📖 Table of Contents

Why UTM Naming Conventions Matter

Imagine opening your Google Analytics dashboard and seeing this in your Traffic Acquisition report:

All four entries represent the same traffic source—Google Ads—but inconsistent naming split them into separate rows. Your total Google Ads traffic is actually 2,713 sessions, but you'd never know it from this report.

This is why UTM naming conventions matter.

The Business Impact of Poor Naming

Inconsistent UTM parameters create serious business problems:

  1. Inaccurate Reporting: You can't make data-driven decisions when your data is fragmented across dozens of duplicate entries.
  2. Wasted Budget: If you can't accurately attribute conversions to specific campaigns, you'll keep funding underperforming channels.
  3. Team Confusion: Different team members using different naming systems creates chaos. Marketing blames sales for bad leads, sales blames marketing for bad targeting—all because the data is unreliable.
  4. Historical Data Loss: Changing naming conventions midway through a campaign makes it impossible to compare year-over-year or quarter-over-quarter performance.
  5. Manual Data Cleanup: Analysts waste hours every month manually merging duplicate entries in spreadsheets instead of analyzing insights.

💡 Real-World Example

A SaaS company we consulted with was tracking their Facebook ads using 7 different naming variations: facebook, Facebook, fb, FB, meta, facebook.com, and social. When they finally standardized on facebook, they discovered their actual Facebook ROAS was 30% higher than reported—they'd been underfunding their best-performing channel for 8 months.

The 3-Tier Naming System

The most effective UTM naming conventions follow a hierarchical structure with three levels:

Tier 1: Source (Where)

Identifies where the traffic is coming from. This should be the platform or website name.

Examples: google, facebook, newsletter, linkedin

Tier 2: Medium (How)

Identifies how the traffic arrived. This should describe the marketing channel or method.

Examples: cpc, email, social, referral

Tier 3: Campaign (Why)

Identifies why you're running this specific initiative. This should describe your business goal or promotion.

Examples: spring_sale_2024, product_launch_q1, webinar_series

🎯 The Golden Rule

Source and Medium should be standardized across your entire organization. Campaign names can be flexible and descriptive, but Source and Medium must follow strict conventions to ensure data consistency.

UTM Source Naming Rules

The utm_source parameter should identify the specific platform, website, or referrer sending traffic to your site.

Universal Source Naming Rules

  1. Always use lowercase: google not Google
    Why: Google Analytics is case-sensitive. Facebook and facebook appear as separate sources.
  2. Use the platform's common name: facebook not fb or meta
    Why: Consistency across your team. Everyone should use the same identifier.
  3. No spaces or special characters: Use underscores if needed
    Why: Spaces get URL-encoded as %20, making URLs ugly and hard to read.
  4. Be specific for email: newsletter_weekly or newsletter_promo instead of just email
    Why: This lets you differentiate between different email types in your reports.
  5. Use domain names for referrals: partner_site_name or affiliatename
    Why: Makes it easy to identify which partner sites are driving the most valuable traffic.

Standard Source Values (Recommended)

Platform Recommended Value ❌ Avoid
Google Ads google Google, adwords, google_ads
Facebook Ads facebook Facebook, fb, meta
Instagram Ads instagram Instagram, ig, insta
LinkedIn Ads linkedin LinkedIn, linked_in
Twitter/X Ads twitter Twitter, x, x.com
Email Newsletter newsletter email, mail
TikTok Ads tiktok TikTok, tik_tok
YouTube Ads youtube YouTube, yt
Bing Ads bing Bing, microsoft

UTM Medium Naming Rules

The utm_medium parameter describes the marketing channel or type of traffic. Unlike source (which can be platform-specific), medium should use standardized marketing categories.

Standard Medium Values (Industry Standard)

These medium values are recognized across the marketing industry. Stick to them for consistency:

Medium Value Use For Example Sources
cpc Paid search and paid social ads Google Ads, Facebook Ads, LinkedIn Ads
email Email campaigns Newsletters, promotional emails, transactional emails
social Organic social media posts Unpaid Facebook posts, Instagram bio links, Twitter links
referral Links from other websites Partner sites, guest blog posts, directories
display Display advertising campaigns Banner ads, retargeting, programmatic ads
affiliate Affiliate marketing links Commission Junction, ShareASale, individual affiliates
organic Organic search (rarely used manually) Google organic, Bing organic
video Video advertising YouTube pre-roll ads, video platforms
audio Podcast or audio advertising Spotify ads, podcast sponsorships
sms Text message marketing SMS campaigns, MMS campaigns

Medium Naming Rules

  1. Be broad, not specific: Use cpc for all paid ads, not facebook_cpc or google_cpc
  2. Never mix paid and organic: Paid social = cpc, Organic social = social
  3. Avoid platform names: Medium describes the channel type, not the platform
  4. Use industry standards: Don't invent new medium types like advertisement or banner

❓ When to Use CPC vs Social vs Display

  • cpc: Any paid ad where you pay per click (search ads, social ads, shopping ads)
  • social: Organic, unpaid posts on social platforms
  • display: Banner ads, retargeting, programmatic display campaigns

If you're paying for ads on Facebook, use facebook / cpc, not facebook / social.

Campaign Naming Templates

Unlike Source and Medium (which should be standardized), utm_campaign can be flexible and descriptive. However, following a template ensures consistency.

