GLOSSARY · 5 min read

UTM Parameters Explained: The Five Fields

UTM parameters are the tags that tell your analytics and CRM where a visitor came from. Here’s what each of the five fields means, with examples, and where they break.

UTM parameters are small tags added to the end of a link that tell your analytics and CRM where a click came from. When someone clicks a tagged link, those tags travel in the URL and can be recorded, so you know the visitor arrived from, say, a LinkedIn post in your spring campaign rather than showing up as “direct” or “unknown.” They’re the foundation of channel-level marketing attribution.

The five UTM fields

A complete tag uses five parameters. utm_source is the originating channel or referrer (google, linkedin, newsletter, a partner’s name). utm_medium is how they arrived (organic, cpc, email, social, referral). utm_campaign is the specific initiative (spring-webinar, q3-guide). utm_content is which ad, link, or asset they clicked (hero-cta, variant-b). utm_term is the search keyword, for paid search. Together they turn an anonymous visit into a labeled one.

First touch, last touch, and where UTMs break

For attribution to be useful, each field should be captured twice, once at first touch and once at last touch, and stored as data on the CRM record, where it never expires. The catch is that UTMs are fragile. Landing-page builders and redirects strip them, forms fail to capture them, and CRMs don’t carry them to the deal. That chain of break points is the attribution gap, and it’s why so many companies have UTM tags but still can’t tie revenue to a channel. See also: passing UTMs into HubSpot.

Frequently asked questions

What are the five UTM parameters?
utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign, utm_content, and utm_term. Source and medium are the most important; the others add campaign, creative, and keyword detail.
Do UTM parameters expire?
The tags themselves don’t expire, and when their values are stored as fields on a CRM record they persist indefinitely — unlike a Google Click ID (GCLID), which expires after 90 days. That’s why source/medium fields are the durable backbone of attribution.

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