UTM tracking for creators: where your sales come from
How to use UTM parameters to see which video, post or email brings sign-ups and sales: the parameters, a naming convention, mistakes and an example.
You published three videos, two posts, a newsletter and a live stream. The launch brings 40 sales. Which piece of content drove them? Without a system for tracking links, the answer is a guess. With UTM parameters, it's data.
This guide explains what UTM parameters are, which to use, how to name them and how to read the results, without expensive tools.
What are UTM parameters?
Name-value pairs added to the end of a link, after a question mark. They don't change the page that opens: they just tell your analytics tool where the visit came from. A course page link with UTMs might look like this:
https://yoursite.com/course?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=october-launch&utm_content=audio-mistakes
Visitors see the same page; you see that this visit came from the audio-mistakes video published on YouTube for the October launch.
Which parameters should you use?
Google Analytics' help page on URL builders lists the parameters and says you should always use utm_source, utm_medium and utm_campaign.
| Always use | Example | |
|---|---|---|
| utm_source: the source (youtube, newsletter, instagram) | Yes | Yes |
| utm_medium: the medium (video, email, social, cpc) | Yes | Yes |
| utm_campaign: the campaign (october-launch) | Yes | Yes |
| utm_content: the specific creative (audio-mistakes) | Often | Yes |
| utm_term: the paid keyword | Rarely | Often |
Our summary of Google Analytics' help page 'URL builders: Collect campaign data with custom URLs'.
In addition, Google notes that missing parameters show up as "(not set)" in reports and that values are case-sensitive: utm_source=google and utm_source=Google are two different values.
How do you choose names?
With a simple convention, written in a spreadsheet and always used:
- all lowercase, words separated by hyphens;
- fixed sources: youtube, instagram, tiktok, newsletter, podcast, partner-name;
- fixed mediums: video, social, email, audio, cpc;
- campaigns with dates: october-2026-launch, evergreen, november-webinar;
- descriptive content: the video's topic or the email's subject.
In practice, a spreadsheet listing every link you create, with date and content, stops you inventing different names for the same thing.
A reading example
A creator launches a course across four channels: newsletter, YouTube, Instagram and a collaboration with another creator. Every link to the sales page has its own UTMs. After the launch, the report shows 1,200 sales page visits: 500 from Instagram, 400 from YouTube, 200 from the newsletter, 100 from the collaboration. Looking at purchases, though, the picture flips: 22 sales from the newsletter, 9 from YouTube, 6 from the collaboration, 3 from Instagram. Instagram brings plenty of visits but few people ready to buy; the newsletter brings few visits but 11% of them buy. Also, the YouTube video with the most sales, identified via utm_content, isn't the one with the most views. As a result, at the next launch he uses Instagram to bring people onto the newsletter rather than straight to the sales page. In practice, UTMs shift attention from visits to sales. The numbers are our example.
How do you connect UTMs to sales?
For example, your analytics tool must record the purchase as an event or conversion, and your course platform must pass that information. Many platforms do; check your platform's documentation. If that's not possible, a simple workaround is to look at visits to the post-purchase thank-you page, split by source. The metrics to follow are in creator metrics that matter.
Moreover, analytics tools may require cookie consent, as we explain in cookies and privacy for creator websites: data collected only with consent will be partial, and that's fine.
Which mistakes should you avoid?
- Different names for the same source. "Instagram", "ig" and "insta" become three rows.
- UTMs on internal links. They overwrite the visit's real origin.
- Forgetting utm_campaign. Without it, you can't tell one launch from another.
- Only looking at visits. Sign-ups and sales are what count.
- Long links spoken aloud. Use a short redirecting address.
Key terms. A UTM parameter is a tag added to a link to track its origin. Source is where a visit comes from; medium is the type of channel. A conversion is the action you want to measure, such as a sign-up or purchase.
How we checked. We found no independent data on how many creators tag their links, so we don't quote figures. We read Google Analytics' help page "URL builders: Collect campaign data with custom URLs". The naming convention and example are ours. Contact: hi@heytea.app. Editorial note: we check every figure against the sources listed below and correct mistakes openly.
Frequently asked questions
What are UTM parameters?
Bits of text added to the end of a link that tell your analytics tool where a visit came from: which source, medium and campaign. For example, a course page link with utm_source=youtube and utm_medium=video tells you that visit came from a YouTube video.
Which UTM parameters should you use?
Google Analytics says you should always use utm_source, utm_medium and utm_campaign. utm_content differentiates creatives within a campaign, utm_term is for paid keywords and utm_id is a campaign ID. For creators, the first three plus utm_content are almost always enough.
Are UTM parameters case-sensitive?
Yes. Google Analytics treats utm_source=youtube and utm_source=YouTube as different values. That's why you need a simple convention, such as all lowercase with no spaces, written in a shared spreadsheet.
Should you use UTMs on internal site links?
Better not. UTMs are for links that bring people to your site from outside: social, email, collaborations, ads. On internal links they overwrite the visit's real origin and muddle the data.
Do UTMs work for podcasts or videos?
Yes, in show notes or video descriptions. For links spoken aloud, which nobody types with parameters, use a short dedicated address that redirects to a link carrying the UTMs.
Sources
- Google Analytics, "URL builders: Collect campaign data with custom URLs". Accessed 19 October 2026. support.google.com