Are your Google Ads campaigns bringing in traffic, but you’re not sure which keywords or ad groups are actually driving conversions? Maybe you’re spending thousands on ads each month but can’t tell exactly where your marketing budget is making the biggest impact. If you’re nodding your head, you need to set up UTM parameters in Google Ads.
When set up correctly, Google Ads UTM parameters give you crystal-clear data about which ads are working, which keywords are worth their cost, and where you might be wasting your budget. Don’t waste your marketing budget on your lowest-performing campaigns any longer!
In this guide, I’ll show you exactly how to set up and use UTM parameters in Google Ads. You’ll learn which tools make the process easier, how to implement tracking correctly, how the dynamic UTM parameters work, and how to use the data to optimize your campaigns.
In this article:
Before diving into the technical details of setting up your parameters, let’s look at the tools that will make tracking your Google Ads campaigns much easier.
I won’t include the analytics inside your Google Ads account here, but of course, that’s an important tool you’ll be using.
1. Google Analytics 4 (GA4)
Google Analytics is your foundation for UTM tracking. It goes beyond the analytics you can find in your Google Ads campaigns by showing you not just how many clicks you’re getting but also what those visitors that click are doing on your site. Find out things like:
- How long users from Google Ads are spending on your site
- Whether your Google Ads clickers are completing any other events
- Which pages those paid visitors are looking at besides your landing page
- Whether or not your paid visitors are engaged with your content
Google Analytics is free and integrates directly with Google Ads, providing you with much more detailed insights into how your campaigns perform.
For more on Google Ads and Google Analytics, check out How to Find Google Ads Reports in Google Analytics (GA4).
2. MonsterInsights
If you’re using WordPress, MonsterInsights is the easiest way to track your paid traffic. If you have an eCommerce website, you can use MonsterInsights to install your Google Ads conversion tracking snippet quickly and easily, without touching any code:
Then, whether you’ve got an eCommerce site or not, you can glance at how your paid traffic is doing at any time in your WordPress dashboard. Check your Campaigns report to see traffic by campaign, including your Google Ads campaigns:
Plus, MonsterInsights comes with other features like:
Get started with MonsterInsights now.
3. Google Campaign URL Builder
Google’s free URL builder tool helps you create properly formatted UTM parameters for your ads. You can create one URL at a time, then copy and paste your parameters wherever you need them to go.
It also has a built-in link shortener, so if you’re creating a link for social media, for example, you may want to use a shortened link.
4. UTM.io
For larger Google Ads accounts or teams running many campaigns across different platforms, UTM.io offers advanced features and acts like a database for your UTM parameters. You can add your teammates to it, use its built-in URL builder tool or Chrome extension, track shortened URLs, and more.
Their paid plans start at $19/month, but they also offer a free plan for basic needs.
Google Ads UTM Parameters List
This is the list of UTM parameters you should be using in Google Ads:
- Source (utm_source)
- Medium (utm_medium)
- Campaign (utm_campaign)
- Content (utm_content)
- Term (utm_term)
Source (utm_source)
For Google Ads, you’ll always want to set your source as: utm_source=google
This ensures that all of your paid traffic will be categorized correctly in your Google Analytics reports. Otherwise, you may create problems categorizing traffic, causing (not set) or other error-type responses in your reports.
Medium (utm_medium)
For Google Ads, you’ll always want to set your medium as: utm_medium=cpc
Just like with your source, keeping the correct medium for paid traffic (cpc) is highly suggested. Otherwise, you may trigger (not set) issues or other data miscategorizations.
While it might seem simple, keeping source and medium consistent is crucial for accurate tracking.
Campaign Parameter (utm_campaign)
The utm_campaign parameter is where you can get more creative with tracking specific campaigns. The campaign doesn’t need to match any specific term in Google Analytics to be tracked properly, so you can essentially make it whatever you want.
