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What are UTMs? (Beginner Friendly)

UTM stands for Urchin Tracking Module.
They are small pieces of text you add to the end of a link (URL) so that your analytics tool — like Litlyx — can understand where your visitors came from and which campaigns work best. Think of UTMs as labels on your links:
  • Without UTM: you know visits are coming to your site, but not exactly from where.
  • With UTM: you know if a visit came from:
    • a specific newsletter
    • a Facebook ad
    • a Google Ads campaign
    • a particular post or button you shared
Example of a normal URL: 
https://yourwebsite.com/pricing
Example of the same URL with UTM parameters: 
https://yourwebsite.com/pricing?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=summer_launch
Litlyx reads these parameters and shows them to you inside your dashboard.

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Why should you use UTMs?

UTMs are essential for Ethical Marketing and Ethical Tracking, because they:
  • Tell you which channels work best
    • Is it email, organic social, paid ads, or SEO?
  • Show which campaigns bring the most conversions
    • You see which specific campaign brings signups or purchases.
  • Help you compare content variations
    • Example: compare two different images or call-to-action buttons.
  • Make your budget decisions data-driven
    • You can move budget from low-performing channels to high-performing ones.
With Litlyx, all of this is done in a privacy-first, GDPR-compliant, and ethical way. [Everything you should know about UTM – Litlyx]

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The 5 UTM Parameters (Explained Simply)

There are five standard UTM parameters. You do not need to use all of them every time, but you should at least use the main ones.

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1. utm_source (Where the traffic comes from)

Question it answers: “From which place did this visitor arrive?” Typical values:
  • google
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • newsletter
  • partner_website
Example: 
?utm_source=facebook
Use this to distinguish traffic between different platforms or sources.

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2. utm_medium (How the traffic arrived)

Question it answers: “What type of channel brought this visitor?” Typical values:
  • email
  • cpc (cost-per-click / paid ads)
  • social
  • referral
  • banner
Example: 
?utm_medium=email
Use this to group channels by type of marketing you are doing.

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3. utm_campaign (Which campaign it belongs to)

Question it answers: “Which marketing campaign is this visit part of?” Typical values:
  • summer_sale
  • black_friday_2025
  • product_launch
  • newsletter_march
Example: 
?utm_campaign=summer_sale
Use this to track performance at the level of a specific promotion or campaign.

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4. utm_term (Which keyword or term)

Question it answers: “Which keyword did the user search for?”
Mostly used in paid search campaigns (e.g., Google Ads). Typical values:
  • running_shoes
  • privacy_first_analytics
  • seo_agency
Example: 
?utm_term=running_shoes
Use this when you care about search keywords and want to connect them to behavior on your site.

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5. utm_content (Which version of the content)

Question it answers: “Which specific ad, button, or link was clicked?” Typical values:
  • image_a
  • image_b
  • cta_top
  • cta_footer
Example: 
?utm_content=image_a
Use this to A/B test creatives, buttons, or placements in a very granular way.

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Which UTMs are required?

Technically, tracking will work as soon as at least one UTM parameter is present, but best practice (and what many tools expect) is:
  • Always use:
    • utm_source
    • utm_medium
  • Add when needed:
    • utm_campaign (for any campaign)
    • utm_term (for paid search)
    • utm_content (for A/B tests or variations)
Litlyx supports all 5 UTM parameters, so you can go from simple tracking to very detailed analysis without leaving the privacy-first philosophy. [Everything you should know about UTM – Litlyx]

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How UTMs look inside a full URL

You add UTMs after a ? in the URL, and separate each parameter with &. Example: 
https://yourwebsite.com/signup?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=summer_launch&utm_content=cta_footer
Breakdown:
  • utm_source=newsletter → came from your email newsletter
  • utm_medium=email → the medium is email
  • utm_campaign=summer_launch → this click belongs to the “summer launch” campaign
  • utm_content=cta_footer → the user clicked the call-to-action in the footer

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Tracking UTMs in Litlyx

Litlyx automatically detects and tracks the 5 key UTM parameters:
  • utm_source
  • utm_medium
  • utm_campaign
  • utm_term
  • utm_content
Once your visitor lands on a page that contains these parameters:
  1. The Litlyx script or SDK collects them.
  2. They are sent to Litlyx Analytics.
  3. You can see them aggregated in your dashboard, respecting privacy and GDPR.
You do not need any extra complicated setup as long as:
  • Litlyx is correctly installed on your site (see Easy Setup and Quickstarts).
  • The URL your users click already includes UTM parameters.
You can create UTM links in two ways:
  • Manually (by typing the parameters yourself).
  • Using a UTM builder tool (recommended for teams).

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1. Decide where you want to send people

Example landing page: 
https://yourwebsite.com/pricing

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2. Choose your UTM values

Imagine you are sending an email about a summer sale:
  • utm_source=newsletter
  • utm_medium=email
  • utm_campaign=summer_sale
  • utm_content=cta_main

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3. Build the final URL

https://yourwebsite.com/pricing?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=summer_sale&utm_content=cta_main
Use this URL in:
  • your email button (e.g., “See the offer”),
  • a banner,
  • or a text link.
Litlyx will then show you how this exact campaign and link performed.

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Best practices for UTMs

To keep your campaign tracking clean, ethical, and easy to understand, follow these guidelines:
  • Be consistent
    • Decide on naming rules such as email, social, cpc and stick to them.
  • Keep names short and clear
    • Prefer summer_sale over our-amazing-summer-sale-2025-with-discounts.
  • Avoid spaces and special characters
    • Use lowercase and underscores: black_friday_2025.
  • Use UTMs only where needed
    • Do not add UTMs to internal links inside your own website; use them for external campaigns (emails, ads, social posts).
  • Test your links
    • Click each UTM link yourself and confirm:
      • the page loads,
      • Litlyx receives the visit,
      • UTMs appear correctly in the dashboard.

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UTMs and privacy (the Litlyx way)

UTM parameters are about campaigns and traffic sources, not about identifying individuals. With Litlyx:
  • You track how channels and campaigns perform.
  • You stay within GDPR-compliant, ethical marketing boundaries.
  • You avoid invasive tracking or fingerprinting.
This means you get useful marketing insights while still respecting your visitors’ privacy and choices. [Everything you should know about UTM – Litlyx]

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Example scenarios

Here are some real-world examples you can copy and adapt.

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Example 1: Newsletter campaign

  • Goal: Track how your monthly newsletter performs.
https://yourwebsite.com/blog/utm-guide?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=monthly_update

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Example 2: Facebook ad vs Google ad

  • Goal: Compare performance of platforms.
https://yourwebsite.com/signup?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=summer_launch
https://yourwebsite.com/signup?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=summer_launch

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Example 3: A/B test on a button

  • Goal: Compare two CTAs in the same email.
https://yourwebsite.com/pricing?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=summer_sale&utm_content=cta_top
https://yourwebsite.com/pricing?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=summer_sale&utm_content=cta_footer
You can then see which button position drives more clicks and conversions in Litlyx.

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Summary

  • UTMs are labels you add to URLs to understand where visitors come from and which campaigns work.
  • The 5 key parameters are:
    • utm_source
    • utm_medium
    • utm_campaign
    • utm_term
    • utm_content
  • Litlyx tracks all of them in a privacy-first, GDPR-compliant, and ethical way.
  • Use consistent, clear naming and test your links before launching campaigns.
Once your UTMs are live and Litlyx is installed, open your Litlyx Dashboard to see which channels, campaigns, and creatives truly drive results.