For Google Ads campaigns
Build URLs with proper utm_source=google and utm_medium=cpc tagging.
Generated URL
Copy a starter, then tweak it for your campaign.
Search ad
https://example.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign={_campaign}&utm_content={_creative}
Performance Max
https://example.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=pmax&utm_campaign={_campaign}
Shopping ad
https://example.com/p/sku-42?utm_source=google&utm_medium=shopping&utm_campaign={_campaign}
Search with keyword capture
https://example.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign={_campaign}&utm_term={keyword}&utm_content={creative}
Display campaign
https://example.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign={_campaign}&utm_content={creative}
Final URL suffix (paste into Google Ads)
utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign={_campaign}&utm_content={_creative}
Google Ads auto-tagging (gclid) feeds GA4 directly, but if you also report in Mixpanel, Amplitude, or your data warehouse, you still need UTMs.
Use utm_source=google, utm_medium=cpc, utm_campaign={_campaign}, and utm_content={_creative} ValueTrack parameters so tags are populated dynamically per impression.
The right place to put UTMs in Google Ads is the 'final URL suffix' — settable at account, campaign, or ad group level. Set it once at the account level with ValueTrack placeholders and every ad in the account tags itself consistently. Editing final URLs directly is worse in two ways: it's manual per-ad work, and changing a final URL can send the ad back through review.
Understand parallel tracking if you use a tracking template: Google loads your landing page immediately and fires tracking redirects in the background. This is good for speed, but it means any redirect-based measurement must be server-side capable. Plain UTMs on the final URL suffix sidestep all of that — they arrive as part of the landing URL, no redirect involved.
Keep auto-tagging on even with UTMs in place. gclid powers Google's own conversion attribution, offline conversion imports, and smart bidding feedback. UTMs power everything Google doesn't touch: your warehouse, product analytics, CRM source fields, and multi-platform dashboards. The two are complementary, and GA4 can be configured to prefer either when both are present.
Match your utm_medium to the campaign type or you'll regret it during reporting season: cpc for Search, display for Display, shopping for Shopping, pmax (or a documented equivalent) for Performance Max, paid-video for YouTube campaigns. Performance Max especially benefits from its own medium — its traffic spans surfaces with wildly different behavior, and you'll want it separable from pure Search.
The most common failure mode is silent template drift: someone edits a campaign's final URL suffix, or a new campaign launches without inheriting the account default, and weeks of traffic land untagged or double-tagged. A monthly audit — click a live ad, inspect the landing URL — takes minutes and catches it. Also check that your landing pages don't redirect and strip query strings; a canonical redirect that drops parameters destroys both gclid and UTMs at once.
Tag every Search ad so non-GA platforms can attribute conversions back to the keyword campaign. ValueTrack's {keyword} can even carry the matched keyword into utm_term.
Use ValueTrack so each asset group's traffic is automatically tagged without manual work, and give PMax its own utm_medium so its mixed-surface traffic stays separable from Search.
Distinguish Display, Shopping, and Search in reporting using utm_medium variants like 'display' and 'shopping'.
UTMs captured into hidden form fields or session storage give your CRM a campaign source per lead — attribution that survives long B2B sales cycles where gclid-based reporting can't follow.
Set one final URL suffix at account level with ValueTrack placeholders, then audit monthly. One setting, every ad tagged, no per-ad maintenance.
Pre-configured variants tuned to specific platforms and use cases.
For LinkedIn campaigns
Tag every LinkedIn post, ad, and InMail with consistent UTMs.
Open variantFor Facebook & Meta campaigns
Tag Facebook posts and Meta Ads with attribution-ready UTMs.
Open variantFor email campaigns
Build trackable URLs for newsletters, lifecycle, and outbound email.
Open variantFor Instagram campaigns
Tag bio links, Stories, and Reels with consistent Instagram UTMs.
Open variantFor TikTok campaigns
Tag TikTok bio links and Spark Ads with attribution-ready UTMs.
Open variantFor YouTube descriptions and ads
Tag every link in your video descriptions and YouTube Ads.
Open variantFor X / Twitter campaigns
Tag every tweet, thread, and X Ad with attribution-ready UTMs.
Open variantFor Reddit posts and ads
Tag organic posts, comments, and Reddit Ads with proper UTMs.
Open variantFor Pins and Promoted Pins
Tag every Pin and Promoted Pin so traffic is attributable in your analytics.
Open variant