How to Create UTM Parameters: A Step-by-Step Guide with Examples

When a campaign gets hundreds of clicks, the real question is where the traffic came from. UTM parameters are small tags added to the end of the destination address to answer that. Set up correctly, they show clearly which channel, campaign and piece of content worked.

What are the UTM parameters?

• utm_source (required): where the traffic came from. Example: instagram, newsletter, google
• utm_medium (required): the channel type. Example: social, email, qr, cpc
• utm_campaign (required): the campaign name. Example: summer-sale-2026
• utm_term (optional): the keyword in paid search
• utm_content (optional): separates different links or visuals in the same campaign. Example: top-button, bottom-text

An example UTM address

Say your destination page is https://example-site.com/campaign. The address you use in a newsletter becomes:

https://example-site.com/campaign?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=summer-sale-2026

For the same page in your Instagram bio, you use utm_source=instagram and utm_medium=social. That way you see the results of the two channels separately.

Rules for consistent naming

• Always use lowercase: Instagram and instagram can become two different sources in analytics tools.
• Use hyphens instead of spaces: summer-sale, not summer sale.
• Avoid special characters: letters like ş, ğ, ı can break in an address.
• Choose short, meaningful names; keep a glossary table and use the same terms across the team.
• Do not add UTM tags to your own site’s internal links: it splits sessions and corrupts source data.

Why should you shorten a UTM address?

UTM addresses look long and messy; they can break in messages and may look untrustworthy. When you prepare the address with its tags and then shorten it, you get a clean link and see each short link’s own click count. UTM shows behavior after visitors arrive on your site, while the short link counter shows the click. The two complement each other.

Common mistakes

• Writing the same source differently (newsletter, Newsletter, bulten).
• Forgetting to add tags and dropping the traffic into "direct".
• Adding too many parameters: the three core ones are enough for most jobs.
• Not saving the tagged addresses: keep them in a table.