What are UTM parameters?

UTM parameters are tags you add to the end of a link so your analytics can tell where a click came from. When someone clicks a tagged link, the parameters travel with them and let your reporting group the visit by source, medium, and campaign instead of filing it under “direct”.

The five standard parameters

• utm_source: the origin, like google or newsletter
• utm_medium: the channel type, like cpc or email
• utm_campaign: the specific campaign or promotion
• utm_term: a paid keyword, for search campaigns
• utm_content: distinguishes two links pointing to the same page

Best practice

UTMs are case-sensitive and free-form, so Facebook, facebook, and FB become three different sources. Lowercase everything, use underscores instead of spaces, and keep a consistent convention. You can build clean UTM links with our free UTM builder.

Their limit

A UTM tags a visit; it cannot tell an ad platform which visits became sales, and it disappears when a shopper clears cookies or switches devices. That is where first-party, server-side attribution takes over. Trakt captures the click on your domain and reports the resulting conversion back to the platform.