UTM parameters are key-value tags you append to a URL so analytics can say where a visit came from. Google's GA4 help page lists nine of them (accessed 2026-10-25): the classic five are utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign, utm_term and utm_content, and four newer ones are utm_id, utm_source_platform, utm_creative_format and utm_marketing_tactic. Three of them are non-negotiable: source, medium plus campaign.
This post is the reference: what each tag means, what a good value looks like, and which ones your reports actually show. It deliberately stops short of team rules. How to write the values so five people produce the same string is UTM naming conventions. Building one link with a form is the free UTM builder, the whole chain from tag to revenue is tracking UTM end to end, and the posting routine for organic channels is how to track social media links.
The Nine Parameters at a Glance
The table below follows Google's own wording and its recommendation level for each tag. I've added what I'd put in the value; the examples in the last column are mine, not Google's, except where noted.
| Parameter | What Google says it is | Google's status | A value I'd use |
|---|---|---|---|
utm_source | Referrer, such as google, newsletter4, billboard | Always use | newsletter |
utm_medium | Marketing medium, such as cpc, banner, email | Always use | email |
utm_campaign | Product, slogan or promo code, such as spring_sale | Always use | spring-sale-2026 |
utm_id | Campaign ID that identifies a specific campaign or promotion | Strongly recommended | c-1042 |
utm_source_platform | The platform responsible for directing traffic to the property, such as Search Ads 360 | Strongly recommended | search-ads-360 |
utm_term | Paid keyword | Optional | running-shoes |
utm_content | Differentiates creatives, such as two call-to-action links in one email | Optional | hero-cta |
utm_creative_format | Type of creative, such as display, native, video, search | Optional, not currently reported in GA | video |
utm_marketing_tactic | Targeting criteria, such as remarketing, prospecting | Optional, not currently reported in GA | remarketing |
Source: Google's Analytics Help page on custom campaigns (accessed 2026-10-25). The same page says parameter values are case sensitive and that google and Google count as different values.
Source, Medium, Campaign: The Mandatory Three
These three answer where from, what kind and which push. utm_source names the specific origin: a platform, a list, a partner. utm_medium names the type of channel that carried it. utm_campaign names the push the link belongs to.
The pair people swap most is source and medium. Source is the proper noun (google), medium is the category (cpc). If you ever type utm_source=cpc you've swapped them. Google's own examples show the same split: google, newsletter4 and billboard for source, cpc, banner and email for medium.
Why all three matter in practice: GA4 builds its campaign reports from them, and a link that carries only utm_source leaves the other dimensions as (not set). If the trio is on the link and the report still disagrees, the problem sits somewhere later in the chain, and UTM parameters not showing in GA4 walks through the causes in order.
utm_id and utm_source_platform: Newer and Easy to Skip
Google marks both as strongly recommended. Most teams ignore both because the old five worked. They earn their place in one situation: paid media you reconcile against cost data.
utm_id is the campaign ID. The point is a stable key that doesn't change when someone renames the campaign for readability. If you import ad cost data into GA4, a shared ID is how cost and sessions line up, and a human-readable utm_campaign can't do that job because humans edit it. utm_source_platform records the buying platform behind the traffic. Google's example is Search Ads 360 or Display & Video 360, meaning the tool that placed the ad rather than the site where it ran.
Running organic posts or newsletters only? Skip both. If you run paid, set them.
utm_term and utm_content: Optional Detail
utm_term is the paid keyword. Outside search ads it has no natural job. Teams that repurpose it as a free-text note end up with values nobody can group. Leave it empty rather than stuffing it.
utm_content tells apart links that share one campaign. Google's example is two call-to-action links in the same email, each with its own value so you can see which performs better. It's the tag that makes A/B comparisons possible without a second campaign name.
The Two Tags GA4 Doesn't Report Yet
utm_creative_format and utm_marketing_tactic appear on Google's list, and Google notes neither is currently reported in Google Analytics properties. The first describes the creative type (display, native, video, search), the second the targeting approach (remarketing, prospecting).
