UTMs are parameters you add to the end of a link so Google Analytics knows where the visit came from. A link like ciclicko.com.br/?utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=black_friday makes the visit show up in GA4 as coming from Instagram, from social, on the Black Friday campaign. Without UTMs, a good chunk of these visits ends up under “direct” or a generic “referral,” and you don’t know which action brought results.
UTMs are the simplest way to measure what Google Analytics can’t guess on its own: the Instagram bio link, the email button, the flyer’s QR code, the link a partner shared.
The five parameters
| Parameter | What it’s for | Example |
|---|---|---|
| utm_source | Where it came from (the site or platform) | instagram, newsletter, partner_x |
| utm_medium | The type of channel | social, email, qr, cpc |
| utm_campaign | The campaign name | black_friday, course_launch |
| utm_content | Which asset or button, when there’s more than one | bio, stories_1, footer_button |
| utm_term | The keyword, in paid ads outside Google | google_ads_management |
The first three are the ones that matter. The last two help separate assets within the same campaign.
How to build a UTM link
The safest way is to use Google’s free tool, Campaign URL Builder: you fill in the page address and the fields, and it builds the finished link for you. You can also build it by hand:
- Start with the page address: ciclicko.com.br/criacao-de-conteudo-para-redes-sociais/
- Add a ? and the first parameter: ?utm_source=instagram
- Add the rest with &: &utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=october
If the address already has a ?, add the parameters with & instead of ?.
The standard that keeps your tracking from getting messy
Poorly standardized UTMs create the same source under three different names, and your report ends up fragmented. Agree on rules before you start:
- Everything in lowercase. “Instagram” and “instagram” become two different rows in the report.
- No spaces or accents. Use underscores: black_friday, not “Black Friday”.
- Always use the same medium names. Keep a fixed list (social, email, qr, partner, cpc) so no one makes up a new one.
- A spreadsheet with every link you create. With date, asset, and owner. In three months, no one will remember what “camp_teste2” means.
Where to see it in GA4
In the Traffic acquisition report, change the dimension to Session source / medium or Session campaign. Visits with UTM parameters show up under the names you chose. To see which of these visits requested a quote or made a purchase, your key events need to be set up. See key events in GA4 and how to set up GA4.
UTM in Google Ads: you don’t need it
Google Ads tags clicks on its own through auto-tagging, the gclid parameter, and sends the data straight to GA4 when the accounts are linked. Adding manual UTM parameters to your Google ads can actually hurt attribution. Leave auto-tagging on and use UTM parameters for everything else.
For ads on other platforms, like Meta Ads and LinkedIn Ads, use UTM parameters. Meta has its own URL parameters field in the ad.
Where it’s worth using UTM
- The link in your Instagram bio and stories.
- Email marketing and newsletter buttons.
- QR codes on printed materials, menus, business cards.
- Links shared by partners, influencers, and referral affiliates.
- Links in WhatsApp groups and mass messages.
Where not to use it
- On internal links within your own site. A UTM parameter on a link from one page of your site to another overwrites the visit’s real source, and the Instagram visit that brought the person in disappears from the report.
- In Google Ads, as explained above.
Frequently asked questions
Does UTM affect a page’s SEO? No, as long as the page has a canonical URL set up, which plugins like Rank Math and Yoast already do.
Can I shorten a link with UTM parameters? Yes. The shortener redirects to the full link, and the parameters still reach the site.
Why did a UTM visit show up as direct? Usually the link was copied without the parameters, or a redirect along the way stripped them out. Test the final link before you share it.
Want to measure where each client comes from? Ciclicko sets up GA4, Tag Manager, UTM parameters, and Google Ads conversions in one single structure. Check out our conversions and CRM service.