Tags added to the end of a link — utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign and two optional others — that tell Analytics exactly where a visit came from.
Without UTMs, a visit from a newsletter, a QR code on a van and a link in a partner's email all arrive looking roughly the same, usually as direct traffic. With them, each is labelled at the moment of the click and reported separately.
They are also the only way to measure anything that is not a normal web link: printed material, email, messaging apps, podcast mentions. If a link exists somewhere you control, it can carry UTMs.
| utm_source | Where it is posted | facebook, newsletter, van-decal |
|---|---|---|
| utm_medium | The kind of link | social, email, cpc, print |
| utm_campaign | Which push it belongs to | spring-furnace-tune-up |
| utm_content | Which version of the link | header-button, footer-link |
| utm_term | Paid keyword only | furnace repair calgary |
There is a free calculator on this site for exactly this.
A free consult is twenty minutes and there is no pitch deck at the end of it.