URLTO GUIDE
Design UTM URLs that distinguish channels and creatives
UTM values are labels added to a URL. They become useful when you have consistent names and an analytics setup at the destination that can read them.
URLTO editorial · Updated
UTM building · series06 / 10
1. Decide what you want to compare
Which channel brought signups and which button attracted more clicks are different questions. Use source and medium for channels and content for creatives within a channel. Building a URL in URLTO does not install analytics or conversion tracking on the destination.
2. Keep one naming sheet
This is an illustrative convention. Choose spellings and separators your team can apply consistently, including capitalization. Keep email addresses, phone numbers and passwords out of UTM values; URLs can appear in shares and logs.
| Field | Newsletter example | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| utm_source | newsletter | Where traffic came from |
| utm_medium | Channel type | |
| utm_campaign | autumn_event_2026 | Shared campaign name |
| utm_content | header_button | Creative or button variant |
| utm_term | Use when relevant | Paid keyword label |
3. Build and validate the tagged URL
Enter the destination and source, medium and campaign in UTM Builder. Matching UTM fields are replaced; blank UTM fields are removed. Other query parameters and the fragment are retained. Open the result to verify the product, language and form before shortening.
Compare it yourself · Illustrative example
https://example.com/event?id=42&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=autumn_event_2026&utm_content=header_button#apply
4. Check two different datasets after publishing
Use short-link activity for redirect requests and destination analytics for tagged sessions and configured conversions. The numbers can differ because collection methods differ. Keep the published campaign URL: cleaning away its UTM fields also removes its labels.