UTM code meaning

So when a link in an email ends in ?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=spring_sale, the shop is telling its own reports "this visit came from the spring sale newsletter". Nothing more.

How to read a UTM code

Take this link:

https://example.com/spring-sale?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=spring_sale&utm_content=footer_link

Split it at the ?. The part before is the page. The part after is a list of name=value pairs joined by &:

1. utm_source=newsletter: who sent the visit. Google's examples are google, newsletter4 and billboard.
2. utm_medium=email: the kind of channel. Google's examples are cpc, banner and email.
3. utm_campaign=spring_sale: the promotion, product or slogan the link belongs to.
4. utm_content=footer_link: which link was clicked, when one email or ad has more than one. Google's own example is two call-to-action links in the same email.

There's one more common tag, utm_term, for the paid keyword in a search ad. Google Analytics also reads utm_id, utm_source_platform, utm_creative_format and utm_marketing_tactic, but you'll see those less often.

The order doesn't matter. Google says you can add the parameters in any order, and a site reads them the same way.

What UTM stands for

UTM is short for Urchin Tracking Module. Urchin was a web analytics company in San Diego. Google announced it would buy Urchin on 28 March 2005, and Urchin's software became the starting point for Google Analytics. The utm_ names stayed, and today most analytics tools read them, not just Google's.

Why sites put UTM codes on links

Many clicks arrive with no clue about where they came from, for example from email apps, messaging apps and PDFs. Without tags, those visits often show as "direct" in reports. A UTM code labels the link before it's shared, so the label survives the trip.

Google Analytics also uses the medium to sort visits into channels. A medium of email goes into its Email channel, and social goes into Organic Social. That's why marketers care about the exact spelling.

Ad platforms add them too. Meta, for example, says it may add a campaign source of Facebook or Instagram and a medium of paid to ad traffic, so you'll often see tags on links from ads you never set up yourself.

Is a UTM code safe?

Yes. A UTM code is plain text. It doesn't run code, install anything or carry your name or email address. It names the place the link was shared, not the person who clicked it.

The one thing it gives away is that context. If a friend sends you a link ending in utm_source=newsletter, you can tell they got it from a newsletter. If you'd rather not pass that on, remove the tags before you share.

How to remove a UTM code from a link

1. Find the first utm_ tag in the address.
2. If it comes straight after a ? and nothing but UTM tags follows, delete from the ? to the end of the UTM tags.
3. If other parameters sit before it, delete from the & in front of the first utm_ tag.
4. Keep anything that isn't a UTM tag, such as ?id=7, and any #section at the end. Those can change what the page shows.

The page should open the same. If it doesn't, you removed more than the UTM part.

See a UTM code built

The builder below has a complete example filled in: a spring sale link in a newsletter, with the footer link marked in utm_content. Change any field and watch the tagged link change. If you paste a link that already has UTM tags, the builder replaces them rather than adding a second set.

Make your own

To tag your own links, pick a preset for where you're sharing, type a campaign name, and copy the result. Keep every value lowercase, because Google Analytics treats Google and google as two sources. For a naming scheme and ready-made tags for each platform, read UTM parameters explained. To find your tagged visits afterwards, see how to track UTM links in Google Analytics.