For example, if you were running a spring sale in the year 2025, your campaign might be utm_campaign=spring_sale_25
Important tip: Create a naming convention for your campaigns and stick to it. This makes analysis much easier later. Consider including elements like:
- Season or time period
- Product category
- Campaign type
- Year
Content Parameter (utm_content)
This is particularly valuable for tracking specific ad variants and allows you to A/B test your ads. The utm_content parameter helps you track:
For example, if you were running two ads with the same content except for the call to action in order to see which one compelled more users to click and convert, you might use utm_content=cta_click_now versus utm_content=cta_find_out_more
Term Parameter (utm_term)
The utm_term parameter can be used to track which keywords are driving traffic to your site. Google Ads can dynamically populate this using the {keyword} parameter, so you may want to use utm_term={keyword}.
Setting Up UTM Tracking in Google Ads
There are three ways to add UTM parameters to your Google Ads campaigns: via auto-tagging, manually adding them to each URL, or dynamically using tracking templates. Let me show you the right way to do all three.
Automatic UTM Tagging
If you don’t need special, custom UTM parameters, you can allow Google Ads to auto-tag your URLs. I definitely recommend this method for Google Ads users who are just getting started and those running simpler campaigns.
Why? Well, when you allow Google Ads to auto-tag your URLs, you still get key data about your ads in Google Analytics. It’ll grab the campaign name, ad content, and keyword and query that triggered the ad.
If that’s all the information you need, auto-tagging is the best, easiest, most error-free way to set it up! Auto-tagging is enabled in every Google Ads account by default when you first set it up, so there’s nothing that you have to do to turn it on.
Manual UTM Tagging
While I don’t recommend this method for large campaigns, it’s useful when you’re just getting started or testing a few ads. Here’s an example:
https://www.example.com/product?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=spring_sale_25&utm_content=green_headlineYou’d need to generate your own UTM-tagged URL like the above for each of your ads and set it as your landing page. This method has the most potential for human error.
The last method I’ll show you is tracking templates.
Using Tracking Templates + Dynamic UTM Parameters
Tracking templates let you add UTM parameters automatically to all your ads at once (or at the campaign or ad group level). You can use what are called ValueTrack parameters to dynamically add different bits of information to your content and term UTM parameters, which comes in handy.
For example, you can dynamically populate your UTMs with values that are most important to your campaigns, like:
- Campaign ID
- Match type
- Network (search, display, YouTube)
- Keyword
- Placement
- Geographical location of the click
Here’s how to set them up for your entire account:
- Log into your Google Ads account
- Click Admin in the left menu
- Click Account Settings
- Scroll to Tracking
To set different tracking templates for each campaign or ad group, open the campaign or ad group and click on the settings tab at the top:
To create your tracking template, fill in your source, medium, campaign, content, and term in the Final URL Suffix box. Here’s an example of what your template might look like when it’s done:
utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign={campaignid}&utm_content={network}&utm_term={keyword}
So, if someone clicks on your ad using that tracking template, you can break down your ads’ performance in Google Analytics by which campaign they’re in, which network they were served on, and which keyword was searched to make your ad appear.
For a full overview of all of the ValueTrack parameters available, check out Google’s help center.
Advanced Google Ads UTM Strategies
Once you’ve set up basic UTM tracking and you’re confident in your UTM tagging skills, you might decide to use more sophisticated strategies to gather deeper insights about your Google Ads performance. Let me show you some advanced techniques that can help you optimize your campaigns.
Campaign Performance Tracking
Instead of just tracking basic campaign names, you can create detailed UTM parameters that tell you more about your ads. For example:
utm_campaign=shoes_q1_2025_remarketing
This single parameter tells you:
- Product category (shoes)
- Time period (q1_2025)
- Campaign type (remarketing)
You have full control over what your campaign is called, so add what you need.
A/B Testing with UTM Parameters
One of the most powerful ways to use UTM parameters is for testing different ad elements. Here’s how to structure your parameters for effective testing:
utm_content=headline_version_a or utm_content=headline_version_b
Then in your Google Analytics dashboard, you can compare:
- Conversion rates
- Time on page
- Engagement rates
- Revenue (if you’re tracking eCommerce)
Custom UTM Parameters
If you want more opportunities to track more details about your ads, you can use custom UTM parameters. While you won’t find your custom UTM parameters in your Google Analytics dimensions, the data will still be in Google Analytics in the Pages report in your landing page URL/query string. So, you can filter your reports using your custom UTM parameter to isolate that data.
