UTM Report - Umami

The UTM Report provides detailed analysis of your UTM campaign parameters, helping you track and measure the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns. This is essential for understanding which campaigns, sources, and content variations drive traffic and engagement.

What is a UTM Report?

UTM (Urchin Tracking Module) parameters are tags added to URLs that help you track where your traffic comes from. The UTM Report shows:

Traffic breakdown by UTM parameter
Page views for each campaign parameter
Which campaigns drive the most engagement
Performance comparison across sources, mediums, and campaigns

UTM Parameters

Umami tracks five standard UTM parameters:

utm_source

Identifies the traffic source (e.g., google, newsletter, facebook)

utm_medium

Identifies the marketing medium (e.g., cpc, email, social)

utm_campaign

Identifies the specific campaign (e.g., spring_sale_2024)

utm_content

Differentiates similar content or ads (e.g., banner_a, text_ad)

utm_term

Identifies paid search keywords (e.g., privacy_analytics)

How UTM Tracking Works

Add UTM Parameters to URLs

Tag your marketing links with UTM parameters before sharing them.

https://yoursite.com/landing?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=spring_sale

Users Click Tagged Links

When users click your tagged links, Umami captures the UTM parameters.

Parameters are Tracked

UTM parameters are stored with each page view during the user’s session.

Generate Reports

The UTM Report aggregates page views by each parameter value.

UTM parameters persist throughout a user’s session, so you only need to tag the entry link, not every link in your content.

Creating UTM-Tagged Links

Basic UTM Link Structure

https://yoursite.com/page?utm_source=SOURCE&utm_medium=MEDIUM&utm_campaign=CAMPAIGN

Examples by Marketing Channel

Email Marketing
Social Media
Paid Advertising
Partnerships & Affiliates

Newsletter Link:

https://yoursite.com/blog/new-post?
  utm_source=newsletter&
  utm_medium=email&
  utm_campaign=weekly_digest_2024&
  utm_content=featured_article

Promotional Email:

https://yoursite.com/sale?
  utm_source=mailchimp&
  utm_medium=email&
  utm_campaign=spring_sale_2024&
  utm_content=hero_banner

Use utm_content to track which links or sections of your email drive the most clicks.

Facebook Post:

https://yoursite.com/product?
  utm_source=facebook&
  utm_medium=social&
  utm_campaign=product_launch&
  utm_content=organic_post

LinkedIn Article:

https://yoursite.com/whitepaper?
  utm_source=linkedin&
  utm_medium=social&
  utm_campaign=thought_leadership&
  utm_content=article_share

Instagram Bio Link:

https://yoursite.com?
  utm_source=instagram&
  utm_medium=social&
  utm_campaign=bio_link

Google Ads:

https://yoursite.com/landing?
  utm_source=google&
  utm_medium=cpc&
  utm_campaign=brand_search&
  utm_term=privacy_analytics&
  utm_content=text_ad_v1

Facebook Ads:

https://yoursite.com/offer?
  utm_source=facebook&
  utm_medium=cpc&
  utm_campaign=remarketing_q1&
  utm_content=carousel_ad

For paid ads, utm_medium is typically “cpc” (cost-per-click) or “cpm” (cost-per-impression).

Affiliate Link:

https://yoursite.com/signup?
  utm_source=affiliate_john&
  utm_medium=referral&
  utm_campaign=affiliate_program

Guest Post:

https://yoursite.com/blog?
  utm_source=techblog&
  utm_medium=referral&
  utm_campaign=guest_post_series

Partner Newsletter:

https://yoursite.com/partner-offer?
  utm_source=partner_newsletter&
  utm_medium=email&
  utm_campaign=comarketing_q2

API Usage

curl -X POST https://your-umami-instance.com/api/reports/utm \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "websiteId": "your-website-id",
    "parameters": {
      "startDate": "2024-01-01T00:00:00Z",
      "endDate": "2024-01-31T23:59:59Z"
    },
    "filters": {}
  }'

Response Format

The API returns data for all five UTM parameters:

{
  "utm_source": [
    { "utm": "newsletter", "views": 3450 },
    { "utm": "facebook", "views": 2890 },
    { "utm": "google", "views": 2145 }
  ],
  "utm_medium": [
    { "utm": "email", "views": 3450 },
    { "utm": "cpc", "views": 2890 },
    { "utm": "social", "views": 2145 }
  ],
  "utm_campaign": [
    { "utm": "spring_sale_2024", "views": 5234 },
    { "utm": "product_launch", "views": 2890 }
  ],
  "utm_content": [
    { "utm": "banner_a", "views": 1890 },
    { "utm": "text_ad", "views": 1456 }
  ],
  "utm_term": [
    { "utm": "web analytics", "views": 456 },
    { "utm": "privacy analytics", "views": 234 }
  ]
}

Use Cases and Insights

Campaign Performance
Channel Analysis
Creative Testing
Keyword Analysis

Compare Campaign Effectiveness

Use utm_campaign to compare different marketing initiatives.Questions to answer:

Which campaigns drive the most traffic?
Are seasonal campaigns effective?
Which campaigns have the best ROI?
Should we extend or end a campaign?

