How To Create UTM Tracking Links

You’re running multiple marketing campaigns across email, social media, and analytics dashboards. Traffic is flowing in, but you have no idea which efforts actually work. When your boss asks, “Which campaign brought the most qualified leads?” you’re stuck guessing.

This is exactly why UTM tracking links exist.

UTM (Urchin Tracking Module) parameters transform vague traffic numbers into actionable business intelligence. They’re the difference between saying “we got some website visits” and confidently reporting “our email campaign generated 200 visits with 15% conversion, while Facebook ads brought 150 visitors averaging 3 minutes on site.”

Table of Contents

What is a UTM tracking link?

A UTM tracking link is a regular web URL that has been enhanced with special tracking parameters (called UTM parameters) to help marketers and analysts track the effectiveness of their campaigns and understand how users are finding their website.

UTM stands for “Urchin Tracking Module” (named after Urchin Software Corporation, which Google acquired and turned into Google Analytics). If you are as old as I am, you remember we used to have UA as parameters in the old Analytics. That’s where it comes from.

Here’s an example of how a UTM link looks:

https://example.com/product?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=spring_sale&utm_content=video_ad

When someone clicks this link, analytics tools like Google Analytics can track that the visit came from Facebook, through a social media post, as part of the spring sale campaign, specifically from a video ad. This data helps marketers understand which channels and campaigns are driving the most traffic and conversions, allowing them to optimize their marketing spend and strategy.

How does a UTM link look like?

A UTM link looks like a regular website URL with additional tracking parameters added after a question mark (?). Here are some examples:

Basic structure:

https://website.com/page?utm_source=value&utm_medium=value&utm_campaign=value

UTM Examples

Email campaign:

https://mystore.com/products?utm_source=mailchimp&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=summer_sale_2024

Facebook ad:

https://mywebsite.com?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=new_product_launch&utm_content=carousel_ad

Google search ad:

https://example.com/landing?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=brand_keywords&utm_term=best+running+shoes

Instagram story:

https://shop.com/sale?utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=black_friday&utm_content=story_swipeup

Key characteristics:

Starts with your normal website URL
Uses ? to begin the parameters
Uses & to separate each parameter
Each parameter follows the format utm_parameter=value
No spaces (use + or %20 for spaces in values)
Case-sensitive

The link functions exactly like a normal URL – it takes users to the same webpage, but the UTM parameters get captured by analytics tools to track the traffic source.

What are UTM parameters (UTM tags or UTM codes)?

UTM parameters (also called UTM tags or UTM codes) are specific pieces of text added to URLs that help track where website traffic is coming from and how users interact with your marketing campaigns.

The 5 UTM Parameters:

1. utm_source (Required)

Purpose: Identifies the traffic source
Examples: google, facebook, twitter, newsletter, billboard
Use: utm_source=facebook

2. utm_medium (Required)

Purpose: Identifies the marketing medium or channel type
Examples: email, social, cpc (cost-per-click), banner, referral, organic
Use: utm_medium=email

3. utm_campaign (Required)

Purpose: Identifies the specific campaign name
Examples: spring_sale, product_launch, back_to_school, holiday_promo
Use: utm_campaign=spring_sale_2024

4. utm_term (Optional)

Purpose: Identifies paid search keywords
Examples: running+shoes, digital+marketing, best+laptop
Use: utm_term=running+shoes
Note: Mainly used for Google Ads and paid search campaigns

5. utm_content (Optional)

Purpose: Differentiates similar content or links within the same campaign
Examples: text_link, banner_ad, video_thumbnail, header_button
Use: utm_content=header_button
Note: Useful for A/B testing different ad creatives or link placements

How to create UTM codes

Google’s Campaign URL Builder (Free & Easy)

URL: https://ga-dev-tools.google/campaign-url-builder/

Steps:

Enter your website URL
Fill in the UTM parameters:
- Campaign Source (required)
- Campaign Medium (required)
- Campaign Name (required)
- Campaign Term (optional)
- Campaign Content (optional)
Copy the generated UTM link

Manual Creation

Format: https://yourwebsite.com?utm_source=SOURCE&utm_medium=MEDIUM&utm_campaign=CAMPAIGN

Example process:

Start with your URL: https://mystore.com/products
Add ? then your first parameter: ?utm_source=facebook
Add & then additional parameters: &utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=summer_sale
Final result: https://mystore.com/products?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=summer_sale

A step-by-step guide

So, we have our Looker Studio SEO Dashboard, which we offer for free. Since it does get used a lot, I’d like to know if it gets us any traffic on seoranktracker.com and (even better), which links perform better: the logo section, the copyright?

