How to Track UTM Parameters in Google Analytics 4

Adding UTM parameters to your URLs gives you a crystal-clear view of which marketing efforts are actually working. Without them, you're guessing. This guide will walk you through exactly how to build proper UTM links and, more importantly, where to find and analyze that valuable data inside Google Analytics 4.

What Are UTM Parameters and Why Do They Matter?

UTM stands for "Urchin Tracking Module," a name left over from a web analytics software Google acquired ages ago. In simple terms, UTM parameters are small snippets of text you add to the end of a URL to help you track the performance of your marketing campaigns in detail.

When someone clicks a link with UTM parameters, that information is sent directly to your Google Analytics account. This allows you to go beyond GA4's default channel groupings (like Direct, Organic Search, etc.) and see precisely how individual ads, email newsletters, or social media posts are performing.

There are five standard UTM parameters, three of which are essential while two are optional for more granular tracking:

• utm_source (Required): This identifies the source of your traffic, like the specific website or platform. For example, google, facebook, or newsletter.
• utm_medium (Required): This tracks the marketing medium or channel. Common examples include cpc (cost-per-click), email, social, or affiliate.
• utm_campaign (Required): This names the specific promotion or campaign you're running. For instance, july_summer_sale or q3_bogo_promo.
• utm_term (Optional): This is mainly used for paid search campaigns to track the specific keywords you're bidding on. Example: running_shoes.
• utm_content (Optional): This helps differentiate links that point to the same URL, which is perfect for A/B testing. For example, if you have two CTA buttons in one email, you could use blue_button and footer_link.

A final URL with these parameters might look something like this:

https://www.yourwebsite.com/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=summer_sale_2024&utm_content=video_ad_1

Using them consistently is the difference between knowing "we got some traffic from Facebook last month" and knowing "our summer sale video ad on Facebook generated 500 visitors and $2,000 in revenue." That second insight is how you build better marketing campaigns.

How to Create UTM Links (The Right Way)

Manually typing out UTM parameters is a recipe for typos and inconsistent data. The best way to create them is with a dedicated tool. Google offers a free and easy-to-use solution called the Campaign URL Builder.

Let's walk through an example. Imagine you're creating a URL for a Facebook ad promoting a new product.

1. Go to Google's GA4 Campaign URL Builder
2. In the "Website URL" field, paste the landing page your ad will point to. E.g., https://www.mystore.com/new-product
3. Fill in the campaign parameters:
4. As you type, the tool will automatically generate the full campaign URL at the bottom of the page. You can copy this and use it as the destination URL in your Facebook ad.

Best Practices for UTM Creation

To keep your data clean and easy to analyze, follow these simple rules:

• Be consistent: Decide on a naming convention and stick to it. Is it facebook or Facebook? Create a shared spreadsheet for your team to document sources, mediums, and campaign names. GA4 is case-sensitive, so Facebook and facebook will show up as two separate traffic sources in your reports.
• Use lowercase: As a rule of thumb, always use lowercase to avoid case-sensitivity issues entirely.
• Use underscores or dashes, not spaces: Spaces in URLs can cause formatting issues. Use summer-sale or summer_sale instead of summer sale.
• Keep it simple and descriptive: Your future self will thank you. q4_black_friday_promo_2024 is much more useful than campaign_2.

Where to Find Your UTM Data in Google Analytics 4

Alright, you've created and deployed your UTM-tagged links, and traffic is rolling in. Now, where do you see the results in GA4? It’s not quite the same as it was in Universal Analytics, but it’s still straightforward once you know where to look.

Method 1: The Traffic Acquisition Report

This is the quickest and most common place to view your campaign performance.

1. In GA4, go to Reports in the left-hand navigation.
2. Under the "Lifecycle" section, click on Acquisition > Traffic acquisition.
3. By default, this report groups traffic by the "Session default channel group." This is helpful, but we need more detail. Click the small downward arrow next to the primary dimension title.
4. From the dropdown menu, you can select the dimensions that correspond to your UTM parameters:

Once you select one, such as Session campaign, the report will update to show you the performance of each campaign, including sessions, users, conversions, and even total revenue if you have e-commerce tracking enabled.

Adding a Secondary Dimension for Deeper Insights

To get even more granular, you can add a secondary dimension. Click the blue + icon next to the primary dimension dropdown.

For example, you could set your primary dimension to Session campaign and add Session source / medium as a secondary dimension. This would show you which channels are driving traffic for each of your campaigns, helping you see whether your Facebook CPC ads are outperforming your newsletter links for the same promotion.

Method 2: Building a Custom Report in "Explore"

If you find yourself constantly checking UTM data, building a dedicated report in GA4's "Explore" section is a great way to save time. This lets you build a custom view with only the dimensions and metrics you care about.

1. Navigate to Explore in the left-hand menu and click on Blank.
2. In the Variables column on the left, you need to import the dimensions and metrics you want to use:
3. Now, in the Tab Settings column, drag your chosen dimensions from the "Variables" panel into the Rows box. Let's start by dragging Session campaign.
4. Drag your key metrics like Sessions and Conversions into the Values box.

Instantly, you'll see a clean, customized table showing the performance of all your UTM-tagged campaigns. Give your exploration a name (e.g., "Campaign Performance Dashboard") and it will be saved for you to access anytime, with all your customizations intact.

Quick Tips for Analyzing Your UTM Data

Finding the data is half the battle. Now you can use it to make smarter marketing decisions.

• Identify your winners: In your custom exploration, sort the table by "Conversions" or "Total revenue" to see which campaigns are delivering the most value. Are there any surprises?
• Compare A/B tests: If you use utm_content to test different ad creatives, build a custom report. Filter it to show only one campaign, then set the primary dimension to Session manual ad content. This will show you if video_ad drove more engagement than image_ad.
• Allocate budget effectively: Did a campaign from your email newsletter drive a huge number of high-quality conversions? You might want to invest more effort there. Is a paid social campaign getting clicks but no conversions? It might be time to pull back.
• Calculate ROI: When you connect traffic and sessions to actual revenue, you can directly calculate the return on investment for your marketing spend. This is how you prove the value of your work to your team or clients.

Final Thoughts

Consistently using UTM parameters is a fundamental practice for any data-driven marketer. It transforms Google Analytics from a general traffic overview into a powerful tool for measuring specific campaign performance. By using the Traffic Acquisition report or building your own view in the "Explore" section, you can finally connect your marketing actions directly to results.

Of course, this often means pulling data from GA4, then logging into Google Ads, Facebook Ads Manager, and your email platform to piece together the full story. To streamline this entire process, we built Graphed. It's an AI data analyst that connects all your marketing and sales sources in one click. Instead of navigating menus in GA4, you can just ask in plain English, "Show me a dashboard of campaign performance last month, broken down by source," and instantly get a live, shareable dashboard. It eliminates the manual work of building reports and helps you get straight to the insights.