UTM reference

How to track UTM campaigns in Google Analytics 4

Find tagged campaign traffic in GA4, distinguish session from first-user attribution, and check missing or split UTM values.

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On this page
  1. Add campaign parameters to your link
  2. Find campaign traffic in GA4
  3. Choose the scope that answers your question
  4. Check missing values and unexpected results
  5. Build your next campaign link
  6. Sources

To track campaign links with UTM parameters in Google Analytics 4 (GA4), add campaign parameters to your destination URL and look for their values in Acquisition > Traffic acquisition. Google’s campaign URL guide (opens in a new tab) lists Session campaign, Session source, Session medium, and Session source/medium as the dimensions to view.

Start with the destination URL and include utm_source, utm_medium, and utm_campaign, as Google recommends for campaign URLs (opens in a new tab). Source identifies the referrer, medium identifies the marketing medium, and campaign identifies the promotion.

For an illustrative email campaign, use:

example.com/?utm_source=summer-mailer&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=summer-sale

Here, summer-mailer is the example source, email is the medium, and summer-sale is the campaign. Replace these illustrative values with the names you intend to use.

When constructing a URL manually, separate the parameters from the destination with ?, join each parameter and its value with =, and separate the pairs with &. The parameters can appear in any order.

Use utm_term for a paid keyword. Use utm_content to distinguish creatives or separate call-to-action links in the same email. Decide what you want to compare before assigning those extra values.

Build a campaign link

Create a UTM link with the free builder. No account needed.

Open the free UTM builder

Find campaign traffic in GA4

Follow the navigation documented in Google’s Traffic acquisition report help (opens in a new tab):

  1. Sign in to Google Analytics.
  2. Select Reports from the left menu.
  3. Select Acquisition > Traffic acquisition.

The report covers traffic from both new and returning users. If the report is missing, it may have been removed or may not be included in your default view. An Editor or a user with a higher role can add it back to the navigation.

Google’s custom-campaign documentation (opens in a new tab) identifies the available dimensions for viewing these values: Session source/medium, Session medium, Session source, and Session campaign. Use campaign to examine the promotion; use source and medium to examine where the traffic came from.

For data about one traffic source, use the search bar above the report table. Keep the scope in mind before comparing the result with a first-user report.

Choose the scope that answers your question

Google’s traffic-source scope documentation (opens in a new tab) separates acquisition data into user, session, and event scopes.

  • User scope: First-user dimensions describe where new users came from. Their assigned values stay the same when those users return. These dimensions appear in User acquisition.
  • Session scope: Session dimensions describe where new and returning users come from when they start new sessions. New values are assigned for returning sessions. These dimensions appear in Traffic acquisition.
  • Event scope: Event-scoped traffic dimensions help attribute credit for a key event.

Use the session view when your question concerns traffic arriving in sessions. Use the first-user view when your question concerns how users were originally acquired. Keep those questions separate when evaluating a campaign.

User and session dimensions use paid and organic channels last-click attribution. Changing the attribution model does not change those dimensions. Event-scoped dimensions use the selected attribution model, with data-driven attribution as the default.

Check missing values and unexpected results

Check the URL values against Google’s campaign parameter documentation (opens in a new tab). Parameter values are case-sensitive: utm_source=google and utm_source=Google are different values. Missing UTM parameters produce (not set) values in reporting.

Also check which dimension you are inspecting. UTM parameters are omitted from Landing page + query string and Page path + query string. Google identifies Page location as the dimension populated with that UTM information.

If you are testing a tagged link within an existing session, use Google’s documented campaign processing behavior (opens in a new tab) to interpret the result. GA4 associates a session with one campaign or traffic source. Encountering a new campaign or traffic source does not start another session.

New campaign values collected during an existing session are associated with the events on which they were collected and used for event-based attribution. They are not associated with that existing session’s campaign or traffic-source values. Do not expect a mid-session tagged link to replace the session campaign.

Use the free UTM builder to build a campaign URL with source, medium, and campaign values. The builder runs in your browser and needs no signup; recent links stay on that device and are not sent to UTMTool.

Sources

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Frequently asked questions

Where can I find UTM campaign traffic in GA4?

Use Acquisition > Traffic acquisition to view Session campaign, Session source, Session medium, and Session source/medium.

Does a new UTM value start a new GA4 session?

No. GA4 does not start a new session when it encounters a new campaign or traffic source.

Are UTM values case-sensitive?

Yes. For example, google and Google are different source values.

Build a campaign link

Create a UTM link with the free builder. No account needed.

Open the free UTM builder