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UTM tracking parameters in GA4 are critical for understanding traffic sources and attributing value to marketing efforts. These simple tags, appended to URLs, help tell the story of your performance and marketing impact. But when was the last time you checked your UTM tags to ensure you're tracking everything correctly?
UTM tagging can be tricky, especially when multiple people within an organization share tagging responsibilities. A recent study estimated that 30% of websites don’t use UTM tags at all, while 20% use them incorrectly.
Consistently Follow Organizational Nomenclature
One of the most common UTM tagging errors is a lack of standardized nomenclature. For example, when tracking links from Google Ads, I often see variations such as "ad", "ads", or "advertising" used as the utm_medium. All of these are incorrect. The proper utm_medium for Google Ads should always be "cpc" because Google auto-tags these links with that medium. Overwriting it with a custom term can lead to inconsistencies and messy data.
Whatever nomenclature you choose, ensure it is applied consistently across your organization. Another often-overlooked issue is capitalization. GA4 treats capitalized letters as distinct from lowercase, meaning "linkedin" and "LinkedIn" will appear as two separate sources, fragmenting your data. To avoid this, I recommend using all lowercase letters for UTM parameters.
Conduct Periodic Tagging Audits
To avoid missing critical data, perform regular audits of your UTM tags. This can be done by pulling data from GA4 at set intervals (e.g., monthly) and reviewing your tracking parameters.
Use GA4’s Explorations to create a report showing sessions alongside Session Source, Session Medium, Session Campaign, and landing page URLs. This will help you quickly identify any discrepancies or incorrect tag values. Seeing these dimensions alongside landing pages allows you to pinpoint errors and make necessary corrections before they impact reporting accuracy.
Final Thoughts
A well-structured UTM tagging strategy ensures clean, reliable data that accurately reflects your marketing performance. By enforcing a standardized nomenclature and conducting periodic audits, you can prevent errors, improve attribution, and gain better insights into your traffic sources.
Happy tagging!