Example analysis:

Campaign Performance:
- spring_sale_2024: 5,234 views
- product_launch: 2,890 views
- weekly_newsletter: 3,450 views

Insight: Weekly newsletter drives consistent traffic.
Spring sale was the most successful campaign.

Combine UTM Report with Goal or Revenue Reports to see which campaigns drive actual conversions, not just traffic.

Optimize Marketing Channels

Use utm_source and utm_medium to understand channel performance.Channel breakdown:

Email (medium: email)
Paid search (medium: cpc, source: google)
Organic social (medium: social)
Referrals (medium: referral)

Strategic decisions:

Which channels should get more budget?
Are paid channels worth the investment?
Which organic channels should we focus on?
Where are our best opportunities?

Example:

utm_medium breakdown:
- email: 3,450 views (lowest cost per view)
- cpc: 2,890 views (highest cost per view)
- social: 2,145 views (free, organic)

Strategy: Grow email list and organic social.
Optimize paid campaigns for efficiency.

Test Ad and Content Variations

Use utm_content to A/B test different ad creative and copy.What to test:

Ad images (banner_image_a vs banner_image_b)
Ad copy (headline_v1 vs headline_v2)
Call-to-action buttons (cta_signup vs cta_freetrial)
Email content sections (hero_cta vs footer_cta)

Testing workflow:

Version A:
utm_content=banner_hero_lifestyle
Result: 1,890 views

Version B:
utm_content=banner_hero_product
Result: 2,340 views

Winner: Product-focused banner (24% more traffic)

Run tests for at least 1-2 weeks to account for day-of-week variations.

Optimize Paid Search Keywords

Use utm_term to track which paid search keywords drive traffic.Paid search optimization:

Tag each keyword with utm_term
Track traffic by keyword
Combine with conversion data
Calculate cost per conversion by keyword
Pause low-performing keywords
Increase bids on high-performers

Example:

utm_term performance:
- "web analytics": 456 views, 23 conversions
- "privacy analytics": 234 views, 18 conversions
- "free analytics": 789 views, 8 conversions

Insight: "privacy analytics" has the best
conversion rate despite lower traffic.

utm_term is primarily for paid search. For organic search keywords, use Google Search Console.

UTM Naming Conventions

Establish consistent naming conventions for your team:

Best Practices

Use Lowercase

Always use lowercase to avoid duplicate entries (Newsletter vs newsletter)

Use Underscores

Separate words with underscores (spring_sale not spring-sale or springsale)

Be Descriptive

Use clear, meaningful names (email_newsletter not nl)

Stay Consistent

Document your conventions and enforce them across your team

Recommended Convention Template

// utm_source: Where traffic comes from
Format: platform_or_partner_name
Examples: facebook, google, newsletter, affiliate_john

// utm_medium: Marketing channel type
Format: channel_type
Examples: email, cpc, social, referral, display

// utm_campaign: Specific campaign or initiative
Format: name_timeframe or theme_name
Examples: spring_sale_2024, product_launch_v2, weekly_newsletter

// utm_content: Content or ad variation
Format: descriptive_identifier
Examples: banner_a, hero_cta, footer_link, video_tutorial

// utm_term: Keywords (paid search)
Format: keyword_phrase
Examples: privacy_analytics, web_analytics_tool

Create a shared spreadsheet or document with your UTM naming conventions that all team members can reference.

Common UTM Mistakes to Avoid

Using UTM on Internal Links

Problem: Adding UTM parameters to links between pages on your own site.Why it’s bad: This breaks session tracking and inflates your referral data.Solution: Only use UTM parameters on external links (emails, social media, ads, partner sites).

// DON'T do this:
<a href="/contact?utm_source=homepage">Contact Us</a>

// DO this instead:
<a href="/contact">Contact Us</a>

Inconsistent Capitalization

Problem: Using different capitalizations creates duplicate entries.Example:

utm_source=Newsletter (150 views)
utm_source=newsletter (200 views)
utm_source=NEWSLETTER (50 views)

Solution: Always use lowercase.

