A beginner’s guide · Learn by doing
UTMs made simple.
Know what brings
people to your website.
You shared the link. People visited. But did they come from your email, your Facebook post, or that flyer? Let’s turn “I think it worked” into something you can actually check.
No marketing jargon required. No analytics account needed to practise.
example.com/offer?utm_source=…Recorded website sessions, grouped by campaign source.
01
First, the idea
What are UTMs, in plain English?
UTM parameters are labels added to the end of a website link to identify the marketing that brought a visit. They describe where the link was shared, the type of marketing, and the campaign it belongs to. A working analytics tool, such as Google Analytics 4 (GA4), can use those labels in its reports.
Imagine you own a local shop and promote an autumn offer. You send an email and share a Facebook post. Both open the same offer page. Give each placement its own labelled link, and you have a way to separate the resulting traffic while keeping the offer grouped together.
The link still leads to your chosen webpage. You are adding context to the journey. You do not need a new landing page for each version of the link.
UTM stands for Urchin Tracking Module, a name inherited from an earlier analytics system. You can forget the history and remember the useful part: a UTM tells your reports how you labelled an incoming visit.
TRY IT · LINK EXPLAINER
Take a tracking link apart.
Choose a label to see what it tells you.
The destination
Which webpage should open?
https://example.com/offer is the page people visit. Everything after the question mark supplies extra information. The sample domain is for learning; use your own working page in a real campaign.
The UTM fields you actually need to understand
| Field | Question it answers | Example |
|---|---|---|
utm_source |
Where did you share the link? | facebook or newsletter |
utm_medium |
What type of marketing was it? | social or email |
utm_campaign |
Which promotion do the links belong to? | autumn_offer |
utm_content |
Which version or placement was clicked? | photo_post or top_button |
utm_term |
Which paid keyword is being identified? | local_garden_services |
Start with source, medium, and campaign. Add content when comparing versions. Term is optional for this beginner exercise. More advanced setups may also use campaign ID and source platform.
02
Give every link a job
Where should you use UTM links?
Use UTMs on links you control that bring people to your website from your marketing. Make a different link for each placement you want to compare.
| Placement | Source / medium | Where the finished link goes |
|---|---|---|
| Unpaid Facebook post | facebook / social |
In the post’s clickable website link. |
| Email newsletter | newsletter / email |
Behind the email’s button, linked text, or linked image. |
| Paid Instagram ad | instagram / paid_social |
In the ad’s destination or URL-parameter settings, following the platform’s instructions. |
| Partner website | partner_name / referral |
Send the partner your complete link to use on their website. |
| Printed flyer | autumn_flyer / qr |
Encode the complete tagged URL in the QR code on the flyer. |
| Text-message campaign | customer_updates / sms |
Use the tagged link, or a tested short version, in the message. |
Keep the campaign. Change the placement.
Use autumn_offer as the campaign for both your email and Facebook post. Change the source and medium for each. You can then inspect the promotion together or compare the channels within it.
For two buttons in the same email, keep the source, medium, and campaign the same. Use content labels such as top_button and footer_button.
Where UTMs do not belong
Do not add campaign UTMs to your main menu, product links, or buttons that move visitors around your own website. Track those internal interactions with events instead. Internal campaign labels can muddy the acquisition story.
For connected Google Ads campaigns, keep the established auto-tagging setup. Review manual tagging with the person managing measurement before changing it.
A custom medium such as qr may appear as Unassigned in GA4’s channel grouping. Inspect the source/medium and campaign values rather than assuming tracking failed.
03
Make your first link
How to build and use a UTM link
We will use one simple brief: promote an autumn offer through an unpaid Facebook post. Have your own website’s offer page ready, then open the builder beside this guide.
YOUR TOOL FOR THIS STEP
Marketing Mate’s free UTM builder
The builder opens in a new tab, so you can follow the instructions here.
-
Choose the page you want people to visit.
