What is utm_campaign and Why Does It Matter?

So far in this series, we’ve covered:

• utm_source → who sent the traffic
• utm_medium → how it got to your site

Now it’s time for the third piece: utm_campaign — the tag that tells you why the traffic exists in the first place.

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The Basics

👉 utm_campaign is used to identify the specific marketing campaign or promotion that drove the click.

Think of it like a label on a folder:

• utm_source = Facebook
• utm_medium = Paid Social
• utm_campaign = Black Friday Sale

Without it, you know where people came from and how they got there, but not the bigger purpose behind it.

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Common Examples of utm_campaign

Marketers typically use utm_campaign to track things like:

• Seasonal promotions → utm_campaign=black_friday
• Product launches → utm_campaign=new_product_launch
• Events → utm_campaign=webinar_march2025
• Newsletters → utm_campaign=weekly_digest
• Special offers → utm_campaign=free_trial_offer

It’s all about giving context to why that traffic came in.

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Why It’s Important

Without utm_campaign, all your traffic from the same source + medium gets lumped together.

For example:

• Facebook Ads (Source = facebook, Medium = paid_social)
  • Black Friday Sale
  • Summer Giveaway
  • Webinar Signup

If you don’t add utm_campaign, you won’t be able to tell these apart in your reports.

By tagging campaigns properly, you can:

• Compare performance between different promotions
• Track ROI of specific campaigns
• Spot which offers or content themes resonate most with your audience

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Best Practices for Using utm_campaign

1. Be descriptive but concise
   utm_campaign=black_friday_2025 is better than utm_campaign=bf25promo1adseta.
2. Use underscores, not spaces
   Avoid broken URLs — use utm_campaign=summer_sale instead of utm_campaign=summer sale.
3. Stay consistent across channels
   If you’re running the same campaign on Google, Facebook, and email, use the same campaign name for all.

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Example Campaign URLs

Here’s how utm_campaign looks in action:

• Email Promo https://yourwebsite.com/shop?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=summer_sale
• Facebook Ad https://yourwebsite.com/offer?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=paid_social&utm_campaign=black_friday
• Google Ad https://yourwebsite.com/signup?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=free_trial_offer
• Partner Referral https://yourwebsite.com/webinar?utm_source=partnerxyz&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=joint_webinar_series

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Final Thoughts

If utm_source and utm_medium give you the who and how, then utm_campaign gives you the why. It’s the key to understanding which campaigns are driving results — and which ones aren’t worth repeating.