A UTM parameter is a tag appended to a URL’s query string — utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign, utm_id, utm_term, utm_content — that labels where a click came from. UTM parameters are an industry-standard convention; AnyTrack reads them off the landing-page URL, stores them as first-party data on the session, and uses them to attribute the eventual conversion to the right campaign across every channel.
The standard UTM parameters and what each one means
Section titled “The standard UTM parameters and what each one means”| Parameter | Required | What it labels | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
utm_source | Yes | The traffic source — the specific site, platform, or referrer the click came from | google, facebook, newsletter |
utm_medium | Yes | The marketing channel type. Keep to standard values; unique values break channel grouping | cpc, email, organic, social |
utm_campaign | Yes | The specific campaign name | summer_sale_2026 |
utm_id | Recommended | Holds the campaign ID of any ad platform and fills the GA4 Campaign ID. AnyTrack reads it first for the campaign | 123456789 |
utm_content | No | Differentiates ad variations, ad sets, or links pointing to the same URL | banner_ad, sidebar_cta |
utm_term | No | Labels the keyword or ad name | running_shoes, ad_v1 |
UTM values are case-sensitive — utm_source=Facebook and utm_source=facebook count as two different sources, so use lowercase consistently. The three required parameters are the minimum any analytics platform needs; add utm_id for ad campaigns so AnyTrack can align spend and revenue at the campaign level.
How UTM parameters fit into a tracking template
Section titled “How UTM parameters fit into a tracking template”You rarely type UTM parameters by hand. On each ad platform you set a tracking template once — a single URL string that lists every UTM parameter paired with the platform’s dynamic token (its placeholder). A tracking template is defined per ad platform, not per campaign: one template serves all of that platform’s campaigns, and the platform substitutes each token with real values at runtime, the moment the ad is clicked.
For example, AnyTrack’s recommended Google Ads tracking template — pasted once at the account level — is:
{lpurl}?utm_source=google&utm_medium={ifsearch:cpc}{ifcontent:display}&utm_id={campaignid}&utm_content={adgroupid}&utm_term={keyword}utm_source is a fixed value (google), while {campaignid}, {adgroupid}, and {keyword} are Google ValueTrack tokens that Google fills in on every click. So the UTM parameters are the labels, the tokens are what let one template cover every campaign, and the tracking template is the field that assembles and writes them onto the landing-page URL.
What UTM parameters power in AnyTrack
Section titled “What UTM parameters power in AnyTrack”UTM parameters carry the campaign detail of a visit. AnyTrack uses that detail for three things:
- Campaign-level attribution. AnyTrack credits a conversion to a campaign, ad set, and ad in the Campaign Report from UTM values. This is the job that depends on UTM parameters. Without them, the campaign fields show (not set). On Google Ads, AnyTrack reads the campaign from
gad_campaignidwhen the URL has no other campaign parameter. The ad set and ad fields still show (not set). - Channel categorization. UTM parameters tell AnyTrack which channel a visit belongs to: paid, referral, affiliate, AI, email, social, or organic. Without them, AnyTrack uses the ad platform click identifier or the referrer.
- Audience building. Because the UTMs are on the URL at the moment a session starts, AnyTrack can build audiences from them. Example: visitors who arrived with
utm_source=google&utm_campaign=discoverybut didn’t buy can be pushed to Meta as a retargeting audience.
What UTM parameters are not required for
Section titled “What UTM parameters are not required for”- Sending conversions to ad platforms. No ad platform requires UTM parameters to accept a conversion. A Conversion API (CAPI) ties a conversion to a user through the platform’s own Click ID, not UTMs — e.g. a visitor lands with
fbclid=…and, on conversion, AnyTrack sends Meta’s CAPI the conversion data plus the matchingfbcvalue derived from it. - Ad platform attribution. A missing campaign, ad set, or ad ID can break cost alignment in the Campaign Report. It does not break ad platform attribution.
- Tracking sessions and conversions. AnyTrack tracks every session and every conversion whether or not UTMs are present. Without UTM parameters, the Campaign Report still shows the source and the medium. UTM parameters add the campaign, the ad set, and the ad.
How AnyTrack collects and resolves UTM parameters
Section titled “How AnyTrack collects and resolves UTM parameters”UTM parameters matter most at one moment: when a visitor first lands from a campaign. The Tracking Tag collects the UTM values on that landing and stores them on the session — after which they drop out of the address bar as the visitor navigates deeper into the site. The values are already saved, so attribution never depends on the UTMs staying in the URL.
- Returns via another campaign — the new UTM parameters are collected and stored against that session, becoming the latest source.
- Returns directly or via email — the visitor may arrive with different URL parameters, or none at all; there are simply no new UTMs to collect on that visit.
AnyTrack does not rely on a single visit. It resolves attribution server-side and with browser signals and other identifiers, which lets it stitch a journey across devices and domains and perform identity resolution — so a UTM collected on the first touch can still be credited to a conversion that happens later, even on another device. Configure Ignored Sources so intermediaries (PayPal, Mailchimp) don’t overwrite your stored UTM values mid-journey and steal the credit.
Frequently asked questions
FAQ was last reviewed on 2026-11-01
