How to Track UTM in Google Analytics

If you're spending time or money on marketing campaigns but aren't using UTMs, you're flying blind. UTM parameters are simple tracking codes that show you exactly which campaigns are driving traffic and conversions, helping you justify your marketing efforts and spend your budget more wisely. This tutorial will walk you through what UTMs are, how to create them correctly, and exactly where to find your campaign data in Google Analytics 4.

What Exactly Are UTM Parameters?

UTM parameters, often called UTM codes or tags, are simple snippets of text added to the end of a URL. Their job is to tell Google Analytics more about where a visitor came from. Instead of just seeing "facebook.com" as a traffic source, you can see that a user came from a specific Facebook ad you ran as part of your "Summer Sale" campaign.

Think of it like this: You send out three party invitations. One is a paper flyer, one is an email, and one is a text message. If you ask everyone at the door "How did you hear about the party?" you get your answer. UTMs do the same thing for your website links, automatically telling your analytics which "invitation" brought each visitor.

A standard URL without UTMs looks like this: https://www.yourstore.com/special-offer

A URL with UTMs looks longer but contains much more information: https://www.yourstore.com/special-offer?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=paid_social&utm_campaign=summer_sale_2024&utm_content=video_ad_blue

Breaking this down, there are five standard parameters you can use.

The 5 Standard UTM Parameters

Three of these parameters are considered essential (source, medium, and campaign), while two provide additional detail.

• utm_source (Required): This identifies the platform, advertiser, or publication that is sending traffic to your site. Think of it as the "where" the click came from. Examples: google, facebook, newsletter, bing, influencer_name.
• utm_medium (Required): This is the marketing channel or medium used. Think of this as the general category of traffic. Examples: cpc (cost-per-click), email, organic_social, affiliate, display.
• utm_campaign (Required): This is the name of your specific marketing campaign, sale, or promotion. It allows you to group all related marketing efforts. *Examples: summer_sale_2024, q4_brand_awareness, new_product_launch. *
• utm_term (Optional): Originally used to track paid keywords in search campaigns. While less common in GA4 with auto-tagging, it can be useful for identifying keywords in non-Google campaigns. *Examples: running_shoes, marketing_automation_software. *
• utm_content (Optional): This helps you differentiate links that point to the same URL within the same campaign, ad, or email. It’s perfect for A/B testing. Examples: cta_button, header_link, video_ad_version_a, image_link.

Why Should You Bother Tracking UTMs?

Creating and using UTMs takes a little bit of upfront discipline, but the payoff is enormous. Without them, most of your campaign performance data gets clumped together, making it impossible to know what’s truly working.

Pinpoint Your Best Performing Channels

UTMs give you concrete data on campaign ROI. You can finally answer crucial questions like: "Which campaign drove the most revenue last quarter?" "Did our influencer collaboration on Instagram actually lead to sales?" "Is the weekly email newsletter generating more high-quality leads than our Facebook ads?" When you know where your most valuable customers come from, you know where to focus your attention and budget.

Optimize Your Marketing Spend

Once you see which campaigns are delivering results and which aren't, you can make informed decisions. Instead of guessing, you can confidently shift your ad budget from underperforming campaigns to the ones with a proven track record of conversions and revenue.

Effectively A/B Test Creative and Copy

By using the utm_content parameter, you can test different creative elements. For instance, in an email newsletter, you can tag the main call-to-action button with utm_content=main_cta_button and a text link at the bottom with utm_content=footer_text_link. In GA4, you can then see which specific link drove more clicks and conversions, helping you design better emails in the future.

How to Build UTM Links (The Right Way)

Manually typing out UTM parameters is a recipe for typos and inconsistent data. The best and safest approach is to use a dedicated URL builder.

Step 1: Use an Official URL Builder

Google provides a free and easy-to-use tool called the GA4 Campaign URL Builder. Bookmark this page, it will be your best friend. A consistent process is key to keeping your analytics data clean and readable.

Step 2: Fill Out the Campaign Parameters

Let's walk through building a tagged URL for a hypothetical promotion: a Facebook advertising campaign for a 2024 Fall Lookbook.

1. Website URL: Enter the base URL of your landing page. For example: https://www.yourshop.com/fall-looks-2024
2. Campaign Source: Enter the source. Since we're running ads on Facebook, we’ll use facebook.
3. Campaign Medium: Enter how the ad is being delivered. paid_social is a good choice for Facebook.
4. Campaign Name: Give the campaign a specific descriptive name like fall_lookbook_2024.
5. Campaign Term: This is optional but useful if targeting a specific ad group like fall_ad_group.
6. Campaign Content: Use this to differentiate ads within the same campaign. For example, if you are running an image ad and a video ad, you could use image_ad.

The tool automatically generates your complete URL that might look like: https://www.yourshop.com/fall-looks-2024?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=paid_social&utm_campaign=fall_lookbook_2024&utm_content=image_ad

Tracking UTM Campaigns in Google Analytics

Now that you've built out your UTM-tagged campaigns, knowing what to do with the data in GA4 is a bit different than in Universal Analytics, but still easy once you know where to look.

Navigate to the Specific Acquisition Report

These steps may vary slightly, but the goal is the same: accessing your UTM campaign data.

1. Log in to your Google Analytics account and go to the default reports.
2. Click on "Acquisition" on the left-hand menu.
3. Select "Traffic Acquisition," where you'll find data on your various campaign performances.

Customize Your Reports for Better Insights

By default, GA4 shows you data sorted by session source/medium. While this is useful, you'll want to customize your report to show specific campaign data. Here's how you can do it:

1. Change Your Primary Dimension: Click the dropdown next to "Session default channel group."
2. Select a Specific Option: Switch to Session Campaign or Session Source/Medium based on your needs.
3. Add a Secondary Dimension: Click the "+" button to include more data fields like utm_term or utm_content for more detailed analysis.

Analyze the Data to Derive Insights

We won't go into the complexities of GA4 here, but the key is to regularly review your campaign performance data. This helps you identify what campaigns are delivering results and where you should focus your attention next.

Go to the exploration section in GA4 for a more in-depth visual analysis. You can create custom reports that better illustrate campaign effectiveness and help you make data-driven decisions.

Final Thoughts

UTM parameters are essential for tracking your campaign performance. By setting up and monitoring these parameters, you gain insights into the effectiveness of your marketing strategies, allowing you to make informed decisions that drive growth and return on investment.