What are UTM tags?
UTM tags are small labels added to the end of a link, after a ?. They don't change the page people see. When someone opens the link, your analytics tool reads the tags and records where that visitor came from. Without them, a visit from a WhatsApp message usually shows up as "direct", and you can't tell which post worked.
For example, this link tells Google Analytics the visitor came from WhatsApp, through social media, for the Diwali sale:
https://example.com/sale?utm_source=whatsapp&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=diwali_sale_2026
The tags explained
| Tag | Field above | Example | What it's for |
|---|---|---|---|
utm_source | Campaign source | The app, site or place the link was shared. Always fill this in. | |
utm_medium | Campaign medium | social | The type of channel, such as social, email, sms, qr or cpc (paid ads). |
utm_campaign | Campaign name | diwali_sale_2026 | Groups every link for one offer, event or launch. |
utm_term | Campaign term | silk_sarees | The keyword you paid for in search ads. |
utm_content | Campaign content | top_banner | Tells apart two links in the same place, such as two buttons in one email. |
utm_id | Campaign ID | pongal_01 | An ID used to match ad cost data in Google Analytics. |
Good values to use
| Where you share the link | Source | Medium |
|---|---|---|
| WhatsApp chat, group or status | social | |
| Instagram bio, story or post | social | |
| Facebook page or group | social | |
| YouTube video description | youtube | video |
| Email newsletter | newsletter | |
| SMS campaign | sms | sms |
| QR code on a poster, menu or flyer | poster, menu or flyer | qr |
Using mediums like social, email and sms lets Google Analytics sort visits into its standard channel groups automatically.
Tips
- Be consistent. Pick one spelling for each source and stick to it. Leave "Tidy values" on to avoid "Instagram" and "instagram" showing as two sources.
- Only tag links from outside your site. Don't add UTM tags to links between your own pages; analytics would start a new visit and lose where the person really came from.
- Nothing private. Anyone can see the tags in the address bar, so never put names, phone numbers or emails in them.
- Shorten the result. Tagged links are long and look untrustworthy in chats. A short Sutly link hides the tags, gets its own QR code, and shows clicks even if you don't use Google Analytics.
Where to see the results
In Google Analytics 4, open Reports → Acquisition → Traffic acquisition, then change the table's first column to Session source / medium or Session campaign. Visits from your tagged links appear there, usually within a day.