THE COMPLETE

UTM TRACKING

PLAYBOOK

Building, Managing, and Troubleshooting UTM Parameters

Including GTM Integration, Klaviyo & Salesforce Platform Guides

SECTION 01 — Foundations

What Are UTM Parameters?

UTM stands for Urchin Tracking Module, named after . UTM parameters are small text snippets appended to URLs that tell your analytics platform where a visitor came from, how they got there, and which campaign drove them.

Without UTMs, Google Analytics can attribute traffic to a domain but cannot tell you which email, campaign, or creative drove the click. UTMs close that attribution gap completely.

Without UTMs vs. With UTMs

ℹ Where to Find UTM Data in GA4

Go to Reports > Acquisition > Traffic acquisition to see Session source/medium, Session campaign, and all other UTM-driven dimensions.

SECTION 02 — Parameters

All UTM Parameters Explained

Google Analytics supports nine UTM parameters. The first three are essential for every URL. The remaining six add richer campaign context and are optional but recommended where applicable.

SECTION 03 — Structure

Anatomy of a UTM URL

A UTM URL is a normal URL with key-value pairs added after a ? character. Each pair is separated by &. Parameter order does not matter, but all three required parameters must always be present.

SECTION 04 — Strategy

Naming Conventions & Best Practices

Inconsistent naming is the number one UTM problem. A single typo, capitalization difference, or synonym causes data fragmentation — the same campaign appears as multiple separate rows in your reports, making reliable analysis impossible.

Recommended Naming Formula

utm_medium Values Aligned to GA4 Default Channel Groups

⚠ Avoid These Non-Standard Medium Values

Do not use banner, ad, sponsored, or paid as utm_medium values. They will not map to GA4 Default Channel Groups, sending traffic to the Unassigned channel and distorting your attribution data.

SECTION 05 — Tools

UTM Builder Tools

Never build UTM URLs manually at scale. These tools help you build, validate, and govern UTMs systematically, reducing errors and enforcing naming conventions across your team.

Official Google Tools

• (ga-dev-tools.google/campaign-url-builder) Official Google tool for website UTM URLs. Best for one-off creation and team training.

• Required for Android App Store campaign UTM tracking. Use this instead of the standard builder for any App Store URLs.

Team Management Tools

• Team UTM management platform. Stores all UTMs in one place, enforces naming conventions, and integrates with major ad platforms.

• Google Sheets + Validation Build a shared sheet with CONCATENATE formulas and Data Validation dropdowns that auto-generate and enforce UTM naming at scale.

Shortening & Testing

• / Shorten long UTM URLs for social and SMS. Both preserve full UTM tracking. Rebrandly supports custom branded short domains.

• GA4 DebugView Real-time UTM validation. Navigate to Configure > DebugView in GA4, or use the Google Analytics Debugger Chrome extension.

SECTION 06 — How GA4 Tracks UTMs

How GA4 Tracks UTM Parameters

Understanding the mechanics of how GA4 processes UTMs helps you debug issues and set appropriate expectations for reporting.

Finding UTM Data in GA4

• Traffic acquisition: Reports > Acquisition > Traffic acquisition. Shows Session source/medium, Session campaign, Default channel group.

• User acquisition: Reports > Acquisition > User acquisition. First-touch source/medium for new users specifically.

• Explorations: Explore > Blank. Add UTM dimensions alongside conversion metrics for deep custom analysis.

• DebugView: Configure > DebugView. Real-time parameter verification per device. Essential for QA and testing.

SECTION 07 — Klaviyo Platform Guide

Klaviyo has built-in UTM tracking — but default settings do not always match your GA4 taxonomy, and platform auto-tracking can conflict with manually set UTMs if both are enabled at the same time.

How Klaviyo Auto-UTM Works

Klaviyo automatically appends UTM parameters to all email and SMS links when UTM Tracking is enabled in account settings. Default values are:

Three Levels of UTM Configuration in Klaviyo

Recommended Klaviyo UTM Template

Common Klaviyo UTM Issues & Fixes

Klaviyo to GA4 Verification Checklist

Send a test email, click all links, check GA4 Realtime for correct source/medium/campaign

Verify no duplicate ? or & symbols appear in the tracked URL

Confirm Klaviyo click-tracking redirect passes query strings through to destination

Check utm_medium=email routes to the Email channel in GA4 Default Channel Groups

Verify flow and campaign UTMs use consistent naming conventions across both

SECTION 08 — Salesforce Platform Guide

Salesforce Marketing Cloud and Salesforce CRM interact with UTMs differently. The highest-value goal is passing UTM data captured from GA4 into Salesforce Lead records so Sales teams can see which campaigns generated each opportunity.

Part A: Salesforce Marketing Cloud (SFMC) UTMs

SFMC manages UTMs through Email Studio, Journey Builder, and a centralized Parameter Manager. Configuration level determines scope of application.

SFMC EMAIL STUDIO — PARAMETER MANAGER

Navigate to Email Studio > Admin > Parameter Manager to set default UTM values for all email links. SFMC uses AMPscript substitution strings for dynamic values.

JOURNEY BUILDER UTMS

Part B: Passing UTM Data Into Salesforce CRM

Connecting the marketing touchpoint to the Salesforce Lead record lets your Sales team know exactly which campaign generated each lead, enabling true revenue attribution by campaign.

