What is a UTM builder?
A UTM builder adds campaign tracking parameters to the end of a link: ?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email and so on. The visitor lands on the same page; the tags only label the visit.
Without them, a click from your newsletter, an ad or a post often arrives with no referrer, or one that doesn't say which campaign it was. With them, your analytics can tell each campaign's traffic apart and compare what it led to.
What are UTM parameters?
Five standard tags. Source, medium and campaign describe the link; content and term tell variations apart.
| Parameter | Purpose | Example |
|---|---|---|
utm_source | Traffic origin | newsletter |
utm_medium | Marketing channel | email |
utm_campaign | Campaign identifier | product_launch |
utm_content | Link or creative variation | header_cta |
utm_term | Keyword or targeting term | analytics_software |
UTM examples
Three common setups. They're examples, not universal standards: what matters is that your team uses the same names every time.
Newsletter
- Source
newsletter- Medium
email- Campaign
october_launch
Social media
- Source
linkedin- Medium
social- Campaign
feature_announcement
Paid search
- Source
google- Medium
cpc- Campaign
brand_search
UTM naming best practices
- Keep casing consistent. Pick lowercase and stick to it, so one source doesn't split into several rows.
- Name campaigns clearly.
october_launchstill makes sense in six months;camp1doesn't. - Keep it simple. Add content and term only when you'll compare their values.
- Leave personal information out. Links end up in browser history, server logs and analytics: no emails, names or customer ids.
- Share a naming convention. Write the sources, mediums and campaign names your team uses down in one place.
- Test the destination. Open the link once: check the page loads and the tags are still in the address bar after any redirect.
Common UTM mistakes
- Missing source or medium. A campaign name alone doesn't say where the visit came from.
- Inconsistent capitalization.
Emailandemailcan be counted apart. - Duplicate parameters. Two utm_source tags in one link, and tools may read different ones. The builder keeps one of each.
- Broken query strings. A second
?where an&belongs turns your tags into part of another value. - Encoding mistakes. An unencoded
&or#inside a value cuts it short. The builder encodes them. - UTMs on internal links. They describe how someone arrived from outside; on your own links they can relabel or split visits.
- Sensitive data in URLs. Anything in a link can be seen by whoever sees the link.
- Assuming UTMs track conversions. Tags label visits. Conversions come from goals or payments in your analytics.
How to track UTM campaigns in SuprAnalytics
With the SuprAnalytics script on your website, there's nothing to set up per campaign. When someone lands from a tagged link, the five tags are read from the first page of their visit and kept with the whole visit. Tag names must be lowercase; values are kept as typed, up to the first 200 characters of each.
- Source and channel.
utm_sourcesets the visit's source (common names are tidied, so newsletter becomes Newsletter) andutm_mediumits channel: email counts as Email, cpc as Paid, social as Social. - Campaign reports. The Sources panel's Campaign tab lists each combination of tags with its visitors and conversion rate, and its Keyword tab lists utm_term. You can filter the dashboard by UTM source, medium, campaign, content or keyword.
- Goals and revenue. Goals completed in a tagged visit count toward its campaign, and payments from supported payment providers are credited to campaigns by first or last touch.
- What it doesn't do. It doesn't connect to ad accounts, so there's no ad spend, cost per click or return on ad spend. A second tagged link clicked during the same visit doesn't change it; the next visit, after 30 minutes away, gets its own source.
More in UTM tracking, the tracking parameters guide and goal tracking.
Frequently asked questions
What is a UTM builder?
A tool that adds UTM parameters to a web address, so your analytics can tell which campaign brought each visit. This one is free, needs no account, and builds the link in your browser.
Are UTM parameters free to use?
Yes. They're a widely used naming convention for query parameters, not a paid service, so you can add them to any link. Whether you see them in reports depends on your analytics tool.
What is the difference between utm_source and utm_medium?
The source says where the visit came from, such as newsletter, google or linkedin. The medium says what kind of channel it was, such as email, cpc or social. Together they tell one link from another.
Is utm_campaign required?
A link works with any combination of tags, and analytics tools differ in what they need. This builder asks for source, medium and campaign because the three together keep campaigns comparable. SuprAnalytics records a visit with whichever tags it has.
Can I add UTM parameters to a URL that already has query parameters?
Yes. The builder keeps the parameters already there and any #fragment, adds the tags after them, and replaces UTM tags the URL already has, so each appears once.
Do UTM parameters affect SEO?
They don't change the page, but each tagged link is a different address. Use them on links you share elsewhere, keep them out of your own navigation and sitemap, and give your pages a canonical URL so search engines know which address to index.
Can I track conversions from UTM campaigns?
Yes, if your analytics counts conversions. In SuprAnalytics, goals completed in a tagged visit count toward its campaign, and payments from supported payment providers are credited to campaigns by first or last touch.
Should I use UTM parameters for internal links?
Generally not. They describe how a visitor arrived from outside your site; on internal links they can relabel or split the original visit, depending on the tool. To measure clicks inside your site, use goals or events.