The five standard UTM parameters
There are five: utm_source (where the click came from, e.g. newsletter, facebook), utm_medium (the channel category, e.g. email, social, cpc), utm_campaign (the campaign name, e.g. launch-2026), utm_term (paid-search keyword), utm_content (ad creative variant for A/B testing). Source, medium and campaign are the only three you need most of the time.
A real example
A link in your July newsletter pointing to your launch page might be https://www.byoviral.com/cookieless-analytics?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=launch-2026. Every click on that link is bucketed under newsletter / email / launch-2026 in your campaign report.
When to use UTM and when to skip
Use UTM on every link in newsletters, paid ads, partner placements, and content where you cannot control the referrer (PDFs, slides, video descriptions). Do NOT use UTM on internal links — that nukes your real referrer data because the internal click becomes a new "campaign" in the report.
A consistent naming convention
Pick lowercase, hyphenated names and stick to them. email not Email or e-mail. newsletter not Newsletter. Inconsistency creates phantom rows in your report (one row for "Email", one for "email", one for "EMAIL"). A simple spreadsheet of approved values prevents this.
How BYOViral surfaces UTM data
BYOViral parses UTM parameters off every pageview and groups them in the campaigns report. Click into a campaign to see top pages, source breakdown and time-of-day distribution.
Frequently asked questions
Do UTM parameters slow down my site?
No. UTM is just a URL parameter — there is no extra script or request.
Should I use UTM on social posts?
Yes, but be aware that some social platforms strip parameters or rewrite the URL. Test by clicking your own post and checking what arrives in analytics.
Can UTM hurt SEO?
Generally no. Google ignores common tracking parameters. But never put UTM on internal links — set a canonical URL or use a clean URL internally.
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