Key takeaways
- UTM parameters are tags added to a URL that tell your analytics tool where a visit came from.
- utm_source, utm_medium and utm_campaign are the three that matter for most teams.
- Values are case-sensitive in Google Analytics: pick lowercase and stick to it.
- Put the tagged URL behind a short link so the ugly part never shows.
UTM parameters are short tags you add to the end of a link so your analytics tool knows where a visit came from. The name comes from Urchin, the analytics product Google bought and turned into Google Analytics; the “Urchin Tracking Module” tags outlived it. A tagged link looks like this:
https://example.com/summer-sale?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=summer-sale-2026When someone clicks it, Google Analytics (and most other analytics tools) reads the tags and files the visit under source newsletter, medium email, campaign summer-sale-2026. Without them, a click from an email app often shows up as “direct” traffic and you cannot tell what worked.
What does each UTM parameter mean?
| Parameter | Answers | Example values |
|---|---|---|
utm_source | Who sent the visit? | newsletter, instagram, partner-blog, flyer |
utm_medium | What kind of channel? | email, social, cpc, referral, qr, print |
utm_campaign | Which campaign? | summer-sale-2026, webinar-oct, launch |
utm_term | Which paid keyword? | link+shortener |
utm_content | Which version or placement? | header-button, story-2, poster-campus |
Google’s own reference lists these and the newer optional ones; see Google Analytics campaign parameters. For most small teams, source, medium and campaign are enough, with utm_content when you want to compare two versions of the same thing.
How should you name UTM values?
Consistency beats cleverness. Analytics tools treat every distinct spelling as a different value, so Instagram, instagram and IG become three rows. A simple naming system fixes that:
- Lowercase only. No exceptions.
- Hyphens, not spaces. Spaces turn into
%20and get copied inconsistently. - A fixed list of mediums. Write them down:
email,social,cpc,paid-social,referral,qr,print,sms. Do not invent new ones per campaign. - Source is the specific sender.
instagram, notsocial. - Campaign names carry the date or season so next year’s sale does not merge with this year’s.
- Keep a shared sheet of every link you create with its tags. Five minutes of discipline saves hours of report cleaning.
UTM examples by channel
Email newsletter
?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=oct-2026-digest&utm_content=hero-button
Instagram bio or story
?utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=always-on&utm_content=bio
Printed poster with a QR code
?utm_source=poster&utm_medium=qr&utm_campaign=open-day-2026&utm_content=campus-north
Partner or affiliate post
?utm_source=partner-name&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=co-launch
SMS
?utm_source=sms-list&utm_medium=sms&utm_campaign=flash-sale-nov
You can build these by hand or with our free UTM builder, which lowercases and cleans values as you type.
Why put UTM links behind a short link?
Tagged URLs are long, ugly and easy to break when someone copies half of one. Shortening fixes three problems at once:
- People see a clean link, such as
gotinyurl.com/oct-digest, not a wall of parameters. - The parameters survive. The short link redirects to the full tagged URL, so analytics still reads every tag.
- You get two layers of data. The shortener counts every click, even from people who leave before your analytics script loads; your analytics tool shows what visitors did after they arrived.
In GoTinyURL, the short links editor has UTM fields built in, so you do not need to paste a pre-tagged URL.
What are the most common UTM mistakes?
- Tagging internal links. A UTM tag on a link from your own homepage to your pricing page restarts the session’s attribution and wipes out the real source. Only tag links that arrive from outside.
- Mixed case.
Emailandemailsplit the report. - Using utm_source for the channel type.
utm_source=socialtells you nothing about which network. - Reusing one link everywhere. If the same link goes in the newsletter, the bio and the poster, you cannot compare them. Make one per placement.
- Forgetting offline. Print and QR codes are where UTMs pay off most, because those visits otherwise look like direct traffic.
A five-minute UTM routine
- Write the campaign name once:
open-day-2026. - List each placement: newsletter, bio, three posters, SMS.
- Create one short link per placement with the right source, medium and content.
- Turn the poster links into QR codes.
- After the campaign, compare clicks in GoTinyURL and conversions in your analytics tool side by side.
That routine is the difference between “the campaign did fine” and “the campus north poster drove a third of sign-ups”.
Written by
Product and support team, TheBigBot LLC
The people who build, host and support GoTinyURL. We write about the things customers ask us most: short links, QR codes, bio pages and reading click data honestly.
Tags: utm, google analytics, campaign tracking, short links
