UTM Parameters for Ecommerce Campaigns: A Practical Naming Guide

Tracking · Practical guide · By Exultant Commerce

UTM parameters are tags added to the end of a link that tell your analytics tool where a visitor came from. They take seconds to add, but inconsistent naming splits one campaign into several rows and makes reports hard to trust. This guide covers what each parameter does and a naming system that keeps your campaign data in one piece.

The five parameters

• utm_source: who sent the traffic, such as newsletter, facebook or google.
• utm_medium: the type of channel, such as email, cpc or social.
• utm_campaign: the specific promotion, such as spring-sale.
• utm_content (optional): which ad or link was clicked, such as blue-banner.
• utm_term (optional): the paid search keyword.

A tagged link looks like this:

https://example.com/sale/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=spring-sale

Five naming rules

1. Use lowercase everywhere. Analytics tools treat Email and email as two different values.
2. No spaces. Use hyphens or underscores, pick one, and stick to it.
3. Keep medium values to a short fixed list. Google Analytics 4 sorts traffic into channels using the medium. Standard values such as email and cpc are recognised, while invented ones can end up as Unassigned.
4. Name a campaign the same way on every platform. One promotion should appear as one campaign, not one per channel.
5. Write the rules down. A shared sheet of approved sources, mediums and campaign names stops each person inventing their own.

Mistakes to avoid

• Tagging internal links. UTMs on links inside your own site can replace the real source of a visit with your own campaign name. Keep them for links that bring people to the site.
• Fighting auto-tagging. Google Ads can tag clicks automatically. If you also add UTMs by hand, make sure the two agree.
• Putting personal data in a link. Never add names or email addresses to a parameter. URLs are stored in analytics tools and server logs.
• Skipping the test click. Open the finished link and confirm the page loads and the parameters survive any redirects.

Build links without typos

The free UTM campaign URL builder assembles the link from your source, medium and campaign values so nothing is mistyped. To see what those campaigns return, use the ROAS and break-even calculator. If purchases are not being attributed correctly even with clean links, our conversion tracking service covers purchase events, revenue values and duplicate-event handling.

Analytics platforms change how they group traffic. Check current documentation when you set your naming rules.

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