UTM Builder

How it works

UTM parameters are tags added to a link that tell Google Analytics which post or email a visitor came from. If you add utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=black-friday-sale to the link in an Instagram story, sales from that link appear under the black-friday-sale campaign in Analytics. Paste the address of the page into the left pane and fill in the source, medium and campaign boxes; the link appears on the right. With Clean up spelling on, "Black Friday Sale" becomes black-friday-sale: letters are lowercased, accents are dropped (Café becomes cafe), and every run of characters other than letters, digits, dots, underscores and tildes turns into one hyphen. Analytics is case-sensitive, so Instagram and instagram would otherwise be two rows in the report. Parameters already in the address, such as ?color=blue, are kept, a #section link is moved to the end, and an old utm_source in the address is replaced, which the note below the result tells you. Put several addresses on separate lines to tag them all at once. Choose a QR code for a poster or flyer.

This tool is also known as utm builder, campaign url builder, utm link generator, utm generator, google analytics utm builder.

What is UTM parameter?

UTM stands for Urchin Tracking Module, a name left over from Urchin, the analytics tool Google bought in 2005. The fields utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign, utm_content and utm_term are added after a ? at the end of an address. They do not change what the page shows; only the analytics tool reads them and records which source and campaign the visit came from.

What is Source, medium and campaign?

The source (utm_source) is the place that sent the visitor: instagram, newsletter, google. The medium (utm_medium) is the type of that place: social, email, cpc. The campaign (utm_campaign) is the shared name of posts made for the same goal: black-friday-sale. Analytics reports show the three together; if one is missing, the visit can end up in the wrong channel.

What is the difference between utm_source and utm_medium?

utm_source names the specific place that sent the visitor (instagram, facebook, newsletter-october), while utm_medium names the type of that place (social, email, cpc). Analytics groups channels by medium: visits from Instagram and Facebook are different sources, but with medium social both are counted in the Organic Social channel. Keep sources detailed, and keep mediums to a few English values that you always spell the same way.

Why utm_medium should use these English values

Google Analytics 4 sorts visits into channels such as Organic Social, Email and Paid Search by looking at utm_medium, and it only recognises certain values. Tag a newsletter with utm_source=october-list&utm_medium=newsletter and those visits fall into the Unassigned channel instead of Email, because neither value contains the word email. Source and campaign names are free text; for the medium, use one of the values below.

Decide on a campaign name once and spell it the same way every time. black-friday-sale and black_friday_sale are two different campaigns in Analytics; Clean up spelling removes differences in case and spaces, but it keeps underscores, so the choice between hyphen and underscore is yours.

• social — posts on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, X
• email — newsletters and email campaigns
• cpc — pay-per-click ads
• referral — a link on another website
• affiliate — affiliate links
• display — banner ads

Honest limits and things to watch

UTM tags are only for visits that reach your site from outside. Do not add them to links within your own site (such as a banner on your home page): a new session starts while the visitor is already on your site, and the real source is lost.

The link looks long. WhatsApp and Instagram open it without trouble, but for SMS you may want to shorten it. This tool does not shorten links, because shortening services store the address on their own servers. The tags are visible in the address, so do not put private information such as a customer name or a discount code in the campaign name.

Frequently asked questions

How do I create a UTM link?

Paste the address of the page you will share into the left pane on this page. Type values such as instagram in the source box, social in the medium box and black-friday-sale in the campaign box. The right pane shows the link with utm_source, utm_medium and utm_campaign added; copy it and share it.

Where do UTM parameters show up in Google Analytics?

In Google Analytics 4, open Reports > Acquisition > Traffic acquisition and set the primary dimension to Session source/medium or Session campaign. According to Google's Data freshness help page, data processing can take 24-48 hours; for a quick check right after sharing, use the Realtime report.

What is utm_content for?

It tells apart different posts in the same campaign. If you share the same sale in a story, a feed post and your bio link, set utm_content to story, post and bio to see which one brings more visitors. It is optional; if you leave it empty, it is not added to the link.

Are my addresses sent to a server?

No. The link and the QR code are made entirely in your browser; this tool does not send the address to a link shortener or anywhere else.