, expand the Acquisition dropdown.
3. Click on Traffic acquisition.

You’ll now see a table of data, but it might not show your UTM parameters right away. By default, GA4 typically shows the 'Session default channel group', which provides a high-level overview of traffic channels like ‘Organic Search’, ‘Direct’, ‘Paid Social’, etc.

2. Change the Primary Dimension

To see your campaign-specific data, you need to change the primary dimension of the report. This is the crucial step.

Look for the primary dimension dropdown menu located just above the first column of the data table (it will likely say ‘Session default channel group’). Click on it.

A search bar and list of dimensions will appear. To find UTM data, search for or select one of the following:

• Session campaign: This shows the data grouped by your utm_campaign parameter. This is the most common dimension you’ll use.
• Session source: Shows data grouped by your utm_source parameter.
• Session medium: Shows data grouped by your utm_medium parameter.
• Session source / medium: Shows a combined view of both source and medium.
• Session manual ad content: Shows data for your utm_content parameter.
• Session manual term: Shows data for your utm_term parameter.

Once you select one, such as 'Session campaign', the report table will instantly update to show a list of your campaign names, along with metrics like 'Users', 'Sessions', 'Engaged sessions', and 'Conversions' for each.

Going Deeper with Secondary Dimensions

Viewing a single dimension is useful, but the real magic happens when you layer in additional information using a secondary dimension. This allows you to break down your campaign data even further.

For example, you might see that your "summer_sale_2024" campaign is performing well, but you want to know which source contributed the most traffic to that specific campaign.

To add a secondary dimension, click the blue "+" icon right next to the primary dimension dropdown menu. A similar search menu will appear. You can now select another dimension to add as a new column in your report.

Practical Examples for Analysis:

• Primary Dimension: 'Session campaign' | Secondary Dimension: 'Session source / medium'
• Primary Dimension: 'Session campaign' | Secondary Dimension: 'Session manual ad content'

By learning to mix and match primary and secondary dimensions, you can answer nearly any question you have about your campaign performance.

How to Actually Analyze Your UTM Data

Seeing the numbers is one thing, but interpreting them is what leads to better marketing. When you're in the Traffic Acquisition report, here's what to look for:

• Users & Sessions: These are your basic traffic metrics. They answer the question: "How many people did my campaign bring to the site?"
• Engagement Rate: This is a crucial GA4 metric. A high engagement rate (e.g., >60%) suggests that the traffic you drove was high-quality. The audience found your landing page relevant and stuck around. A low engagement rate might mean your ad messaging mismatched your landing page content.
• Event Count & Conversions: This is where you measure success. If you've set up conversion events (like 'purchase', 'generate_lead', or 'form_submission'), you can see exactly which campaigns are driving the actions that matter most to your business. (Note: If you don't see any conversion data, make sure you've configured conversion events under Admin > Conversions)
• Total Revenue: For e-commerce businesses, connecting your "purchase" event to revenue is critical. Sorting your campaigns by revenue instantly tells you which marketing efforts are delivering the highest return on investment.

Creating Custom Reports for Easier UTM Tracking

Constantly navigating to the Traffic Acquisition report and applying the same dimensions can get repetitive. For a more permanent and customized view, you can use the Explore section in GA4 to build a reusable report.

Here’s a quick guide to creating a simple campaign-level dashboard:

1. From the left-hand navigation, click Explore.
2. Select Free-form from the template gallery.
3. In the Variables column on the left:
4. Now, in the Tab Settings column:

And that’s it! A custom report dedicated to tracking your campaign data will appear on the right side of the screen. You can rename this exploration (e.g., "Main UTM Campaign Report") and it will always be there for you to check in on performance without having to rebuild it every time.

Common UTM Tracking Mistakes to Avoid

If you're looking at your reports and the data seems messy or incorrect, you might be running into one of these common issues:

• Inconsistent Casing and Spelling: GA4 is case-sensitive. 'Facebook' and 'facebook' will appear as two separate lines in your reports. 'email' vs 'e-mail' will do the same. Establish a clear naming convention (e.g., always lowercase) and stick to it.
• Checking Data Too Soon: GA4 data can take 24-48 hours to be fully processed and attributed. If you just launched a campaign this morning, you might not see accurate data until tomorrow. Be patient.
• Using UTMs for Internal Links: UTM parameters should only be used for links pointing to your site from external sources (ads, social media, emails, etc.). If you add UTMs to links on your website's main navigation, you will overwrite the original traffic source and mess up your attribution data.

Final Thoughts

Learning how to check your UTM links in Google Analytics 4 is a fundamental skill for any marketer. By regularly diving into the Traffic Acquisition report and using primary and secondary dimensions, you can move from just collecting data to understanding what truly drives your business with a clear view of your marketing ROI.

Tracking this in GA4 is essential, but it remains just one piece of the puzzle. At times, the complete story is scattered across a dozen platforms - your ad managers, email service, CRM, and Shopify store. We created Graphed to solve this headache. Instead of spending hours manually piecing together reports, you can connect all your data sources and instantly create live dashboards in plain English. Just ask "Show me the ROI of my 'summer_sale_2024' campaign, including Facebook Ad spend and Shopify revenue," and get real-time answers without ever touching a spreadsheet again.