UTM parameters

UTM parameters are short tags added to a link's URL so that analytics tools can identify where a visitor came from. When someone clicks a tagged link, the parameters are passed to your site, and tools such as Google Analytics or your ecommerce platform's reports can attribute the visit and any resulting sale to that source.

The five standard parameters

• utm_source: where the traffic comes from, such as facebook or instagram.
• utm_medium: the type of traffic, such as paid_social or email.
• utm_campaign: the campaign name or promotion.
• utm_content: used to tell apart ads or links within a campaign, such as different creatives.
• utm_term: traditionally used for paid search keywords; some teams use it for audience or ad set names.

Example: a tagged link might look like example.com/product?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=paid_social&utm_campaign=spring_sale

Dynamic parameters on Meta

Meta supports dynamic URL parameters that fill in values automatically, such as the campaign, ad set or ad name, so you do not need to type each one by hand. These are set in the URL parameters field at ad level.

Good practice

• Use a consistent, lowercase naming convention across the whole team.
• Never put personal data such as email addresses in UTM values.
• Test links before launching to make sure tags survive redirects.
• Use the UTM builder to create tagged links quickly.

UTMs help you compare platform-reported results with your own analytics, which is useful when checking attribution windows or MER.