Answers
Short URL builder: assemble the link before you shorten it
A short URL is usually built twice: campaign parameters go on the long link first, then the whole thing is shortened. Doing it in that order is what keeps the tracking intact.
By Wasim Idrishi · Updated · 2 min read
Building a short URL is two steps in a fixed order, and doing them in the wrong order quietly destroys the tracking.
Build the long URL
Start with the real destination and add campaign parameters to it. This is the URL that will be stored.Check it opens
Paste it in a browser. A parameter typo is invisible until a report is empty.Shorten it
The short link now points at the full tagged URL. Every visitor arrives with the parameters attached.Take the QR if it is going to print
Every link has a QR at its own URL, PNG for screens and SVG for print.
The order matters because a redirect sends the visitor to the destination that was stored. Parameters bolted onto the short link have nowhere to go, unless passthrough is switched on deliberately.
UTM Builder
Open the full toolThe five parameters, and which ones you actually need
| Parameter | What it answers | Skip it when |
|---|---|---|
| utm_source | Which site or app sent them | Never |
| utm_medium | Which kind of channel | Never |
| utm_campaign | Which push this was | You will never compare two |
| utm_content | Which version of the creative | You are not testing variants |
| utm_term | Which paid keyword | You are not buying keywords |
Source and medium are the two that carry the reporting. The rest are optional, and adding them out of habit produces a report with four columns of noise.
Casing, spaces and the two mistakes that cost most
Values are compared literally. Facebook and facebook are two different sources, and they will sit in a report as two rows that should have been one. Pick lowercase and never deviate.
Spaces become %20 and split one campaign into several. Use hyphens. Both of those are fixed in the builder rather than left to discipline.
Then shorten it
A tagged URL is long. That is the point at which shortening earns its place: the visitor sees 10 characters instead of 140, your analytics still receive all five parameters, and the link can be printed without wrapping across a line.
Try it with your own link
Paste a long link and get a 10-character gc.mw link with a QR code. No account needed for 30 days; free forever with one.
Building a lot of them
For a campaign with a link per store, per city or per rep, the bulk shortener takes 100 URLs at a time and returns a CSV with the short link and the QR URL beside each row. Tag the long URLs in a spreadsheet first, then paste the column.
Related: UTM parameters explained, bulk URL shortening, and best URL shortener.
Questions people ask
Should I add UTM parameters before or after shortening?
Before, on the long URL, every time. The short link then carries the whole tagged URL as its destination and the parameters arrive at your site untouched. Tagging the short link itself does nothing, because the redirect goes to the destination that was stored.
Will the parameters survive the redirect?
Yes. The destination is stored complete and served as the redirect target. Parameters a visitor adds themselves can be passed through as well, and our own parameters are stripped so they never reach your analytics.
Can I build many links at once?
Yes. The bulk shortener takes up to 100 URLs, one per line, and gives back a CSV. It needs a free account so the links have somewhere to live.
What does the builder do about typos?
It fixes the two that cost the most: inconsistent case, since utm_source values are compared literally and Facebook and facebook are two sources, and stray spaces, which become %20 and split a campaign in half.