UTM parameters for beginners: track every campaign click

What UTM parameters are

UTM parameters are small tags you append to a link's query string. They do not change where the link goes — they simply travel along with the visit so your analytics can attribute the click to a specific source, campaign or piece of creative.

• utm_source — where the traffic came from (newsletter, twitter, google).
• utm_medium — the channel type (email, social, cpc, affiliate).
• utm_campaign — the specific push (spring_sale, launch_week).
• utm_term and utm_content — optional: keyword and which creative variant.

A naming convention that stays consistent

UTMs are only useful if they are consistent. “Email”, “email” and “E-mail” become three separate rows in your reports. Pick one style and stick to it forever.

• Lowercase everything — UTM values are case-sensitive.
• Use underscores or hyphens instead of spaces.
• Keep a short, fixed vocabulary for source and medium.
• Write the convention down so everyone tags links the same way.

Build tagged links in seconds

You do not need to hand-assemble query strings. URL BOT ships a free, no-signup UTM builder: paste your destination, fill in source, medium and campaign, and copy a correctly-encoded tagged URL.

Shorten that tagged link and you get a clean, shareable URL that still carries all of its campaign data — plus a QR code and bot-filtered click analytics.

See which campaigns bring real people

UTMs tell you where a click came from; Bot Shield tells you whether it was a person. Together they answer the only question that matters: which campaigns bring real, verified humans — not bots inflating a vanity number.