Common Salesforce UTM Issues & Fixes

SECTION 09 — Advanced

Custom UTM Parameters & GA4 Custom Dimensions

Standard UTMs tell you source, medium, and campaign. But what if you also need to track product category, trip type, offer variant, or color at the URL level? Custom URL parameters, used alongside UTMs, enable this granular attribution.

What Are Custom URL Parameters?

Custom URL parameters are extra key-value pairs appended to a URL alongside standard UTMs. GA4 does not capture them automatically, but with a GTM + GA4 Custom Dimensions setup, they can be captured, stored, and reported like any other analytics dimension.

4-Step Process to Track Custom Parameters

ℹ User-Scoped vs Event-Scoped Custom Dimensions

For marketing attribution, always use User-scoped custom dimensions. They persist throughout the user journey across multiple sessions. Event-scoped dimensions only capture data per individual interaction and cannot reliably support attribution analysis.

SECTION 10 — Advanced: Cross-Domain

Transferring UTM Parameters Across Domains with GTM

A common tracking gap occurs when you drive traffic to an intermediate landing page, and users then navigate to a second domain to convert (such as an app store, payment gateway, or partner site). GA4 attributes the conversion to the intermediate domain, erasing your original campaign UTMs.

When This Problem Occurs

• You drive traffic to landingpage.com with UTM parameters in the URL.

• The visitor clicks a CTA and is redirected to appstore.com or a payment page.

• A conversion fires on the destination domain. GA4 credits the intermediate domain — not the original utm_source.

• This happens when cross-domain tracking cannot be implemented on the destination — for example, Shopify App Store, Apple App Store, third-party booking platforms, or external payment processors.

GTM Solution — Version 2 (Recommended)

This script scans all links on your page. For any link pointing to a domain in your target list, it appends the UTM parameters from the current page URL before the user clicks through.

GTM Trigger for This Script

• Trigger Type: DOM Ready

• Fire on: Some DOM Ready Events — Page URL matches RegEx: utm_medium=|utm_source=|utm_campaign=

SECTION 11 — Advanced: Cookies

Saving UTM Parameters in Cookies for Form Attribution

UTM parameters are stripped from the URL as soon as a user navigates to a second page. If your lead capture forms are on a different page from the landing page, UTM data is lost before the form is submitted. The solution: store UTM values in a first-party cookie on landing, then read the cookie to auto-populate hidden form fields.

The Problem

• User clicks a UTM link and lands on page 1 — parameters are visible in the URL.

• User navigates to page 2 — URL parameters are dropped by the browser.

• User fills in a form on page 2. Hidden UTM fields are empty because parameters are gone.

• CRM record is created with no source, medium, or campaign data.

GTM Solution — Persist Campaign Data Template

COOKIE POPULATION SCRIPT (GTM CUSTOM HTML TAG)

(function () {

var value = "{{1st Party Cookie for persist}}";

if (!value) return;

function getUTMParameter(url, param) {

try {

return new URLSearchParams(new URL(url).search).get(param);

} catch (e) {

return null;

}

var utmSource = getUTMParameter(value, "utm_source");

var utmMedium = getUTMParameter(value, "utm_medium");

var utmCampaign = getUTMParameter(value, "utm_campaign");

var utmContent = getUTMParameter(value, "utm_content");

function populateFields() {

var map = {

source: utmSource,

medium: utmMedium,

campaign: utmCampaign,

content: utmContent

};

for (var key in map) {

if (!map[key]) continue;

var fields = document.querySelectorAll("input[name='" + key + "']");

for (var i = 0; i < fields.length; i++) {

fields[i].value = map[key];

}

}

}

populateFields();

// Re-trigger for dynamically injected forms (e.g. popups)

var observer = new MutationObserver(populateFields);

observer.observe(document.body, { childList: true, subtree: true });

})();

💡 First-Touch vs Last-Touch Attribution

Only write the cookie if it does not already exist to preserve first-touch attribution. For last-touch, always overwrite. For full multi-touch attribution, use a dedicated tool (Triple Whale, Northbeam, Rockerbox) that integrates with both GA4 and Salesforce.

SECTION 12 — Troubleshooting

Fixing Common UTM Problems

SECTION 13 — Checklist

Complete Implementation Checklist

Use this checklist before launching any new campaign and as part of regular UTM governance audits.

One-Time Setup

Created a shared UTM taxonomy document with approved values for source, medium, and campaign format

Implemented dropdown validation in the UTM spreadsheet to prevent typos

Established lowercase-only, hyphen-separated naming convention documented for all teams

Created custom UTM fields on Salesforce Lead object (if applicable)

Set up hidden UTM fields on all lead capture forms with JavaScript auto-population

Configured UTM cookie persistence script for multi-page journeys

Verified GA4 channel grouping rules align with all utm_medium values in use

Configured Klaviyo or SFMC UTM templates at the account/global level

Per Campaign

Built all UTM URLs using the team spreadsheet or approved builder tool

Verified all three required parameters are present: source, medium, campaign

Tested at least one UTM URL in GA4 Realtime or DebugView before launch

Confirmed no redirects strip UTM parameters across the full redirect chain

Verified platform auto-UTM is not double-applying on top of manually set params

Confirmed utm_content values are unique per creative or link variant

Added a GA4 annotation noting the campaign start date

Post-Campaign Audit

Checked Traffic acquisition report for expected source/medium/campaign appearance

Verified no (not set) campaign values appeared from this campaign

Confirmed Salesforce Lead records have UTM fields populated correctly

Reviewed for duplicate campaign name variants and fixed conventions going forward

Updated the UTM taxonomy document with any new approved values used in this campaign