Ignore them unless another tool in your stack reads them. A tag that nothing reports is only another place for drift. If you add them, reuse your short lowercase vocabulary.
Ad platforms can fill tags for you. Meta's help page on URL parameters (accessed 2026-10-25) gives dynamic values such as {{campaign.name}}, {{adset.name}}, {{ad.name}}, {{placement}} and {{site_source_name}}, which Meta replaces when the ad runs. Those are platform macros that live inside the ad manager. The per-network detail sits in UTM parameters for Google and Meta ads.
What Elido Supports Today
I checked each of these in the product code. A nine-tag list and a tool's fields are not the same thing.
- The free UTM builder has five fields (the classic set). It has no field for
utm_idorutm_source_platform. - A campaign in the dashboard stores the same five UTM values as defaults. The tagged destination is built when you create the link.
- The free UTM checker flags a missing source, medium or campaign as an error, and warns on uppercase letters, stray whitespace or a repeated key. It also catches tags hidden after a
#, where analytics won't read them as query parameters. - The bulk UTM builder tags a CSV of URLs in one pass.
Two honest gaps. First, there are no workspace UTM templates with placeholders yet; they're planned, so a hand-typed variant isn't blocked. Second, the redirect records the click's referrer header, not the UTM values, so Elido's analytics don't break clicks down by utm_source. UTMs are read by your analytics tool at the destination, and the short link counts the click before that.
How the Tags Get Read After the Click
A tagged URL is an ordinary link. The extra pairs sit after the ?. The browser loads the page as usual. When your analytics tag runs, it reads the utm_ values from the address and files the session under that campaign.
Two consequences follow, and both matter. A UTM has no effect if the analytics script doesn't run, so blockers and consent banners can leave the session unattributed, which is where a redirect-side click count helps. And a UTM on a link between your own pages overwrites the original source, so tag only links that bring people in from outside. Browsers can also remove some tracking parameters before the page loads, which browsers that strip UTM parameters covers precisely.
None of the tags change SEO. Google doesn't rank by them. A canonical URL stops the tagged address competing with the clean one. A long tagged URL is ugly in a text message or on a flyer, so teams put a short link in front; link shortener with a UTM builder covers that pairing.
Related on the Blog
Frequently asked questions
What does UTM stand for?
UTM stands for Urchin Tracking Module. Urchin was the analytics company Google acquired in 2005 and built Google Analytics on. The tags kept their utm_ prefix, which is why analytics tools still read utm_source, utm_medium and the rest today.
How many UTM parameters are there?
Google's GA4 help page lists nine: utm_id, utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign, utm_source_platform, utm_creative_format, utm_marketing_tactic, utm_term and utm_content. Most people only use the classic five. The page says utm_creative_format and utm_marketing_tactic are not currently reported in Google Analytics properties, so adding them gains you nothing in GA4 reports today.
Which UTM parameters are required?
Google tells you to always use utm_source, utm_medium and utm_campaign, and strongly recommends utm_id and utm_source_platform. utm_term and utm_content are optional. A missing value turns into (not set) in reporting, so treat the first three as mandatory on every link even though a link technically works without them.
Are UTM parameter values case sensitive?
Yes. Google's page states that parameter values are case sensitive, so google and Google are two different values and split your rows. Google recommends lowercase. The naming rules that keep this from drifting across a team are in the UTM naming conventions post.
Do UTM parameters hurt SEO?
They don't change how a page ranks, and a page that declares a canonical URL keeps the tagged address from being treated as a separate page. The real risk is analytics, not search: a UTM on a link between your own pages starts a new campaign attribution for a visitor you already had. Tag only links that bring people in from outside.
Can I put an email address or a name in a UTM value?
No. The whole URL is logged by servers, proxies and browser history, and it often gets pasted into chats. A UTM value should describe the campaign, never the person. If you need to connect a click to a customer, do it server-side with an internal ID, not in the query string.
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