--- title: UTM Parameters — definition and how to tag links | Siite description: "UTM parameters explained: the five tags, a naming convention that survives, and why untagged email and QR links land in direct traffic." url: "https://siite.co/dictionary/utm-parameters" type: static generatedAt: "2026-10-22T08:21:10.857Z" --- Metrics & Analytics # UTM Parameters Tags appended to a link that tell analytics where a visit came from — the source, medium and campaign written into the URL itself. Also goes by UTM tags, Campaign tags [![Siite](/images/layout/logo.svg)Written by Siite](/about/)Updated September 8, 2026 ## Entry contents [All Terms A to Z←Browse the full dictionary](/dictionary/) UTM parameters are pieces added to the end of a link that analytics reads as campaign information. They are the reason a report can tell you that eleven people came from your newsletter rather than simply that eleven people arrived. Without them, most of your own marketing arrives anonymous. > **Briefly explained** > > - Tags written into the link itself, read by analytics. > - Five exist. Three do the work. > - Untagged campaign links end up filed as direct traffic. > - A naming convention matters more than the tags do. ## What are the five tags? - **utm_source:** Where the click came from. `newsletter`, `yard_sign`, `supplier_site`. - **utm_medium:** The type of channel. `email`, `sms`, `print`, `social`. - **utm_campaign:** The specific push. `spring_promo_2026`. - **utm_term:** Optional. Usually a keyword. - **utm_content:** Optional. Which version of the link, for testing. Source, medium and campaign carry almost all the value. The other two are for cases where you genuinely compare two variants. ## What should you tag, and what should you leave alone? Tag everything that Google does not tag for you. - **Tag:** email, SMS, QR codes, partner and supplier links, print, anything you place on someone else’s site - **Do not tag:** Google Ads, where auto-tagging does it better - **Never tag:** links between pages of your own site, which overwrite the original source and split the visit in two ## Why does untagged traffic matter? Because it disappears into [direct traffic](/dictionary/direct-traffic/), the bucket where attribution goes to die. The estimate link your office texts, the QR code on a leave-behind, the seasonal email, the link a supplier added to their dealer page — all of it arrives looking like somebody typed your address from memory. The campaign gets judged on nothing. ## How do you keep it usable? The convention is the whole job. The tags are trivial. - Lowercase everything. Always. - Underscores instead of spaces. - A fixed, short list of allowed mediums. Write it down. - Store the built links somewhere shared, so nobody invents a new spelling. - Check quarterly that the values in your reports still match the convention. UTM data degrades the moment two people start guessing, and it degrades invisibly, because every misspelling still produces a row in the report. ## What do the terms mean? - **Auto-tagging:** Google Ads adding its own parameter, which is why you do not add UTMs there. - **Source / medium:** The pair most reports group by. - **Referrer:** Where the browser says the visit came from, when it says anything at all. - **Direct:** Where analytics files anything whose origin it could not work out, untagged links included. Owner questions ## What owners ask us about UTM Parameters ### Do UTM tags hurt SEO? +Not when they are used on external campaign links. Avoid them on internal links, where they overwrite the original source and split one visit into two. ### Should I tag Google Ads links? +No. Auto-tagging handles it and works better. Tag everything Google does not: email, SMS, QR codes, partner links, print. ### What breaks UTM reporting? +Inconsistent naming. "Facebook", "facebook" and "FB" become three sources in the same report. Agree on lowercase and a short list of allowed values. ### Can customers see the tags? +Yes, they sit in the address bar. Keep them tidy and avoid anything you would not want read aloud, such as internal codenames or pricing hints. ### Do they work for phone calls? +Only if the page stores the tag and passes it to your call tracking. Otherwise the call arrives with no idea which campaign produced it.Put this to work ## Guides that use this Step-by-step playbooks from the team, written for owners doing the work themselves. No sign-up and no email required. [### Server-side conversion tracking after iOS: what Texas operators lose Browser pixels lose 30–55% of iOS conversion data in 2026. Server-side restores it. What to install, and the real ROAS lift we measure for Texas operators. Read the guide→](/articles/server-side-conversion-tracking-after-ios/)4.9191 reviewsWhere this turns into work ## Every link accounted for A naming convention that survives contact with reality, tags on everything Google does not tag itself, and reports that stop filing your campaigns under direct. [See the service→](/services/marketing-automation/)[Ask us about it](/contact/) ![Leonardo Miodrag, CMO, Partner at Siite](/images/team/panel/leonardo-miodrag.webp) *Our CMO* ## Related entries - [### Direct Traffic Visits analytics cannot attribute to a referrer — typed URLs and bookmarks, but also a large share of clicks whose source was simply lost along the way.](/dictionary/direct-traffic/) - [### Google Analytics 4 Google's current analytics platform, built on events rather than pageviews, used to see where visitors came from and which pages produce calls and forms.](/dictionary/google-analytics-4/) - [### Attribution Model The rule that decides which marketing touch gets credit for a job — first click, last click, or a share spread across everything the customer saw on the way.](/dictionary/attribution-model/) - [### Conversion Tracking The setup that records which clicks, calls and forms turned into leads or jobs, so ad platforms and analytics can attribute results instead of guessing.](/dictionary/conversion-tracking/) [All terms A to Z Browse every term A to Z Open the dictionary→](/dictionary/)