Recommended Campaign Naming Template

Use this structure for campaign names:

{time_period}_{campaign_type}_{product_or_goal}

Examples:

Campaign Naming Templates by Goal

Campaign Type Template Example
Product Launch {month}_{year}_launch_{product} mar_2024_launch_premium
Seasonal Sale {season}_{year}_{promotion} spring_2024_sale
Webinar {month}_{year}_webinar_{topic} feb_2024_webinar_seo
Lead Generation {quarter}_{year}_leadgen_{audience} q1_2024_leadgen_enterprise
Brand Awareness {quarter}_{year}_brand_{region} q2_2024_brand_northeast
Retargeting {year}_retargeting_{audience} 2024_retargeting_cart_abandoners

Advanced: Adding Term and Content

For even more granular tracking:

Industry-Specific Examples

E-commerce Example

Scenario: Online clothing store running Black Friday promotions across multiple channels

Channel Complete UTM Structure
Google Search Ads utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=nov_2024_black_friday&utm_term=winter_coats
Facebook Ads utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=nov_2024_black_friday&utm_content=carousel_ad
Email Newsletter utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nov_2024_black_friday
Instagram Story utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=nov_2024_black_friday
Affiliate Partner utm_source=dealsitename&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=nov_2024_black_friday

SaaS B2B Example

Scenario: Project management software running a Q1 lead generation campaign

Channel Complete UTM Structure
LinkedIn Sponsored Content utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=q1_2024_leadgen_enterprise&utm_content=whitepaper_offer
Webinar Invitation Email utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=feb_2024_webinar_productivity
Guest Blog Post utm_source=partnerblog&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=q1_2024_content_partnership
Retargeting Display Ads utm_source=google&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=2024_retargeting_trial_signups

Local Business Example

Scenario: Restaurant promoting a new summer menu

Channel Complete UTM Structure
Google Local Services utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=summer_2024_menu_launch
Facebook Event utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=summer_2024_menu_launch
SMS to Loyalty Members utm_source=loyalty_program&utm_medium=sms&utm_campaign=summer_2024_menu_launch
QR Code on Flyer utm_source=print_flyer&utm_medium=offline&utm_campaign=summer_2024_menu_launch

7 Common UTM Naming Mistakes to Avoid

1. Inconsistent Capitalization

The Problem: Using Facebook, facebook, and FACEBOOK creates three separate entries in Google Analytics.

The Fix: Always use lowercase for utm_source and utm_medium.

2. Using Spaces Instead of Underscores

The Problem: utm_campaign=spring sale becomes utm_campaign=spring%20sale in the URL, making it hard to read.

The Fix: Use underscores: utm_campaign=spring_sale

3. Mixing Auto-Tagged and Manual UTM Values

The Problem: Google Ads auto-tagging uses google / cpc, but your manual tags use adwords / paid, fragmenting your data.

The Fix: Always use google as the source for all Google Ads campaigns to match auto-tagging.

4. Creating Overly Complex Campaign Names

The Problem: utm_campaign=2024_q1_ecommerce_winter_apparel_retargeting_cart_abandoners_desktop_users is unreadable.

The Fix: Keep campaign names concise. Use utm_content and utm_term for additional details.

5. Using Different Names for the Same Platform

The Problem: Team members use fb, facebook, and meta for the same platform.

The Fix: Document your standard source names and share them with your entire team. Create a central reference guide.

6. Not Including Time Periods in Campaign Names

The Problem: You have three campaigns all named summer_sale from different years, making historical comparisons impossible.

The Fix: Always include year (and quarter/month if relevant): summer_2024_sale

7. Forgetting to Document Your System

The Problem: New team members don't know the naming conventions and create their own, breaking consistency.

The Fix: Create a living document (like our template below) that everyone can reference before creating UTM links.

📥 Download Our Free UTM Naming Convention Template

Get our battle-tested Google Sheets template with:

  • ✅ Pre-configured source and medium values
  • ✅ Campaign naming formulas
  • ✅ Dropdown lists to prevent errors
  • ✅ Industry-specific examples
  • ✅ Team documentation section
📋 Get Free Template →

Click to make your own copy • No signup required

How to Use Our Free Template

Our Google Sheets template includes three tabs:

Tab 1: UTM Generator

Fill in your campaign details using dropdown menus (pre-populated with standard values). The sheet automatically generates your complete UTM URL.

Tab 2: Naming Convention Guide

A reference sheet documenting your organization's standard source, medium, and campaign naming patterns. Customize this for your team.

Tab 3: Campaign Library

Log every UTM campaign you create. This historical record helps maintain consistency and prevents duplicate campaign names.

How to Customize for Your Organization

  1. Click "File → Make a Copy" to create your own editable version
  2. In the "Naming Convention Guide" tab, add your company-specific sources (like partner names or email newsletter names)
  3. Update the dropdown lists in the "UTM Generator" tab to match your standards
  4. Share the template with your entire marketing team (set permissions to "View Only" to prevent accidental changes)
  5. Bookmark the sheet and use it every time you create a new campaign

Conclusion: Clean Data Starts with Consistent Naming

A solid UTM naming convention is the difference between actionable analytics and data chaos. By following these best practices:

...you'll build a foundation of clean, reliable data that empowers better marketing decisions.

🚀 Ready to Build Perfect UTM Links?

Use our free UTM generator with built-in naming validation to create error-free tracking URLs.

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