Source
Identifies where the visitor encountered the link, such as instagram or newsletter-partner.
LINKTERY GUIDE
UTM Parameters: A Practical Campaign Guide
UTM parameters pass campaign labels to the destination URL so analytics can group visits by channel, initiative, keyword, and creative.
Medium
Identifies the traffic type, such as social, email, affiliate, or paid-social.
Campaign
Identifies the shared initiative, launch, promotion, or reporting period.
The five common UTM fields
Source, medium, and campaign form the core attribution set. Term is commonly associated with paid keyword context, while content separates creatives, placements, or call-to-action variants.
Only add fields that support a reporting decision. Unused values increase naming inconsistency without improving analysis.
- utm_source
- utm_medium
- utm_campaign
- utm_term and utm_content
Naming conventions
Analytics systems treat different spellings as different values. Choose lowercase names, a single separator, and a shared vocabulary for channels.
For example, use instagram / social / summer-launch consistently instead of mixing Instagram, ig, SocialMedia, and summer2026 across team members.
- Lowercase only
- Hyphens for multiple words
- Shared channel vocabulary
- No personal or secret data
UTMs and short links
Build the complete destination URL first, test it, and then use that URL as the managed short-link destination. This keeps the public address clean while preserving attribution at the final page.
If the destination already contains query parameters, append UTM fields correctly using an ampersand rather than a second question mark.
- Generate the final campaign URL
- Validate existing query parameters
- Shorten after testing
- Confirm destination analytics
Frequently asked questions
Are UTM parameters case-sensitive?
Analytics commonly treats differently cased values as separate labels, so a lowercase naming convention is recommended.
Do UTM parameters affect the destination page?
They are query parameters. Most sites load normally while analytics tools read the campaign labels.
Should UTMs contain customer names or emails?
No. UTM values are visible in the URL and should not contain personal information or secrets.