Create consistent campaign UTM URLs

Build a campaign link with consistent source, medium, and campaign labels, then check the copied URL. UTM parameters are labels added to a web address to describe where a marketing link comes from.

• Outcome: Tracking & measurement
• Tools: Google Campaign Url Builder
• Responsible: People preparing website links for email, unpaid social posts, or partner referrals.
• Estimated time: 10 minutes

Scope

This SOP covers:

• Choose consistent source, medium, and campaign labels
• Build a full URL and check its destination and parameters

This does not cover:

• Sending emails or publishing campaigns
• Paid advertising, auto-tagging, and spending
• Tagging links between pages on your own website
• Analytics setup, attribution proof, and redirect testing

Requirements

• The full HTTPS address of the intended page, without existing UTM parameters. Keep any query values or page anchor the page needs.
• The campaign purpose and where each link will appear; existing labels for the same source, channel, or campaign, if your team has them.
• An editable campaign note or file where you can save labels and full URLs.

Related SOPs

• SOP 010: Create a GA4 property and website data stream
• SOP 012: Install GA4 through Google Tag Manager

01. Choose the labels

Give each label one job so you can reuse the same wording across links.

1. In your campaign note, choose these three values:

   • Source: the place sending visitors, such as the newsletter name or social platform.
   • Medium: the kind of placement. Use email for email, social for unpaid social posts, or referral for a partner website link.
   • Campaign: a short name for the promotion or initiative. Reuse it across that campaign’s placements.

   For an existing source, channel, or campaign, reuse your team’s exact label, even if it uses a different format. For new labels, use lowercase letters, numbers, and underscores between words. The three values may match if their meanings really match; choose each by its job.

   • Warning: Keep names, email addresses, and other personal information out of UTM labels.

02. Build the campaign URL

Let the builder add the labels without hand-editing the address.

1. Open Google’s Campaign URL Builder and select WEB. Paste the full destination address into website URL. Keep its capitalization and any existing query text after ? or page anchor after #.

   • Warning: If the destination already contains utm_ parameters, get its untagged version before continuing; adding another set can create conflicting labels.

2. Enter the source from step 1.1 into campaign source, the medium into campaign medium, and the campaign into campaign name. Clear any existing values in campaign ID, campaign term, and campaign content so the result contains only your three campaign labels. Below the generated URL, make sure Set campaign parameters in the fragment portion of the URL is unchecked.

03. Check and save the full URL

Check the result before handing it to the person who will use the link.

1. Read the generated URL. Check that utm_source=, utm_medium=, and utm_campaign= each appear once and contain the matching value from your note. Check that there are no other utm_ parameters, including utm_id, utm_term, or utm_content. Check that the destination’s domain and path are unchanged, that any original query values remain, and that any # anchor stays at the end, after the UTM parameters.

   • Warning: In query values, %20 and + can both mean a space; %2B means an actual plus sign. These are URL encoding. Copy the generated form without replacing these codes or encoding the full URL again.

2. Click inside generated URL, select all its text, and copy it. Paste the full URL into your campaign note beside its three labels. Read the saved text back and compare it with the generated URL to catch missing characters. Repeat from step 1.1 for each placement, keeping the same campaign value for the same initiative.