UTM parameters are short pieces of text added to the end of a URL. They tell your analytics tool where a visitor came from, which channel they used, and which campaign sent them.
A standard link looks like this:
A UTM-tagged link looks like this:
https://yoursite.co.nz/blog?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=april-2026
The page loads identically for the visitor. Your analytics now has the source data.
The five UTM parameters
You don't need to use all five every time. The first three are the most important.
utm_source — The platform or publisher sending the traffic. Examples: google, facebook, newsletter.
utm_medium — The channel type. Examples: email, cpc, social, banner.
utm_campaign — The specific campaign or promotion. Examples: spring-sale, onboarding-sequence, product-launch.
utm_term — Used for paid search to track which keyword triggered the ad.
utm_content — Used when multiple links appear in the same email or ad. Examples: header-cta, footer-link.
How to build a UTM link
Use Google's Campaign URL Builder to generate tagged links. No sign-in required.
Step 1 — Open the tool
Go to Google's Campaign URL Builder.
Step 2 — Enter your destination URL
Paste the full URL of the page you're linking to. Confirm it includes https:// and loads correctly before tagging it.
Step 3 — Enter your campaign source
Use lowercase and hyphens instead of spaces. If it's your monthly newsletter, use newsletter. If it's a Facebook post, use facebook.
Step 4 — Enter your campaign medium
Use consistent terms across all campaigns. Common values: email, social, cpc, display.
Step 5 — Name your campaign
Be specific enough that the name will make sense later. april-newsletter-2026 is more useful than newsletter. Avoid names like campaign-1.
Step 6 — Copy the generated link
The full tagged URL appears at the bottom of the page. Copy and use it in place of the original link.
Important rules for UTM parameters
Be consistent with naming. Using Email in one campaign and email in another creates separate entries in your analytics. Pick a convention and stick to it across your whole team.
Only tag external links. Don't add UTM parameters to links between pages on your own site. This can reset session data in your analytics and corrupt your source attribution.
Shorten long URLs where needed. UTM-tagged links can get lengthy. Use a tool like Bitly if you're sharing them somewhere visible.
Quick reference: common naming conventions
| What | Source | Medium | Campaign |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly newsletter | newsletter | april-2026 | |
| Facebook organic post | social | product-launch | |
| Google Ads | cps | brand-search | |
| Instagram bio link | social | bio | |
| LinkedIn article | social | article-title |
How UTMs show up in Plausible Analytics
Plausible picks up UTM parameters automatically. No extra configuration needed.
When someone clicks a tagged link, Plausible logs the source, medium, campaign, content, and term values and displays them in your dashboard under the Campaigns tab. You can filter by each parameter individually.
Note that Plausible organises UTM data differently to Google Analytics. Sources and mediums appear in the Sourcessection alongside referrers. Campaign names have their own Campaigns tab. Both are on the main dashboard.
Reviewing your UTM data
Check your UTM data monthly. Look at three things:
Which sources sent the most traffic?
Which campaigns drove the most goal completions?
Is anything performing significantly better or worse than expected?
To see which campaigns are leading to conversions (form submissions, button clicks, page visits), you'll need to set up goals in Plausible first. Once configured, you can filter campaign data by goal completions rather than traffic volume alone.
Use this data to decide what to repeat, what to change, and what to stop. If a source has been tagged consistently for several months and shows little traffic or no conversions, that's a clear signal to reassess that channel.