What are UTM tags and why does your business need them?
A quick guide to link parameters for analytics, common mistakes, and how to tag ad campaigns correctly.
UTM tags (Urchin Tracking Module) are parameters added to a link. They send detailed information to web analytics (e.g. Yandex.Metrika and Google Analytics) about where the user came from and which ad they clicked.
Without UTM tags you invest in marketing blindly. You spent money on VK, Yandex.Direct and Telegram — 1000 visitors and 10 orders. Without UTM you won’t know which channel brought paying customers. Proper tagging lets you turn off ineffective sources and scale the ones that work.
Required and optional parameters explained
- utm_source (campaign source) — required. The platform or site sending traffic: yandex, vk, google, telegram.
- utm_medium (traffic type) — required. Ad format: cpc, email, social, banner.
- utm_campaign (campaign name) — required. Campaign identifier: black_friday_2026, retargeting_b2b.
- utm_content (content) — optional. For A/B testing creatives: banner_red, text_short.
- utm_term (keyword) — optional. Keyword in paid search: kupit_crm, sozdat_sayt.
3 common link-tagging mistakes
- Spaces and Cyrillic. URLs don’t support spaces or Cyrillic — the link breaks or turns into long encoding. The builder automatically transliterates text and replaces spaces with safe characters.
- Inconsistent case. In analytics, Yandex, yandex and YANDEX are three different sources; stats get split. Always use lowercase.
- UTM on internal links. Tagging an in-site link (e.g. “Contact”) overwrites the visit source (e.g. Direct). For in-site clicks use analytics goals and events, not UTM.
Frequently asked questions
How to check if tagging works and whether you can shorten long links.
How do I check if my UTM is working?
Generate the link, visit your site through it, click around, then open Yandex.Metrika reports (Sources summary or UTM tags) or Google Analytics (Acquisition). If your visit shows up with the right parameters, you’re set. Note that data can take 10–15 minutes to appear.
Can I shorten long UTM links?
Yes. A link with five UTM parameters can look bulky in social posts. After generating, run the URL through any shortener (e.g. bit.ly, clck.ru, vk.cc). All parameters will still be passed to analytics.
Should each channel be tagged separately?
Yes. Each source (Yandex.Direct, VK, email, banner) should have its own utm_source and utm_medium. That way you see which channel brings leads and sales and which only spends budget.
What if UTM parameters don’t show in reports?
Make sure your analytics tag is on all pages and not blocked. Check that the link was opened in the same browser without ad blockers. Data can be delayed — wait 15–30 minutes and refresh the report.
When to update UTM when changing creatives?
Change utm_content for each new banner, ad copy or landing page. That lets you compare creatives in the UTM report or content summary. Keep utm_campaign stable for one ad campaign.
Do I need UTM for organic traffic?
For regular search and unpaid social — no. Search and social are already reported as sources. Use UTM only for paid campaigns, email, partner links and posts with a clear call to click.