If you share links on Facebook, Pinterest and email, you need to know which one brings visitors. UTM tags answer that question.
The five UTM parameters
| utm_source | Where the visitor came from, such as facebook |
|---|---|
| utm_medium | The type of channel, such as social, email or reel |
| utm_campaign | The name of the campaign, such as ncis_guide |
| utm_term | Optional: a paid keyword |
| utm_content | Optional: tells similar links apart, such as image_a |
Example link
https://fasturious.com/ncis/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ncis_guide
Build yours in seconds with our free UTM link builder.
Naming rules that keep reports clean
- Use lowercase everywhere. Facebook and facebook count as different sources.
- Use underscores instead of spaces.
- Keep a simple list of your campaign names.
- Be consistent, so reports are easy to read.
Where to see the results
In Google Analytics 4, open the traffic acquisition report and look at source, medium and campaign. Compare campaigns to see which reels, posts or emails bring the most visitors.
Mistakes to avoid
- Do not add UTM tags to links between pages on your own site. It can overwrite the original source.
- Do not put private information in a UTM tag. It is visible in the link.
- Do not create a new name for every post. Group them in a campaign.
Planning Facebook traffic? Read our guide to earning online and make a short link with the WhatsApp link generator for chat campaigns.
UTM parameters: frequently asked questions
Do UTM tags change the page?
No. The page looks the same. Only analytics reads the tags.
Are UTM tags bad for SEO?
They do not harm rankings when your pages use canonical tags, as WordPress SEO plugins do.
Which UTM tags are required?
Source, medium and campaign are enough for most reports.