For more guidance on creating custom UTM parameters, check out Google’s help center.
Common Google Ads UTM Mistakes to Avoid
I’ve seen some UTM tracking mistakes that can completely derail your data. Here are the biggest ones to watch out for and how to fix them.
Mixing UTM Formats
The most common mistake I see is inconsistent UTM formatting across campaigns. For example: Wrong: utm_source=Google, utm_source=google, utm_source=GOOGLE Right: utm_source=google (always lowercase)
This might seem minor, but Google Analytics treats these as different traffic sources, splitting your data into separate channels and making accurate analysis impossible if you use different tags.
Overcomplicating Campaign Names
While it’s tempting to pack every detail into your campaign parameter, overly complex UTMs can become unmanageable. For example:
Too Complex: utm_campaign=2025_q1_spring_sale_running_shoes_free_shipping_display_remarketing
Better: utm_campaign=spring_sale_shoes_rem
Pro Tip: Create a simple naming convention document and share it with your team. This helps maintain consistency even when multiple people are managing campaigns.
Breaking Your Landing Pages
Another critical mistake is incorrectly structuring your URLs. Always make sure:
- Your base URL is correct before adding parameters
- Parameters start with a question mark (?)
- Multiple parameters are separated by ampersands (&)
- Special characters are properly encoded
- You’ve tested your full tagged URL before setting it as your ad landing page
Analyzing Your Google Ads UTM Data
To analyze the UTM parameters you used in your Google Ads, you’ll use Google Analytics.
First, make sure you’ve connected Google Ads and Google Analytics.
To see your campaign report, navigate to Acquisition » Acquisition overview. Then, scroll down until you see the Sessions by Session Google Ads Campaign card and click on View Google Ads campaigns.
Now, scroll down to the table to find all sorts of data for your Google Ads campaigns, such as ad clicks, ad cost, cost per click, conversions, revenue, and more.
To view more Google Ads reports in Google Analytics, just click the Session Google Ads campaign dropdown to see your data broken down by:
- Ad group name
- Keyword text
- Query
- Ad network type
- Google Ads account name
While this report is very comprehensive and can tell you a lot about how your ads are performing, you’ll notice that you don’t see your data here for parameters like utm_content and utm_term. If you want to view that data, you’ll need to create a custom report.
I’ll show you how to make the custom report you need, but if you’ve never built a custom report before, make sure to have a look at this tutorial first: How to Create Google Analytics 4 Custom Reports (Step by Step)
To build your custom Google Ads report, head to the Explore tab and start with a Blank template:
Next, select the dimensions you need in your report. Depending on which UTM parameters you use in your URLs, you’ll want to see different data. Here are a few dimensions to consider adding:
- Session Google Ads campaign = utm_campaign
- Session manual ad content = utm_content
- Session manual term = utm_term
- Session manual creative format = utm_creative_format
- Session manual source platform = utm_source_platform
You can also add a few other available Google Ads dimensions (like ad group name) if you want them in your report. Search for “session Google Ads” when adding dimensions to find them all.
Note that you’ll also need the Session source/medium dimension to filter your report to just Google Ads traffic.
Other dimensions you might find helpful (depending on what data you want to look at) are:
- Landing page
- Date
- Device category
- City or region
Once you’ve chosen your dimensions, you can drag a few that you want to look at together into the Rows section:
Now, choose some metrics to add to your report. I recommend these basic three to start:
- Sessions
- Engagement rate
- Key events
Others you might want to try would be:
- Average engagement time per session
- Add to carts
- Purchases
- Bounce rate
- New users
Then, go ahead and drag a few metrics over to the Values section:
Finally, you have to limit your report to traffic from your Google Ads campaigns. To do that, I’ll add the Session source/medium dimension as a filter and choose Exactly matches and google/cpc:
Once you apply that filter, you’ll have your custom report!