Using Special Characters

Problem: Special characters can break URLs or get encoded.Bad: utm_campaign=Spring Sale! (2024)Good: utm_campaign=spring_sale_2024Solution: Use only letters, numbers, and underscores.

Not Using All Required Parameters

Problem: Using only some parameters makes tracking inconsistent.Minimum required: utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaignSolution: Always include at least these three parameters.

// Minimum:
utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=spring_sale

// Better (with optional parameters):
utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=spring_sale&utm_content=banner_a

UTM Builder Tools

Create properly formatted UTM links using these approaches:

Manual Building

const baseUrl = 'https://yoursite.com/landing';
const params = {
  utm_source: 'newsletter',
  utm_medium: 'email',
  utm_campaign: 'spring_sale_2024',
  utm_content: 'hero_cta'
};

const utmUrl = baseUrl + '?' + new URLSearchParams(params).toString();
// Result: https://yoursite.com/landing?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email...

Using Google’s Campaign URL Builder

Google provides a free UTM builder tool that validates your parameters and generates clean URLs.

Search for “Google Campaign URL Builder” or use ga-dev-tools.google to access Google’s official UTM builder.

Analyzing UTM Data

Calculate Campaign ROI

// Example: Email campaign ROI
const emailViews = 3450; // from UTM report
const emailConversions = 173; // from Goal report filtered by utm_medium=email
const campaignCost = 500; // your cost
const revenuePerConversion = 50; // average order value

const conversionRate = (emailConversions / emailViews) * 100; // 5%
const totalRevenue = emailConversions * revenuePerConversion; // $8,650
const roi = ((totalRevenue - campaignCost) / campaignCost) * 100; // 1,630% ROI

Compare Channel Performance

// Get traffic by channel
const channels = {
  email: 3450,
  cpc: 2890,
  social: 2145
};

const totalTraffic = Object.values(channels).reduce((a, b) => a + b, 0);

// Calculate channel mix
for (const [channel, views] of Object.entries(channels)) {
  const percentage = (views / totalTraffic * 100).toFixed(1);
  console.log(`${channel}: ${percentage}% of traffic`);
}

Best Practices

Always use lowercase: Prevents duplicate entries
Document your conventions: Share standards with your team
Use link shorteners carefully: Ensure they preserve UTM parameters
Test your links: Click them before launching campaigns
Review reports regularly: Weekly analysis helps catch issues early
Combine with other reports: Use with Attribution, Goal, and Revenue reports for complete picture

UTM parameters are visible in URLs. Don’t include sensitive information in your parameter values.

Troubleshooting

UTM parameters not showing in report

Check:

Parameters are properly formatted in URL
No spaces or special characters
Users actually clicked the tagged links
Ad blockers aren’t stripping parameters

Test: Click your tagged link and verify parameters appear in the browser URL bar.

Traffic shows as (not set)

Cause: No UTM parameters on the linkSolution: Ensure all campaign links are properly tagged before sharing.

Overview

Report Types

​What is a UTM Report?

​UTM Parameters

utm_source

utm_medium

utm_campaign

utm_content

utm_term

​How UTM Tracking Works

​Creating UTM-Tagged Links

​Basic UTM Link Structure

​Examples by Marketing Channel

​API Usage

​Response Format

​Use Cases and Insights

​Compare Campaign Effectiveness

​Optimize Marketing Channels

​Test Ad and Content Variations

​Optimize Paid Search Keywords

​UTM Naming Conventions

​Best Practices

Use Lowercase

Use Underscores

Be Descriptive

Stay Consistent

​Recommended Convention Template

​Common UTM Mistakes to Avoid

​UTM Builder Tools

​Manual Building

​Using Google’s Campaign URL Builder

​Analyzing UTM Data

​Calculate Campaign ROI

​Compare Channel Performance

​Best Practices

​Troubleshooting

​Next Steps

Attribution Report

Goal Tracking

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

What is a UTM Report?

UTM Parameters

How UTM Tracking Works

Creating UTM-Tagged Links

Basic UTM Link Structure

Examples by Marketing Channel

API Usage

Response Format

Use Cases and Insights

Compare Campaign Effectiveness

Optimize Marketing Channels

Test Ad and Content Variations

Optimize Paid Search Keywords

UTM Naming Conventions

Best Practices

Recommended Convention Template

Common UTM Mistakes to Avoid

UTM Builder Tools

Manual Building

Using Google’s Campaign URL Builder

Analyzing UTM Data

Calculate Campaign ROI

Compare Channel Performance

Best Practices

Troubleshooting

Next Steps