What is a UTM (urchin tracking module)?

The five main UTM parameters are:

1. Source: Shows where the traffic is coming from, such as social media platforms, search engines, or other sources like a paid ad or newsletter.
   Example: utm_source=LinkedIn

2. Medium: Reveals the channel type that’s driving the traffic, like organic social, email, paid social, pay-per-click (PPC), etc.

   Example: utm_source=paid_social

3. Campaign: Tracks a specific campaign’s performance. Note in GA4, this parameter is expressed as “utm_id=[campaign]” and is required for GA 4 data importing.

   Example: utm_campaign=Cyber_5

4. Content: Tracks the different content a user can interact with within the same campaign. The content parameter is particularly useful for landing pages or emails that contain multiple CTAs so marketers can see which one performs the best. It’s expressed as “utm_content=[content]”.

   Example: utm_content=video_ad

5. Term: Identifies the keyword that’s driving traffic and is most often used to see which PPC campaign keywords are performing well to optimize a bidding strategy. The term parameters is expressed as “utm_term=[term].”

   Example: utm_term=cyber_five

The first three UTM parameters listed above are required in Google Analytics 4, with the last two being optional.

GA4 UTM parameters

Google Analytics 4 (GA4), the latest iteration of Google Analytics, combines both app and web data in the same property and offers more robust UTM tracking capabilities than Universal Analytics.

Marketers can get data for eight GA4 UTM parameters to help them analyze different traffic sources and marketing campaigns. In addition to the five UTM parameters mentioned above, there are three additional optional UTM parameters in GA4.

Optional UTM parameters only in GA4:

1. Source platform: This parameter identifies the platform responsible for directing traffic to a given Google Analytics property, typically used by platforms for media ad-buying or those that manage organic traffic data.

   Example: utm_source_platform=search-ads-360

2. Creative format*: This parameter distinguishes between creative type, such as native, video, search, display, etc, as well as creatives.

   Example: utm_creative_format=native_holiday2024.

3. Marketing tactic*: This parameter reveals the targeting criteria that have been applied to a campaign, such as prospecting, retargeting, bid strategies, etc.

   Example: utm_marketing_tactic=remarketing_90days.

Currently, the values of the parameters “utm-creative-format” and “utm_marketing_tactic” are not reported in GA4 properties but are listed in the Google Support.