UTM parameters

Updated 2026-11-02

Definition

UTM parameters are tags you add to a link so that analytics can tell where a click came from. There are five standard ones:

• utm_source: the place, such as google or newsletter
• utm_medium: the type, such as cpc, email or social
• utm_campaign: the initiative, such as fall-launch
• utm_term: the keyword, mostly for paid search
• utm_content: the variant, such as hero-link

A tagged link looks like this:

https://example.com/pricing?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=fall-launch

Example

This example uses made-up numbers. You promote a launch in two emails. You tag the links utm_content=first-send and utm_content=reminder. The first brings 800 visitors and 24 signups, or 3%. The reminder brings 300 visitors and 15 signups, or 5%. Without the tags, you'd see 1,100 visitors from email and nothing more.

Now imagine a teammate tags a third link utm_source=Newsletter. Tags are case-sensitive in many reports, so that may show as a separate source. Agree on naming rules and keep them written down.

Common mistakes

• Tagging internal links, which restarts the source mid-visit in some tools
• Using inconsistent names for the same campaign
• Leaving utm_medium out, which makes channel grouping harder

How Headstream measures it

Headstream reads all five tags from the landing URL of every pageview and stores them with the event. utm_source and utm_campaign are breakdowns in reports. utm_medium decides the channel: cpc becomes paid search, email becomes email, and social becomes organic social.

Revenue can be reported by campaign and source, using the session's first pageview. Connecting Stripe is in beta. See revenue attribution. A click ID on the URL takes priority over the medium when Headstream picks a channel.