UTM parameters

UTM parameters are URL tags that track marketing campaign performance across sources. They identify which campaigns, mediums, and sources drive traffic and conversions.

Structure

graph LR
    A[Base URL] --> B[?]
    B --> C[utm_source]
    C --> D[&]
    D --> E[utm_medium]
    E --> F[&]
    F --> G[utm_campaign]
    G --> H[&]
    H --> I[utm_term]
    I --> J[&]
    J --> K[utm_content]

    style A fill:#f9f,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px
    style C fill:#bbf,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px
    style E fill:#bbf,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px
    style G fill:#bbf,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px
    style I fill:#fbb,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px
    style K fill:#fbb,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px

UTM flow

sequenceDiagram
    participant MT as Marketing team
    participant UB as URL builder
    participant U as Visitor
    participant W as Website
    participant A as Analytics

    MT->>UB: Assemble the campaign URL
    Note right of UB: example.com/product<br/>source facebook, medium social<br/>campaign summer_sale, content banner_v1
    UB-->>MT: Tagged URL
    MT->>U: Share the link
    U->>W: Click, parameters travel in the URL
    W->>A: Visit recorded with its parameters
    A->>A: Parse, then attribute to the campaign
    A-->>MT: Campaign shows up in the reports

Types

mindmap
  root((UTM Parameters))
    Required
      utm_source
        Google
        Facebook
        Newsletter
        Partner_site
      utm_medium
        cpc
        social
        email
        referral
        organic
      utm_campaign
        summer_sale_2024
        black_friday
        product_launch
    Optional
      utm_term
        running_shoes
        best_laptops
        keyword_phrase
      utm_content
        banner_v1
        text_link
        logo
        cta_button

Performance dashboard

graph TB
    subgraph "Source Performance"
        S1[Google: 45%]
        S2[Facebook: 30%]
        S3[Email: 15%]
        S4[LinkedIn: 10%]
    end

    subgraph "Medium Performance"
        M1[CPC: 40%]
        M2[Social: 25%]
        M3[Email: 20%]
        M4[Organic: 15%]
    end

    subgraph "Campaign ROI"
        C1[Summer Sale: $45K]
        C2[Black Friday: $120K]
        C3[Product Launch: $67K]
        C4[Brand Awareness: $23K]
    end

    S1 --> M1
    S2 --> M2
    S3 --> M3
    S4 --> M2

    M1 --> C1
    M1 --> C2
    M2 --> C3
    M3 --> C4

UTM builder example

Field	Value
Website URL	`example.com/product`
Campaign source	`facebook`
Campaign medium	`social`
Campaign name	`summer_sale`
Campaign term	optional, left empty
Campaign content	`banner_ad`

Which assembles to:

example.com/product?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=summer_sale&utm_content=banner_ad

Attribution model

flowchart TB
    subgraph journey [One visitor, four touches]
        direction LR
        FB["Facebook ad<br/>utm_source=facebook"] -->|2 days| GS["Google search<br/>utm_source=google"]
        GS -->|5 days| EM["Email campaign<br/>utm_source=newsletter"]
        EM -->|1 day| DR["Direct visit<br/>no UTM"]
        DR -->|same day| P(["Purchase"])
    end

    subgraph credit [Who gets the credit]
        direction LR
        FT["First touch<br/>100% Facebook"]
        LT["Last touch<br/>100% Direct"]
        LIN["Linear<br/>25% each"]
        TD["Time decay<br/>weighted to the end"]
    end

    journey --> credit

Best practices checklist

graph TD
    A[UTM Strategy] --> B{Consistent Naming}
    B -->|Yes| C[Use lowercase]
    B -->|Yes| D[No spaces - use underscores]
    B -->|Yes| E[Standardized abbreviations]

    A --> F{Documentation}
    F -->|Create| G[Campaign naming guide]
    F -->|Maintain| H[UTM parameter dictionary]
    F -->|Share| I[Team training docs]

    A --> J{Testing}
    J -->|Before Launch| K[Test all URLs]
    J -->|Verify| L[Check in analytics]
    J -->|Monitor| M[Track performance]

    A --> N{Analysis}
    N -->|Regular| O[Weekly reports]
    N -->|Compare| P[A/B test results]
    N -->|Optimize| Q[Adjust campaigns]

Common UTM examples

Platform	Source	Medium	Campaign	Full URL
Google Ads	google	cpc	summer_sale_2024	`example.com?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=summer_sale_2024`
Facebook	facebook	social	product_launch	`example.com?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=product_launch`
Newsletter	mailchimp	email	weekly_digest	`example.com?utm_source=mailchimp&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=weekly_digest`
Partner	partner_xyz	referral	co_marketing	`example.com?utm_source=partner_xyz&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=co_marketing`

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