Naming & governance guide

UTM naming convention: rules, template and examples

A UTM naming convention is a one-page set of rules for how your team fills in each UTM parameter: an approved list of sources and mediums, one pattern for campaign names, and formatting rules (lowercase, one separator, no spaces). It is what keeps "Facebook", "facebook" and "fb" from becoming three rows in your reports.

By Rahul D Sarker · Updated October 24, 2026

The rules for each parameter

Every value is lowercase, uses only letters, numbers and hyphens, and stays under 100 characters. Source, medium and campaign are required on every link. The full checks are in the UTM parameter validation rules.

Parameter	Rule	Allowed values	Example
utm_source	Who sends the traffic: the platform, publication or list.	google, linkedin, facebook, newsletter, partner-name	linkedin
utm_medium	The channel type. Only values GA4 maps to a channel.	cpc, display, social, email, affiliate, referral, sms, video	social
utm_campaign	[team]-[theme]-[yyyy-mm]. Always include a date or version.	Pattern, not a list	growth-spring-sale-2026-04
utm_content	Which ad, link or placement. Splits variants of one campaign.	Free text	video-a
utm_term	Paid search keyword only. Blank everywhere else.	Free text	utm-builder
utm_id	Campaign ID, when you import cost data into GA4.	Your internal ID	cmp-0142

Download the template (CSV)

How to name campaigns

Campaign names cause most of the drift, because they are the one value people type fresh each time. Use a fixed pattern: [team]-[theme]-[yyyy-mm], for example growth-spring-sale-2026-04. The team prefix stops two departments from reusing the same name for different work, and the date stops this year's spring sale from merging with last year's.

Lead with the theme if you mostly compare campaign types over time; lead with the date if you review by month or quarter. Either works, as long as everyone uses the same order.

Worked examples

One campaign across four channels, all reporting into the same campaign row:

Newsletter
https://example.com/sale?utm_source=weekly-newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=growth-spring-sale-2026-04&utm_content=hero-banner
LinkedIn ad
https://example.com/sale?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=growth-spring-sale-2026-04&utm_content=video-a
Organic post
https://example.com/sale?utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=growth-spring-sale-2026-04
Partner
https://example.com/sale?utm_source=partner-acme&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=partnerships-acme-launch-2026-q2

Getting a team to follow it

Conventions fail because they live in a document nobody opens. Four things make them stick: keep the rules to one page; name one owner who approves new values; walk every new hire and agency through it before their first link; and review your analytics for drift each quarter. See UTM governance as your team grows and how to clean up messy UTM data.

The most effective step is moving the rules into the tool people use to make links. In UTMLoop an admin sets the allowed values for each parameter; everyone else picks from those lists, values are lowercased automatically, and a link that breaks the rules is blocked before it is saved, whether it comes from the app, the API, the WordPress plugin or an AI assistant.

Frequently asked questions

What is a UTM naming convention?

A short, written set of rules for how your team fills in each UTM parameter: the allowed values for source and medium, a pattern for campaign names, and formatting rules such as lowercase and one separator. It keeps every link reporting into the same rows in Google Analytics.

Should UTM values use hyphens or underscores?

Either works. Pick one for the whole team, because spring-sale and spring_sale are reported as two different campaigns. This template uses hyphens.

Should campaign names start with the date or the theme?

Lead with whatever your team filters by most. If you mostly compare campaign types over time, lead with the theme; if you review by month or quarter, lead with the date. Either way, always include a date or version so next year's campaign doesn't merge with this one.

How do you get a team to follow a UTM naming convention?

Keep it to one page, give it an owner, show worked examples, and put the rules in the tool people use to make links, so allowed values are picked from a list instead of typed from memory.

How often should a UTM naming convention be reviewed?

Quarterly, and whenever you add a new channel or agency. Compare the source, medium and campaign values in your analytics against the convention and fix the drift.