Open GA4 in many small businesses and you’ll find traffic from “facebook”, “Facebook”, “fb”, “facebook.com” and “IG” listed separately, plus a large “Unassigned” group. Nobody can tell which campaign brought the customers. A naming convention fixes it in an afternoon.
What UTM parameters are
Tags added to the end of a link that tell analytics where the click came from:
https://example.com/offer/?utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=paid_social&utm_campaign=2026-11_winter-sale
| Parameter | Answers | Required? |
|---|---|---|
utm_source |
Where? (instagram, newsletter, whatsapp) | Yes |
utm_medium |
What type? (paid_social, email, referral) | Yes |
utm_campaign |
Which campaign? | Yes |
utm_content |
Which ad or link version? | Optional, useful for A/B creative |
utm_term |
Which keyword? | Optional; mostly for paid search |
When to use them (and when not)
Use them on links you control that aren’t tagged automatically:
- Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn and Snapchat ads (or use the platform’s URL parameter settings)
- Email campaigns and automated flows (many email platforms add UTMs automatically: check the settings)
- WhatsApp broadcasts and templates
- Influencer and partner links
- QR codes on print, packaging and in-store
- Bio links and social posts
Don’t use them on:
- Internal links on your own site. They overwrite the original source of the visit.
- Google Ads when auto-tagging is on. It’s tracked automatically.
The convention
Rules
- Lower case only. GA4 treats “Instagram” and “instagram” as different values.
- No spaces. Use hyphens within words, underscores between concepts if you prefer, but pick one and stick to it.
- Approved lists for source and medium. Nobody invents new ones without updating the list.
- Campaign names with a date prefix:
2026-11_winter-sale. They sort in order and are easy to filter.
Mediums that match GA4’s channels
GA4 groups traffic into default channels (Paid Social, Organic Social, Email, Paid Search and so on) using rules based on source and medium. Use mediums that fit those rules, so traffic lands in the right channel rather than “Unassigned”:
| Traffic | utm_medium |
|---|---|
| Paid ads on social platforms | paid_social (or cpc, with a social source) |
| Organic social posts and bio links | social |
email |
|
| WhatsApp messages | sms (lands in GA4’s SMS channel), or a custom whatsapp medium with a custom channel group |
| Partner and influencer links | referral or affiliate |
| QR codes on print | qr or offline (custom, will need a custom channel group) |
Check your choices against GA4’s current default channel definitions, and create a custom channel group for anything that doesn’t fit (for example WhatsApp or QR) so it’s reported clearly.
Sources
Use the platform name: instagram, facebook, tiktok, linkedin, newsletter, whatsapp, google, partner-name.
Build links from a template
Typing UTMs by hand guarantees typos. Use the link builder sheet, Google’s campaign URL builder, or your ad platform’s URL parameters field with the agreed values. Keep a log of every tagged link: date, campaign, where it was used.
For QR codes, shorten the tagged URL (or use a redirect on your own domain) so the code stays simple.
Check it’s working
- In GA4, look at Session source / medium and Session campaign for the last 7 days.
- Look for duplicates (mixed case, typos) and “(not set)” or Unassigned traffic.
- Fix the links at the source, and note the change in your log.
Frequently asked questions
Can we fix old messy data?
Not in standard reports. GA4 records what it received. You can tidy reporting with custom channel groups and filters in explorations, and keep it clean from now on.
Should we tag links in our email signature?
You can, with utm_medium=email and utm_campaign=signature. It shows how many visits signatures bring.
Do UTMs affect SEO?
Not when used on external links pointing to your site. Don’t use them on internal links.
If you’d like your tracking and naming set up so reports make sense, that’s part of our tech stack service.
Free download · Excel tool
UTM link builder and naming sheet
Pick source and medium from approved lists, enter a campaign name, and the sheet builds a clean tagged URL and logs it, so everyone uses the same names.
Download itNo sign-up. Opens in Excel, Google Sheets or Numbers.
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