What are UTM parameters and best practices for them?
Still have a question, spotted an error, or have a better explanation or a source we should cite?
Every time you include a link in your email, you're probably hoping someone clicks it. But when they do, does your analytics platform know it came from your email? Without UTM parameters, the honest answer is often no.
UTM (Urchin Tracking Module) parameters are tags you add to URLs so analytics tools can categorize the traffic. They were created by Google and are now standard across most analytics platforms. There are five standard parameters: utm_source (where the traffic came from, like "newsletter"), utm_medium (the channel, like "email"), utm_campaign (the specific campaign name), utm_term (for paid search keywords, rarely used in email), and utm_content (useful for A/B testing different links in the same email).
A typical email link with UTMs looks like this: https://example.com/page?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=april_welcome
The best practices that actually matter: use consistent naming (decide whether you'll use underscores or hyphens and stick to it), avoid spaces in values (they break URLs), and don't use vague campaign names like "email1" that you won't understand six months from now. Also, be aware that link shorteners can strip UTM parameters, so test your links before sending.
Most ESPs can auto-apply UTM parameters to every link. Check your campaign settings. If your ESP doesn't support it, tools like Google Analytics's Campaign URL Builder can help you build tagged links manually. Once set up, your email campaigns will show up clearly in attribution reporting instead of getting lumped into "direct" traffic.
Contributors
Who worked on this answer
Every name links to their profile. Every company links to their site. Real people, real accountability.
