What are UTM parameters?
UTM parameters are short additions at the end of a link. They tell your analytics tool where a visit came from: which newsletter, which LinkedIn post, which ad. Without them, many visits end up in Google Analytics 4 (GA4) as “Direct” or “Referral” and cannot be tied to a campaign.
This is what a link with UTM parameters looks like:
https://www.your-site.com/offer?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=paid_social&utm_campaign=autumn-sale-2026UTM stands for “Urchin Tracking Module”. Urchin was the analytics tool Google acquired in 2005 and developed into Google Analytics. The parameters work beyond Google too: Matomo and Piwik PRO read them as well.
Create a UTM link in 4 steps
- Enter the website URL: the page visitors should land on. If “https://” is missing, the generator adds it.
- Fill in source, medium and campaign or pick a template such as “Newsletter” or “LinkedIn Ads”. The generator lowercases values and replaces spaces with hyphens for you.
- Check the channel preview: if it does not show the channel you expect, the hint below explains why.
- Copy the link and use it in your newsletter, post or ads manager. For flyers and posters, download the QR code as PNG or SVG.
All UTM parameters at a glance
Google recommends always setting utm_source, utm_medium and utm_campaign. If one is missing, reports show “(not set)”. The other parameters are optional.
| Parameter | Purpose | Example | GA4 dimension |
|---|---|---|---|
utm_source recommended | Where the link is placed or who sends it | linkedin | Session source |
utm_medium recommended | Type of channel | paid_social | Session medium |
utm_campaign recommended | Name of the campaign | autumn-sale-2026 | Session campaign |
utm_content | Tells apart ads or links within one campaign | carousel-v1 | Session manual ad content |
utm_term | Keyword in paid search | web-design-agency | Session manual term |
utm_id | Campaign ID, needed to import cost data | as2026 | Session campaign ID |
utm_source_platform | Platform directing the traffic | meta | Session manual source platform |
utm_creative_format | Creative format | video | not yet in reports, according to Google |
utm_marketing_tactic | Targeting tactic | retargeting | not yet in reports, according to Google |
How GA4 assigns your links to channels
GA4 sorts every visit into a channel of the default channel group, such as Organic Social, Paid Search or Email. For links with UTM parameters, source and medium decide most of it. Google checks 19 rules in order and matches the source against a list of more than 800 websites. The first rule that matches wins. If none matches, the visit ends up in Unassigned: it is counted but not attributed to any channel.
Two questions decide almost every case:
- Is the medium paid? A medium counts as paid if it contains “cp” (such as
cpcorcpm), starts with “paid”, or is exactlyppcorretargeting. - Is the source on Google’s list? Only then does a paid click become Paid Social, Paid Search or Paid Video. An unknown source with a paid medium ends up in Paid Other.
What GA4 makes of typical values, calculated with the same rules as the generator above:
| Source / medium | GA4 channel | Why |
|---|---|---|
linkedin / paid_social | Paid Social | linkedin is on the list and the medium is paid. |
facebook / cpc | Paid Social | “cpc” counts as paid, facebook is a social network. |
instagram / bio | Organic Social | A known source alone is enough for Organic Social. |
newsletter / email | The medium contains “email”. | |
newsletter / newsletter | Unassigned | GA4 only recognises email by “email”, not by “newsletter”. |
x / paid_social | Paid Other | “x” is not on Google’s list. With “twitter” it would be Paid Social. |
partner-blog / referral | Referral | The medium “referral” stands for referrals. |
flyer / offline | Unassigned | GA4 has no channel for print and trade shows. |
Note what is missing from Google’s list (as of 27 October 2026): x, x.com and threads. If you advertise on X, use twitter or t.co as the source. For offline campaigns, create a custom channel group in GA4, for example “Offline” with the condition medium equals offline.
Naming rules for your team
Most mistakes do not happen in the tool but because 3 people spell the same campaign differently. GA4 shows “LinkedIn”, “linkedin” and “linked-in” as 3 different sources. These rules keep your reports clean:
- Lowercase everything and use hyphens instead of spaces.
- The source is the platform or sender, not the channel type:
linkedin, notsocial. - A fixed vocabulary for the medium:
email,social,paid_social,cpc,display,referral,affiliate. Do not invent new ones. - Campaigns with a time frame:
autumn-sale-2026orwebinar-2026-11, so repeat campaigns stay distinguishable. - Keep one shared list. “Copy as table” pastes all generated links straight into Google Sheets or Excel.
