UTM link builder

What Is a UTM Link and What Is It For

A UTM link is a regular URL with parameters added to the end that tell analytics where a visitor is coming from. Without them, Google Analytics sees most traffic from external sources as "referral" or "direct", so you cannot tell apart visits from a Facebook page, a newsletter and a Google ad if they all lead to the same page.

The parameters are added after the question mark, separated by ampersands:

https://example.com/offer?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=autumn_promo

Analytics then knows the visitor came from Facebook, via a social network, as part of the "autumn promo" campaign. This is the foundation of any serious measurement, because without it you do not know which channel actually brings visits and which one just burns budget.

How to Build a UTM Link That Does Not Fall Apart in Reports

The biggest problem is not creating the link but consistency. If one day you use utm_source=Facebook, the next facebook, and the third FB, your report will show three separate rows for the same channel. So set up a small naming scheme in advance and stick to it.

1. Agree on a list of sources: facebook, instagram, newsletter, google, linkedin.
2. Agree on a list of mediums: social, email, cpc, banner.
3. Name campaigns by logic everyone understands, for example autumn_promo_2025 or black_friday.
4. Use utm_content to tell posts apart, for example story_1, post_video, button_top.
5. Write all names in lowercase and without diacritics if your tool does not do it automatically.

The tool at evi.rs automatically converts spaces to underscores and uppercase letters to lowercase, which removes the most common source of chaos. Still, check the link before you put it into circulation.

Tip for advanced users: utm_content is the most underrated parameter. In the same campaign on the same network you can have multiple creatives or buttons, and without differentiation you will not know which variant works. Use it for A/B tests too, for example utm_content=headline_a and utm_content=headline_b.

Most Common Mistakes When Creating UTM Links

• Mixing uppercase and lowercase letters. Analytics treats Facebook and facebook as different. Always use lowercase.
• Spaces in names. A space in a URL turns into %20 and creates confusion. Use underscores.
• UTM on internal links. If you add UTM to a link inside your own site, the new visit gets attributed to the campaign and skews session statistics. UTM goes only on external links that lead to you.
• The same campaign name for different actions. After a month you will not know what promo1 was.
• Long and unreadable links. A short link looks better in an email or on a business card, but check that the redirect does not drop the parameters.
• A forgotten utm_medium. Without a medium, analytics cannot sort traffic into channels.

Pay special attention to link shorteners and QR codes: some services pass parameters correctly, some do not. Always open the finished link in a browser and check whether the parameters reached the destination page.

How to Check That a UTM Link Works

Before you send a link to your audience, open it in an incognito window and check in the address bar that all parameters are in place. Then in Google Analytics, in the acquisition report, look up the campaign by name. New campaigns usually appear within a few hours, but session data can be delayed by up to 24 to 48 hours, so do not panic if there are no results on the second day.

Keep a simple table with source, medium and campaign names and share it with everyone who creates links. Once the team grows and there are a dozen channels, maintaining the scheme by hand becomes tedious and mistakes become expensive. In such situations EVI Solutions can help establish a consistent measurement structure and connect it with the rest of your analytics.