Copy the full URL from your working offer page, including
https://, into Destination website URL. Send visitors to the relevant offer or service, rather than making them search from your homepage.Our
example.com/offeraddress is illustrative. Replace it with your actual page. -
Tell the builder where you will share it.
Choose Facebook organic from the presets, or enter
facebookfor source andsocialfor medium. “Organic” here means an unpaid social post. A paid ad needs a suitable paid medium instead. -
Name the campaign and the version.
Enter
autumn_offerin campaign name andphoto_postin content. Leave the optional fields blank for this exercise. Keep lowercase normalization on and choose one separator consistently.Use labels you will recognise in a report. “Offer 1” is less useful months later than a specific promotion name. Never put a customer’s name, email address, phone number, or other personal information into the URL or campaign fields.
-
Generate and copy the entire link.
Select Generate campaign link. Copy the full result, including everything after the question mark. This is the link you publish. The plain webpage address alone will not carry the campaign labels you just created.
-
Place it in the actual marketing.
Paste the link into your Facebook post. For an email, select the button or text in your email editor and use the tagged URL as its destination—you do not need to display the long URL to readers.
Make the email version separately: use
newsletter,email, the sameautumn_offercampaign, and content such astop_button. Do not reuse the Facebook-tagged link in the email.
YOUR FACEBOOK EXAMPLEhttps://example.com/offer?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=autumn_offer&utm_content=photo_post
One destination. Four labels. A visit your campaign report can put into context.
Test the complete journey before you publish.
Open the finished link in a fresh private browser window. Confirm that the correct page loads and that any redirect preserves the campaign information until analytics can read it. Follow the actual link from an email preview, social draft, or QR proof too. A copied URL can work even when the published button points somewhere else.
In your own GA4 property, use Realtime to check that a test visit arrives. For a more detailed collection check, use Google Tag Assistant to enable debug mode, then inspect the page-view event in Admin → Data display → DebugView. Consent settings, blockers, or traffic filters may affect your test. Do not treat a missing test visit as proof that the URL is malformed.
Use collection checks for testing, and acquisition reports for campaign analysis. DebugView and Realtime have limited attribution analysis. Allow time for standard reporting before evaluating the campaign.
04
After the click
Where do you see UTM results in GA4?
The builder gives you the link. Your website’s analytics gives you the results. You will need access to the GA4 property collecting data from the destination website.
If GA4 is already installed
Ask for access to the correct property and confirm that it receives data from your website. A Google account by itself does not mean that your website is connected.
If you work with an agency, ask: “Which GA4 property tracks our site, can I view it, and are successful enquiries or purchases measured?”
If GA4 is not set up yet
Create an Analytics property and a web data stream, then install the Google tag using your website platform’s supported method or your existing tag manager. Avoid installing the same measurement twice.
Confirm collection before launching. Analytics cannot reconstruct past visits that your site never collected.
Follow this route in your real Analytics account.
- Open Reports → Acquisition → Traffic acquisition. Navigation varies by report collection. If the report is missing, ask an Editor to add it.
- Choose a date range that includes your campaign. Check the property’s timezone when matching launch dates.
- Change the table’s main dimension to Session source / medium to compare where recorded sessions originated.
- Add Session campaign as a secondary dimension using the plus control, where available, or switch the main dimension to it. Find your exact campaign label.
- Review Sessions, then the specific key event that represents your goal. If the report offers an event selector, choose the relevant enquiry or purchase event rather than all key events together.
TRY IT · REPORT WALKTHROUGH
Know what to look for before you log in.
Illustration · not a live GA4 screen
| Session source / medium | Session campaign | Sessions | Enquiry events |
|---|---|---|---|
| facebook / social | autumn_offer | 200 | 4 |
| newsletter / email | autumn_offer | 80 | 12 |
Start with Traffic acquisition.
This report looks at the sources of recorded sessions, including visits from returning users. It is the starting point for this campaign exercise.
Why “Session” matters
A person might first discover you through Google, then return through your newsletter. First user dimensions describe the original acquisition; Session dimensions describe the source assigned to a visit. Those reports answer different questions.