A scheme that works for many teams:
| Use | utm_source | utm_medium | GA4 channel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newsletter | newsletter | email | |
| LinkedIn post | linkedin | social | Organic Social |
| LinkedIn Ads | linkedin | paid_social | Paid Social |
| Meta Ads | {{site_source_name}} | paid_social | Paid Social |
| YouTube description | youtube | video | Organic Video |
| Partner website | partnername | referral | Referral |
| Flyer and trade show | flyer | offline | Unassigned |
With Meta Ads, Ads Manager fills in the source on click, usually fb or ig. GA4 recognises both as social networks.
The 8 most common UTM mistakes
- UTM on internal links. A link from your home page to your offer page needs no UTM parameters. If you add them anyway, they overwrite the real origin and conversions move to the wrong channel.
- “newsletter” as the medium. Ends up in Unassigned. Use
emailas the medium and the newsletter’s name as the source. - “x” as the source. GA4 does not know X by that name. Use
twitterort.co. - Mixed upper and lower case. “Newsletter” and “newsletter” are 2 rows in GA4.
- Parameters after the anchor. In
site.com/#contact?utm_source=…GA4 cannot see the parameters. The correct form issite.com/?utm_source=…#contact. The generator fixes this automatically. - Redirects that drop parameters. Some redirects, for example from http to https or to another address, cut off everything after the question mark. Test every link once.
- Double tagging in Google Ads. With auto-tagging enabled, the gclid wins in GA4. Manual UTM values do not change the attribution there.
- QR codes without their own channel. Visits from flyers otherwise end up in Unassigned or, without any parameters, in Direct.
Analysing campaigns in GA4
- In GA4, open Reports, then Acquisition and Traffic acquisition. It shows sessions by channel.
- Switch the dimension above the table to Session source / medium or Session campaign to see every combination from your links.
- Add
utm_contentandutm_termas a secondary dimension, or build an exploration with “Session manual ad content”. - Standard reports often take 24 to 48 hours to show new data. For a quick test, the Realtime report is enough.
UTM parameters in Matomo and Piwik PRO
Matomo detects utm_campaign, utm_source and utm_medium out of the box. It reports all fields including utm_content, utm_term and utm_id with the “Marketing Campaigns Reporting” plugin. Matomo recommends its own mtm_ parameters, but the UTM variant still works.
Piwik PRO reads both its own pk_ parameters and utm_ parameters, so links from this generator work for both tools. Only the channel preview is specific to GA4, because Matomo and Piwik PRO build channels by their own rules.
FAQ
Are UTM parameters bad for SEO?
No, as long as you only add them to links that lead to your website from outside, such as newsletters, posts and ads. To keep search engines from indexing parameter variants, every page should have a canonical tag pointing to its clean URL. UTM parameters do not belong on internal links.
Is GA4 case sensitive?
Yes. According to Google, utm_source=google is different from utm_source=Google. Both values show up as separate rows in reports. That is why the generator lowercases everything by default.
Do I need UTM parameters for Google Ads?
Usually not. With auto-tagging enabled, Google Ads adds a gclid to every click. According to Google, auto-tagging takes precedence over manual UTM values in GA4, and there is no option to override it. UTM values there are only worth it for a second analytics tool.
What is the difference between utm_source and utm_medium?
The source says where the link was placed or who sent it, for example linkedin or newsletter. The medium says what kind of channel it was, for example social, paid_social or email. GA4 needs both to assign the visit to a channel.
How do I test a UTM link?
Open it with “Test” and check the address bar to see whether the parameters survive every redirect. In GA4, the visit shows up in the Realtime report. Standard reports often take 24 to 48 hours to show new data.
Does the UTM generator store my input?
No. The link is built in your browser and your input is never transmitted. Only the “My links” list stays in your browser’s storage so it is still there on your next visit. “Clear list” deletes it.
Does the generator work for Matomo or Piwik PRO?
Yes. Both read UTM parameters. Matomo picks up utm_campaign, utm_source and utm_medium out of the box, and all fields with the “Marketing Campaigns Reporting” plugin. Only the channel preview is specific to GA4.
Reviewed by Christian Kallinich, Managing Director, marketer UX
Last updated 27 October 2026. We check the channel rules and Google’s source list against Google’s documentation every quarter. Found a mistake? Email us at info@marketer-ux.com.
Sources
- Google Analytics Help: [GA4] Default channel group, rules and source list
- Google Analytics Help: [GA4] URL builders, collect campaign data with custom URLs
- Google Analytics Data API: dimensions and metrics
- Google Ads Help: About auto-tagging
- Matomo FAQ: Campaign tracking with Google Analytics parameters
- Piwik PRO: Can I use Google Analytics parameters to tag campaigns?
