How-To: UTM Code Best Practices

It is important that we all follow the same set of rules regarding how we build and deploy UTM codes in our campaigns. If we all create UTM codes in our own style, it can make tracking nearly impossible, or at the very least a long, tedious, manual process. This document lays out best practices and style conventions for our UTM codes.

Capitalization

UTM parameter content should always be lowercase with no punctuation. Parameters are case sensitive so differences in capitalization will split campaign reporting as if there were two separate campaigns. This makes it difficult to get a holistic view of campaign performance.

Multiple Words

It is fine to use multiple words as the content of a UTM parameter. Parameters that have multiple words should use the underscore to separate words. Spaces in between words in parameters can also result in a split in campaign reporting, just as with capitalization.

utm_campaign

utm_campaign should be used for campaign names that can be used across platforms. Campaign names should be readable and descriptive of the campaign.

Campaign names should not include any other information besides the name of the campaign, again to avoid campaign splitting within analytics.

utm_source

The source UTM parameter refers to the platform or website that drives the traffic to your site. It can be a search engine, social network, email platform, or advertisement platform. When placing the source, use lowercase when typing the brand name or website minus the ‘.com’. Use the full name of the source rather than an abbreviation.