What is utm_medium and Why Does It Matter?

In the first part of this series, we looked at utm_source and how it tells you where your traffic comes from.
Now let’s talk about its partner: utm_medium.

---

The Basics

If utm_source is the who (the platform sending you traffic), then utm_medium is the how.
👉 It tells your analytics tool what type of channel or method brought the visitor to your site.

Think of it like this:

• utm_source = Facebook
• utm_medium = Paid Social

Both are needed to tell the full story.

---

Common Examples of utm_medium

Here’s how marketers typically use utm_medium:

• Email campaigns → utm_medium=email
• Paid search ads → utm_medium=cpc (stands for “cost per click”)
• Organic social posts → utm_medium=social
• Banner ads → utm_medium=display
• Partner promotions → utm_medium=referral

Notice how these describe the type of traffic, not the exact platform. That’s what utm_source is for.

---

Why It’s Important

Without utm_medium, you’ll struggle to group your traffic by channel.
Analytics tools like Google Analytics automatically use utm_medium to classify traffic into buckets like Email, Paid Search, Paid Social, Display, Referral, etc.

With the right medium tagging, you can easily answer:

• How much traffic is coming from email vs social?
• Are my paid ads outperforming my organic posts?
• Which channel is giving me the best ROI?

---

Best Practices for Using utm_medium

1. Use standard values
   Stick to common mediums like email, cpc, social, display. Analytics tools recognize these automatically.
2. Don’t mix “source” with “medium”
   Example: utm_medium=facebook ❌
   Instead: utm_source=facebook ✅ and utm_medium=social ✅
3. Keep it simple
   Don’t overcomplicate. Save details (like audience or ad type) for utm_campaign or utm_content.

---

Example Campaign URLs

Here’s how utm_medium looks in action:

• Email Campaign https://yourwebsite.com/blog?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=august_update
• Facebook Paid Ad https://yourwebsite.com/offer?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=paid_social&utm_campaign=summer_sale
• Google Search Ad https://yourwebsite.com/signup?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=free_trial
• Partner Banner Ad https://yourwebsite.com/webinar?utm_source=partnerxyz&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=joint_webinar

---

Final Thoughts

While utm_source tells you who sent the traffic, utm_medium tells you how it got there. Together, they form the foundation of clean, useful campaign tracking.

Get this right, and you’ll have a much clearer view of your marketing performance.

---

✅ Pro Tip: Tired of messy UTMs and inconsistent naming? Use UTM Manager to build, organize, and standardize all your tracking links — so you never have to second-guess your reports again.