You share a link on LinkedIn, put it in your newsletter, and pay for a sponsorship. A few days later, you see more visits on your website. But which activity brought them? And did those visitors do anything beyond opening the page?
This is where UTM parameters help. They add context to the links you share, so you can compare your marketing efforts instead of guessing.
They won't bring more traffic on their own or improve your search rankings. Their value is helping you decide where to spend your next hour or your next marketing dollar.
What UTM parameters are
UTM parameters are labels added to the end of a URL. A compatible analytics tool reads those labels when someone arrives and uses them to describe the source and campaign. The visitor still reaches the same page. [1]
For example, here is a link you could use in a sponsored newsletter. This is an illustrative link, not the confirmed link from my Stork campaign:
https://chartsy.app/?utm_source=stork&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=october_sponsorship
Start with three labels
| Parameter | What it tells you | Example |
|---|---|---|
utm_source |
Where the link was shared | stork |
utm_medium |
The marketing channel | |
utm_campaign |
Which marketing effort it belongs to | october_sponsorship |
Two optional labels add detail: utm_content can distinguish a button from a text link or one creative from another; utm_term is commonly used for paid search keywords. [1]
Why a plain link may not be enough
A source such as LinkedIn tells you part of the story. It may not tell you whether the visitor clicked your profile, a tutorial post, or a launch announcement. Tags let you name that difference before sharing the link.
They are particularly useful when you control several links pointing to the same page and want to compare what each one brings.
How to create your first tagged link
- Choose the destination. Send people to the page that matches the promise in your post or email. For a feature announcement, that might be a feature page rather than your homepage.
- Name the source, medium, and campaign. Keep a short shared list of names so you can reuse them. Lowercase values avoid accidental splits such as
linkedinandLinkedIn. [1] - Build the URL. Add a question mark before the first parameter and an ampersand between parameters. If your URL already has a query string, append the tags with an ampersand. Google's Campaign URL Builder can help construct the link. [1]
- Test the actual link you will share. Check that it opens the right page and that your analytics records the expected source and campaign. Test through any email redirect or link shortener, too.
- Save it before publishing. Record the full URL, where you will use it, its destination, and the launch date. If you paid for the placement, keep the cost alongside it.
A simple example across three placements
Imagine you are promoting the same growth demo through a newsletter and two LinkedIn placements. These are example values you could use:
| Placement | Source | Medium | Campaign | Content |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newsletter button | founder_news | growth_demo | main_button | |
| LinkedIn tutorial | social | growth_demo | tutorial_post | |
| LinkedIn profile | social | growth_demo | profile_link |
The shared campaign name groups the effort together. Source and medium separate the channels, while content distinguishes the two LinkedIn placements.
For the tutorial, the link would look like this:
https://chartsy.app/growth?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=growth_demo&utm_content=tutorial_post
Give each placement its own link. If you paste the newsletter link into LinkedIn, the tags will still say newsletter. A tag records the label in the URL, not independent proof of where someone discovered you.
Keep your naming boring
Choose a pattern you can remember, such as lowercase words separated by underscores. Keep the campaign name stable across related placements and use the content label for variations. Consistency makes a small campaign log much more useful than a collection of clever names. [2]
Use the results to improve your next campaign
Start with the outcome you need. For an article, that could be engaged reading or newsletter subscriptions. For a SaaS product, it might be account creation, activation, or a paying customer.
Here is a hypothetical example, not Chartsy's actual results:
| Placement | Visits | Signups | Spend | Cost per signup |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newsletter A | 100 | 8 | $200 | $25 |
| Newsletter B | 300 | 3 | $150 | $50 |
Newsletter B brought more visits and cheaper visits. Newsletter A brought more signups at a lower cost per signup. If signups are your goal, that changes which campaign deserves another test.
It still doesn't settle the decision. You would want to see whether those signups used the product and became customers. Compare similar time periods and allow new signups time to convert before deciding a channel works or doesn't.
What UTMs cannot tell you by themselves
Adding tags does not install analytics or set up conversion tracking. Your website needs a tracking tool, and the actions you care about need to be recorded.
Attribution also has limits. People can forward tagged links, switch devices, or return later through a different channel. Tracking can be blocked or unavailable. A recorded source is useful evidence, but it is not a complete history of every interaction.
Use campaign tags on links that bring people to your website. For buttons between pages on your own site, track the interaction as an event instead of adding a new acquisition campaign label. Keep names and email addresses out of your UTM values. [2, 3]
Following the journey in Chartsy
In Chartsy, you can start by adding the website tracking snippet to see traffic sources. To follow visitors through account creation, set up signup identification as well. Connecting your supported billing source and completing the customer-matching setup lets you connect acquisition with paying customers and revenue. [4]
That is the question I want to answer for my own marketing: which activities bring people who actually get value from Chartsy?
For your next campaign, start small. Choose one destination, create a tagged link for each placement, test it, and decide which outcome you will compare. You'll have a clearer basis for deciding what to repeat.
If you want to go further and carry UTM data through signup and into Stripe or Paddle, the UTM tracking for SaaS implementation guide covers that in detail.
References
- Google Analytics: URL builders and campaign parameters
- GOV.UK: Campaign tagging guidance
- Google Analytics: Avoid sending personal information
- Chartsy Growth
Related reading
Written by
Serena PriftiFounder of Chartsy
Serena Prifti is the founder of Chartsy and writes about analytics, growth, and subscription metrics. She focuses on helping founders and operators turn raw data into clear insights that drive better decisions.
Serena Prifti
