UTM parameter: tagging a link so analytics can read it

A UTM parameter is a query-string key on a URL, read by the destination's analytics, that records where the visit came from. Google Analytics recognises five: utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign, utm_term and utm_content.

What each one is for

utm_source is the property — newsletter, instagram, partner-blog. utm_medium is the channel type — email, social, cpc. utm_campaign groups everything belonging to one push. utm_content separates two links inside the same message, which is how you find out whether people click the button or the text link. utm_term is a leftover from paid search and is usually empty.

The thing that ruins UTM data is not missing tags, it is inconsistent ones. Email, email and e-mail become three rows in every report, forever, and no amount of downstream cleanup fully repairs them. Pick lowercase, pick one word per concept, write it down.

How gc.mw handles them

UTM values are a property of the link, not text you retype. Set them once in the editor and the redirect appends them when it builds the destination URL, only for keys the destination does not already carry. That means the link you share stays ten characters and the analytics on the other end still see a fully tagged visit.

The values are also stored on our side of the click, so a gc.mw link tagged with a campaign shows its own breakdown by campaign next to countries and referrers — useful when the destination is a page you do not control and cannot instrument.

Storing UTM values on a link is a Pro feature. On any plan you can put them into the destination URL by hand before shortening.

Example

One newsletter, two links to the same page: utm_content=hero-button and utm_content=footer-link, same source, medium and campaign. Two gc.mw codes, two rows in the report, and a clear answer about which placement earns its space next month.

The UTM builder assembles the URL without typos and hands it straight to the shortener.