I’ll do it manually, so that it’s easier for us to understand the process:

URL: https://seoranktracker.com (In this specific campaign, we’ll get people on the homepage. If we’ll run various other promotions, we’ll use those URLs).

Next one: UTM_source: in this case ?utm_source=looker_studio

The traffic comes from our SEO dashboard, so I’ll use it as my UTM_medium, while UTM_campaign will be called “marketing_reports”.

I’ll also add UTM_content, to differentiate between the logo image and the copyright section.

https://seoranktracker.com/?utm_source=looker_studio&utm_medium=dashboard&utm_campaign=marketing_reports&utm_content=logo

Now that I have my code, I’ll paste it on my Looker Studio dashboard.

Your next question: OK, how to I see the traffic?

Go to REPORTS -> BUSINESS OBJECTIVES -> GENERATE LEADS -> USER ACQUISITION.

I’ll add new ones (from my email signatures, the Looker Studio footer link, new campaigns as we are building them).

Why do we need these UTM parameters?

UTM parameters are essential for understanding and optimizing your marketing efforts. Here’s why they’re so valuable:

1. Track marketing performance

Without UTMs, all your traffic looks the same in analytics. With UTMs, you can see:

Which campaigns drive the most traffic
Which channels convert best
What content performs well
ROI of different marketing efforts

2. Answer critical business questions

“Is our email campaign working better than social media?”
“Which Facebook ad creative gets more clicks?”
“Are newsletter subscribers converting to customers?”
“Should we invest more in Google Ads or LinkedIn?”

In my case it’s easy to handle the marketing work, as our team does everything: web design, SEO, email marketing, social media etc. I don’t need to worry about budgets, as I understand the value of each of these segments.

But for a small business, for instance, it makes sense to see if their Facebook ads are bringing in quality leads, if their SEO works (quick answer, it does ;)) etc. We had clients who tried various social media platforms and, by having all their UTM tracking codes in place, were able to ditch TikTok or Instagram for instance, to focus more on LinkedIn or Facebook.

Some even stopped PPC altogether, as it didn’t get any decent leads. Paying tens of thousands every month for the wrong potential clients didn’t make sense anymore.

3. Attribution and credit

Without UTMs: All traffic might show as “direct” or get misattributed
With UTMs: You know exactly where each visitor came from

4. Budget Optimization

Identify your most profitable traffic sources
Shift budget from low-performing to high-performing campaigns
Stop wasting money on ineffective channels

5. Campaign Comparison

Compare performance across:

Different platforms (Facebook vs. Instagram)
Different ad formats (video vs. image)
Different audiences (retargeting vs. cold traffic)
Different time periods (Q1 vs. Q2 campaigns)

Real-World Example:

Without UTMs: “We got 1,000 website visits this month” With UTMs: “Facebook ads drove 400 visits with 50 conversions, email brought 300 visits with 75 conversions, and our Looker Studio dashboard sent 100 highly engaged visitors who spent 5 minutes on site”.

FAQ

Who detects these UTM parameters?

Analytics platforms detect UTM parameters, primarily:

Google Analytics (most common)
Adobe Analytics
Facebook Pixel
HubSpot
Mixpanel

When someone clicks your UTM link, these tracking tools automatically capture and store the UTM data, then display it in your reports and dashboards for analysis.

Best practices for UTM tracking

Use consistent naming conventions (lowercase, underscores). Always include source, medium, campaign. Document your standards team-wide. Test links before launching. Track in spreadsheets. Use descriptive but concise names.

Avoid spaces/special characters. Don’t over-complicate. Use URL shorteners for sharing. Review and clean data regularly.

UTM tracking codes vs. event tracking

UTM codes track traffic sources – where visitors came from (campaigns, social media, emails). Applied to links before users arrive.

Event tracking monitors user actions on your site – clicks, downloads, video plays, form submissions. Tracks behavior after arrival.

Use together: UTMs show acquisition, events show engagement and conversions.

Bitly link vs. UTM tracking

Different purposes: Bitly shortens long URLs for cleaner sharing. UTM parameters track traffic sources and campaigns.

Use together: You can shorten UTM links with Bitly – the tracking data remains intact underneath the shortened URL.

Best practice: Create UTM link first, then shorten it with Bitly for social media posts.