Go ahead and play around with the report—add different dimensions and metrics or add tabs to show different data you want to keep easily reachable.
Speaking of easily reachable data, want to access your campaign data quickly, right inside your WordPress dashboard?
With MonsterInsights, you can see your up-to-date Campaigns report anytime:
Plus, if you’re using Google Ads to bring more traffic to your eCommerce store, check this out: If you use MonsterInsights, you can easily install your Ads conversion tracking snippet on your site with just a couple of clicks.
To learn more about Google Ads conversion tracking, visit How to Set Up eCommerce Google Ads Conversion Tracking.
The best part is that there’s a lot more to MonsterInsights than setting up conversion tracking!
MonsterInsights is the best Google Analytics plugin for WordPress. It allows you to easily connect your WordPress site with Google Analytics, so you can view all the data that matters most right in your WordPress dashboard.
With the click of a button, you can set up sophisticated tracking features such as event tracking, eCommerce tracking, form tracking, custom dimension tracking, outbound link tracking, and more.
Learn about all of our features and get started with MonsterInsights today!
How to Make Data-Driven Improvements to Your Google Ads
The real value of UTM tracking comes from using the data to improve your Google Ads performance. Here are some specific ways to do that:
Look at your keyword, query, or term data to identify:
- Keywords driving conversions (increase bids)
- Keywords with high cost but low conversion (reduce bids or pause)
- New keyword opportunities from search terms
- Match-type performance patterns
For example, you might discover that broad match keywords cost more but bring in fewer qualified leads than exact match terms.
Your utm_content tracking can help you find out which messages resonate best with your audience. Use this to:
- Improve your headlines
- Refine your call-to-action text
- Test different value propositions
- Optimize your responsive search ads
Use your data at the campaign or ad group level to make smarter budget decisions. Look for:
- High-performing campaigns or ad groups that could scale with more budget
- Underperforming campaigns or ad groups that need optimization
- Time periods when your ads perform best
- Device or location patterns that affect performance
That’s it! You now have everything you need to implement effective UTM tracking for your Google Ads campaigns. Remember, the key to success is consistency in your tracking and regular analysis of your data.
I hope you liked this article about tracking UTM parameters from Google Ads. You might also want to check out:
Top 10 Google Ads Retargeting Best Practices
9 Facebook Ad Targeting Tips to Skyrocket Your Conversions
How to Track Meta (Facebook) Ads in Google Analytics Easily
How to Create a Data-Driven Marketing Strategy
Not using MonsterInsights yet? Get started today!
Stay connected with us on YouTube for the latest Google Analytics tips and tutorials.
Google Ads UTM Parameters FAQ
What are the UTM parameters in Google Ads?
UTM parameters in Google Ads are tags added to URLs to track campaign performance. These parameters include utm_source (traffic source), utm_medium (marketing medium), utm_campaign (campaign name), utm_term (keywords), and utm_content (ad content). Google Ads uses these to attribute traffic and conversions to specific campaigns, ads, and keywords.
How do I find Google Ads UTM parameters in Google Analytics?
Find UTM parameters in Google Analytics by navigating to the Acquisition section and clicking Acquisition overview. Then, select View Google Ads campaigns.
If you don’t see the UTM parameter data you need in this report, you’ll need to create a custom GA4 report.
Does Google Analytics automatically track Google Ads UTM parameters?
Google Analytics automatically tracks Google Ads UTM parameters if auto-tagging is enabled. Auto-tagging appends the gclid (Google Click Identifier) to ad URLs, which Google Analytics interprets to retrieve campaign details. For manual tagging, UTM parameters must be explicitly added to track campaign performance.
Can I change UTM parameters after a campaign is running?
While you can change them, I don’t recommend it unless absolutely necessary. Changing parameters mid-campaign makes it harder to analyze historical data.
What’s the difference between auto-tagging and UTM parameters?
Auto-tagging in Google Ads uses the gclid parameter, while using manual UTM parameters gives you more control over your tracking and allows you to send more data to Google Analytics.
