The 5 UTM Parameters Explained
The five parameters at a glance
UTM parameters are tags you append to a link's URL so that when someone clicks it, your analytics tool can record exactly which marketing effort sent them. There are five of them, each beginning with utm_. Three are required for clean attribution and two are optional details you add when you need them.
| Parameter | Status | Answers | Example value |
|---|---|---|---|
| utm_source | Required | Which platform sent the click? | newsletter |
| utm_medium | Required | What channel type is it? | email |
| utm_campaign | Required | Which campaign or promotion? | summer_sale_2026 |
| utm_term | Optional | Which paid keyword? | project_management |
| utm_content | Optional | Which link or creative variant? | header_cta |
The order of the parameters in the URL does not matter, and you never have to tag a link by hand. A builder assembles them for you and keeps values consistent.
The 3 required parameters
Three parameters do the heavy lifting of attribution: utm_source, utm_medium, and utm_campaign. Analytics tools like GA4 use the source/medium pair to slot every visit into a channel, and the campaign tag to group all the links that belong to one initiative. Skip any of these and the traffic becomes hard to attribute.
utm_source: where the click came from
This names the specific platform or property sending the traffic: the actual website, publication, or product. Think google, linkedin, newsletter, or partner_blog. It answers "which logo is on the door the visitor walked through?" Keep these names short and lowercase and consistent so the same source never appears twice under two spellings.
utm_medium: the type of channel
This names the broad marketing channel the source belongs to. Common, widely recognised values include cpc (paid search and paid social clicks), email, social (organic social), referral, and affiliate. Where source is the specific platform, medium is the category. Using the standard medium values matters because analytics tools rely on them to build channel reports automatically.
utm_campaign: the initiative
This names the marketing campaign, promotion, or launch the link supports, so every click from every channel rolls up to one reportable effort. Examples: summer_sale_2026, q3_webinar, or product_launch_v2. Use the same campaign value across all your channels for that push so you can see its total performance in one row.
The 2 optional parameters
Two parameters add finer detail and are safe to leave off when you don't need them: utm_term and utm_content. They never change how a visit is attributed at the channel level. They just let you drill into the specifics of which keyword or which link drove a result.
utm_term: the paid keyword
This was designed for paid search to record which keyword triggered the click, for example project_management or crm_software. In most ad platforms it can be populated automatically with a dynamic value, so you rarely set it by hand. Outside of paid search, most teams leave utm_term empty.
utm_content: the variant or link
This distinguishes two links that share the same source, medium, and campaign. It is perfect for A/B tests and for emails or ads with more than one link. Values like header_cta versus footer_cta, or variant_a versus variant_b, tell you which specific element earned the click. It is the most useful optional tag for everyday testing.
A full tagged URL, broken down
Here is what all five parameters look like assembled on a single link. The base URL comes first, then a ?, then the parameters joined by &:
https://example.com/pricing?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=summer_sale_2026&utm_content=header_cta&utm_term=Reading it back: the visitor came from the newsletter (source), via email (medium), as part of the summer_sale_2026 campaign, by clicking the header CTA (content). The utm_term is empty because this is an email link, not a paid-search keyword. Because every value is lowercase and consistent, GA4 will group this visit under Email cleanly and report the campaign as a single line.
The one rule that makes this work is consistency: Email and email count as two different mediums, so a typo or a stray capital fractures your reports. That is exactly the problem a naming convention and a builder are there to prevent.
Frequently asked questions
Which UTM parameters are required?
Three are required for analytics tools to attribute traffic correctly: utm_source, utm_medium, and utm_campaign. The other two, utm_term and utm_content, are optional and add extra detail. If you only tag three, tag those required ones; a link missing them is hard to attribute.
What is the difference between utm_source and utm_medium?
utm_source names the specific platform sending the traffic, like google, newsletter, or linkedin. utm_medium names the broad marketing channel that platform belongs to, like cpc, email, or social. Source is the where; medium is the type. Together they tell analytics how to group the visit.
Are UTM parameter values case sensitive?
Yes. Most analytics tools, including GA4, treat Email and email as two different mediums, which splits your reports. Pick one case (lowercase is the safe standard) and apply it consistently to every value. A naming convention and a builder tool prevent these accidental duplicates.
Do I need to use utm_term and utm_content?
No. Both are optional. utm_term is mainly for paid search keyword tracking and is often set automatically. utm_content is useful for A/B tests and distinguishing two links in the same email or ad. Add them only when you actually need that extra level of detail.
Last updated: 14 June 2026