UTM Builder

UTM parameters are tags added to the end of a URL, such as ?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=spring_sale, that tell analytics tools where a visit came from. Without them, a click from an email, a PDF or a QR code often shows up as direct traffic, and you can't tell which campaign worked. The UTM builder adds the parameters to your URL correctly encoded, keeping any parameters and #fragment the URL already has.

Five parameters are standard: utm_source (the site or sender, such as newsletter), utm_medium (the channel, such as email, cpc or social), utm_campaign (the campaign name), utm_term (a paid keyword) and utm_content (to tell apart two links in the same message). Google Analytics also reads utm_id for campaign IDs. Values are case-sensitive, so decide on a convention, usually lowercase with hyphens or underscores, and use it everywhere.

Use UTM tags only on links that bring people to your site from elsewhere. Tagging internal links restarts attribution in the middle of a visit and hides the real source. And because tagged URLs can be shared and bookmarked, make sure the page's canonical tag points at the clean URL so search engines index that version.