Email remains one of the most powerful channels for marketers. But here’s the truth: if you’re not tagging your email links properly with UTMs, you’re probably underreporting its impact—or worse, misattributing your conversions to the wrong channel.
Let’s walk through the best practices for email tracking with UTMs, so your reporting stays clean and your team can make smarter decisions.
Why UTMs Are Essential for Email
Without UTMs, clicks from your emails often show up in analytics as:
- Direct traffic (because the link opened from a desktop app), or
- Referrals from Gmail/Outlook/Yahoo (which doesn’t really tell you anything).
By adding UTM parameters, you can see:
- Which email campaign drove traffic
- Which newsletter section or link got the most clicks
- Which audience or segment engaged the most
The Three Must-Have Parameters
1. utm_source = always set to “newsletter” or “email”
Keep this simple and consistent. Don’t switch between newsletter, email, e-blast, etc.
Example: utm_source=newsletter
2. utm_medium = always “email”
This keeps your reporting clean and buckets all email campaigns together.
Example: utm_medium=email
3. utm_campaign = the unique name of the campaign
Use campaign names that make sense six months from now. Add timeframes or themes for clarity.
Examples:
utm_campaign=summer_sale_2025utm_campaign=weekly_update_sept15
The Two Nice-to-Haves
4. utm_content = link placement or creative version
Helps you see which part of the email drives the most clicks.
Examples:
utm_content=cta_top_buttonutm_content=textlink_footer
5. utm_term = audience segment
Less common, but useful if you’re testing different lists or cohorts.
Example: utm_term=vip_customers
Best Practices to Keep in Mind
✅ Stay consistent — lowercase, no spaces (use _ or -).
✅ Document your rules — one page glossary your team can reference.
✅ Name campaigns smartly — avoid generic names like newsletter1. Instead, use newsletter_sep2025.
✅ Don’t tag internal links — only add UTMs to links leaving your email.
✅ Test before sending — click every link in your test email to ensure UTMs survive redirects.
Common Mistakes That Break Email Tracking
❌ Using utm_source=gmail or utm_source=outlook → that doesn’t help; it’s not about the email provider.
❌ Mixing mediums (email, e-mail, mail) → pick one and stick with it.
❌ Overly vague campaigns (spring vs. spring_sale_2025) → be specific.
Example: A Cleanly Tagged Email Link
Your email CTA might look like this:
https://yourdomain.com/offer
?utm_source=newsletter
&utm_medium=email
&utm_campaign=holiday_sale_2025
&utm_content=cta_top_button
When a subscriber clicks, you’ll know:
- Source = newsletter
- Medium = email
- Campaign = holiday_sale_2025
- Content = CTA at the top of the email
Take the Pain Out of Tagging
- If you want hands-on help building UTM governance across your organization, our team at Optizent can work with you to design naming conventions, set up analytics, and build reliable dashboards.
- If you’d prefer a self-serve solution, UTM Manager makes it easy to create, manage, and enforce consistent UTMs across all your campaigns.
Final Word
Email is too important to let sloppy tracking undermine it. By following a few best practices and sticking to consistent UTMs, you’ll know exactly which emails drive results—and you’ll have cleaner, more trustworthy reports to guide your next move.