Where did content and term go?
For the manually tagged version or keyword, look for Session manual ad content and Session manual term in a suitable Exploration or customised report. They may not be in your standard table.
05
Use the information
How do you tell which campaign worked?
Decide what “worked” means before choosing a winner. Reach, website sessions, qualified enquiries, and revenue are different goals.
TRY IT · RESULTS EXERCISE
Same offer. Different results.
Fictional sample · not your data
These three placements promoted autumn_offer. Choose a question to change what the comparison shows.
Facebook post
200
Email newsletter
80
Flyer QR code
40
Facebook brought the most recorded sessions.
Its 200 sessions are more than email’s 80 or the flyer’s 40. That answers the traffic question. Now choose “Who brought enquiries?” to see why the busiest source may not be your best source for leads.
| Placement | Sessions | Sessions with an enquiry | Enquiry session rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Facebook post | 200 | 4 | 2% |
| Email newsletter | 80 | 12 | 15% |
| Flyer QR code | 40 | 2 | 5% |
For this exercise, every enquiry session contains one successful enquiry. Enquiry session rate = sessions with an enquiry ÷ sessions × 100. In real reports, event counts and sessions with an event can differ.
Turn the numbers into a sensible next step.
Email generated more enquiry sessions in this example, despite fewer visits. You could test another email with the same offer and compare the next period. Before increasing a budget, check whether those enquiries were qualified, how much each placement cost, and whether they became customers.
The exercise is deliberately small. Two enquiries from a flyer do not establish a dependable long-term rate. Compare similar time periods and give campaigns enough activity before making a major decision. UTMs help organise evidence; they do not prove that one marketing touchpoint caused every sale.
Why clicks and sessions will not always match
A platform counts a link click differently from Analytics counting a website session. A page might not load, someone might click repeatedly, or collection might be limited by browser and consent settings. A tagged link can also be forwarded. Read the labels as the origin you assigned to the link, not an infallible record of every person’s path.
?
When something is unclear
UTM tracking questions beginners ask
Why can’t I see my UTM campaign in GA4 yet?
Check the property, date range, and exact campaign spelling first. Verify that the published link includes the labels, redirects preserve them, and the destination collects analytics. Standard reporting can take 24–48 hours to process; data may change during that period. Consent choices, blockers, and filters can affect collection.
Does a UTM link track sales automatically?
No. It supplies campaign information. Sales require correctly implemented purchase tracking; enquiries need an appropriate measured action. If your report shows sessions but no outcomes, verify the outcome tracking before deciding that the campaign failed.
Can I use the same link in every channel?
You can, but then those channels carry the same labels and become difficult to distinguish. Keep one campaign name for the offer and make a separate source/medium combination for each channel. Use content when you also want to compare placements within a channel.
Do capital letters, spaces, and spelling matter?
Campaign values are case-sensitive. Pick a consistent convention, such as lowercase with underscores. Keep parameter names such as utm_source intact. A builder handles URL encoding, so you do not need to assemble the punctuation yourself.
Do UTMs expire or change old reports?
The URL labels do not expire on their own, but the page or a redirect can stop working. Reusing an old labelled link keeps sending the old labels. Renaming a new link does not rewrite data already collected under the previous name.
Can I find out exactly who clicked?
UTMs are campaign labels, not a list of named people. Do not place personal identifiers in them. Google prohibits sending personally identifiable information in campaign parameters.
Do I need UTMs on every link?
No. Use them when you control an incoming marketing link and need a useful distinction. Avoid tagging internal navigation. Leave established advertising integrations and automatic tagging in place unless you have a specific measurement reason to change the setup.
Your first campaign, with context
One offer. Clear labels.
Results you know how to read.
Choose a real destination, create one link per placement, test the journey, and review the campaign against the outcome that matters to your business.
The complete written guide and example tables are available here. Enable JavaScript to use the clickable link explainer, report walkthrough, and results exercise.