Adding UTM Parameters to Email Links

UTM parameters are short text codes added to the end of a URL that help analytics tools track exactly where website traffic comes from

A UTM parameter is a set of identifiers included at the end of your link’s web address that help you track who’s clicking on that link, where they are coming from, what offer that link was targeted for, and any other tracking information you’ve specified. These links are ideal for tracking campaign engagement. 

Analytics platforms, like Google Analytics 4 (GA4), are designed to parse these parameters and populate the resulting metrics in the platform’s dashboards, so you can easily see and monitor your campaign engagement.

Lead Gen & CRM automatically adds UTM parameters to the links of all emails. By default, the parameter is utm_source=sharpspring. However, this can be changed.

To start, create or edit an email from the Emails section of Lead Gen & CRM, and then add UTM parameters to the links in your email.

This article will explain how to add UTM parameters to email links.

 

• The structure of a UTM parameter
• Add links to non-button text in the new editor
• Add links to button text in the new editor
• Add links in the classic email editor
• Common questions about UTM parameters

 

Tip: Are you looking for information about Constant Contact’s Email and Digital Marketing product? This article is for Constant Contact’s Lead Gen & CRM product. Head on over to the Email and Digital Marketing articles by clicking here. Not sure what the difference is? Read this article.

---

  

 

Users:

Administrators	✓
Company Managers	✓
Marketing Managers	✓
Sales Managers
Salespersons
Jr. Salespersons

The structure of a UTM parameter

Required UTM parameters are utm_source, utm_medium, and utm_campaign. However, you can include additional parameters as necessary to get more detailed data from your campaign clicks. Google Analytics' Campaign URL Builder can help you create UTM parameter links. 

As an example, if you build a link with the above UTM parameters, it will look something like this: 

https://www.happytoys.com?utm_source=TikTok&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=spring_sale&utm_id=12345.abc&utm_term=airplane%2Btoys&utm_content=logolink

Add links to non-button text in the new editor

Complete these steps in the new email editor when adding links with UTM parameters to a text element that is not a button: 

1. Double-click in a text area of the email and highlight a piece of text.
2. Click the Link icon in the email content editor menu.
   
    
3. Build your UTM parameter and type or paste it into the URL field. For example: 
   http://www.happytoys.com/?utm_source=TikTok&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=spring_sale
    
   Note: UTM parameters are case-sensitive. Google's URL builder can help you generate parameters.
   
   
4. Click OK. 
   
    
5. Finish editing your email, then click Continue.
   
    
   

Add links to button text in the new editor

Complete these steps in the new email editor when adding links with UTM parameters to a button element:

1. Double-click in the text area of a button.
2. Under the Content tab enter your link with UTM parameters in the URL field. For example: http://www.happytoys.com/?utm_source=TikTok&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=spring_sale
    
   Note: UTM parameters are case-sensitive. Google's URL builder can help you generate parameters.
    
3. Finish editing your email and click Continue. 
   
    

Adding links in the classic email editor

Complete these steps in the classic email editor when adding links with UTM parameters to text:

1. Double-click in a text area of the email and highlight a piece of text.
2. Click the Link icon in the email content editor menu.
   
    
   
3. Enter your link with UTM parameters in the URL field. For example: http://www.happytoys.com/?utm_source=TikTok&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=spring_sale
    
   Note: UTM parameters are case-sensitive. Google's URL builder can help you generate parameters.
   
   
4. To finish editing your link, click Save. 
   
    
5. Finish editing your email and click Save.
   
    
   
   

Refer to the following articles for more information on creating and using UTM codes:

• Creating Campaigns
• Creating Campaign Attribution Reports

Common questions about UTM parameters

Should I use UTM parameters on links on my own website?

No. Using UTM tags on internal links overwrites the visitor's original traffic source in Google Analytics and can disrupt your campaign attribution data. Use internal event tracking instead.

Should I block UTM URLs in robots.txt?

No. Blocking them prevents search engine crawlers from discovering these links. Using canonical tags is the recommended solution.

How should spaces and special characters be handled in UTM tags?

Use hyphens (-) or underscores (_) instead of spaces when building your UTM parameter links. Raw spaces are turned into %20 or +, which can make reporting harder. 

What is the difference between utm_source and utm_medium?

utm_source identifies the specific platform or site sending traffic (for example: Facebook, TikTok, Google), while utm_medium identifies the broader channel category (for example: email, cpc, social).

Questions?