If you’ve ever opened up a Google Analytics report and wondered why your traffic looks messy or mislabeled, chances are the culprit is inconsistent UTMs.
UTM parameters are small tags you add to your URLs to track where visitors are coming from. They’re incredibly powerful, but they only work if you use them correctly. And that starts with understanding the “big three”: utm_source, utm_medium, and utm_campaign.
Let’s break them down in plain English—with examples you can actually use today.
utm_source: Where the traffic originates
Think of source as the who or what sent the visitor. It’s the specific platform, site, or property.
Examples:
utm_source=facebook(traffic came from Facebook)utm_source=newsletter(traffic came from your email newsletter)utm_source=partner_jane(traffic came from Jane’s influencer campaign)
👉 Rule of thumb: source should always be the “brand name” of the platform or sender.
utm_medium: The type of channel
Medium is about how the message was delivered. It groups traffic into broad buckets.
Examples:
utm_medium=cpc(cost-per-click ads)utm_medium=email(email marketing campaigns)utm_medium=organic_social(unpaid social posts)utm_medium=affiliate(traffic from affiliate partnerships)
👉 Rule of thumb: medium should be a channel category, not the platform itself.
utm_campaign: The why behind the click
Campaign is where you capture the initiative, promotion, or goal. This is what ties all your ads, posts, and emails together.
Examples:
utm_campaign=spring_sale_2025utm_campaign=webinar_ai_launchutm_campaign=holiday_gift_guide
👉 Rule of thumb: campaign should describe the bigger picture initiative.
A Full Example: Putting It Together
Imagine you’re running a Facebook ad for your Spring Sale. Your UTM-tagged link might look like this:
https://yourwebsite.com/sale
?utm_source=facebook
&utm_medium=cpc
&utm_campaign=spring_sale_2025
When someone clicks, you’ll see in GA4 that the traffic came from:
- Source: Facebook
- Medium: CPC (paid traffic)
- Campaign: Spring Sale 2025
Now you can separate this traffic from, say, your organic Instagram posts or your email newsletter.
Why This Matters
Without consistent use of source, medium, and campaign:
- Facebook traffic gets split into
facebook,FB, andfb-ads(messy reporting). - Email campaigns look the same as social campaigns (bad attribution).
- You can’t compare campaign performance across channels (lost insights).
With consistency:
- You know exactly which platform is working.
- You can measure ROAS and cost per lead with confidence.
- Your reporting is clean and decision-ready.
Next Steps: How to Get It Right
- If you want hands-on help setting up your UTM governance (including naming conventions, analytics tracking, and reporting dashboards), our team at Optizent can guide you.
- If you’d prefer a self-serve tool that enforces rules and helps you build UTMs without mistakes, try UTM Manager. It’s designed to keep your team consistent and save hours of manual tagging.
Final Word
utm_source, utm_medium, and utm_campaign are simple—but they’re the foundation of reliable campaign tracking. Get them wrong, and your reports become noise. Get them right, and you’ll have clarity about what’s working, what’s not, and where to invest next.