How to Check UTM Tags in Google Analytics

Tracking your marketing campaigns with UTM tags is a great first step, but the real value comes from finding and analyzing that data inside Google Analytics. Knowing exactly where to look is how you turn raw click data into actionable insights about what’s working and what isn't. This guide will show you precisely where to find your UTM data in both Google Analytics 4 and the older Universal Analytics (UA).

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A Quick Refresher: What Are UTM Tags?

Before we dive into the reports, let’s quickly recap what UTM tags are. UTM (Urchin Tracking Module) parameters are simple snippets of text added to the end of a URL. They don't change the destination of the link, but they give Google Analytics specific information about where the click came from. When a user clicks a UTM-tagged link, that data is sent to your GA property, allowing you to attribute traffic to specific campaigns.

There are five standard UTM parameters:

• utm_source: The platform or website that sent the traffic (e.g., facebook, google, mailchimp).
• utm_medium: The marketing medium or channel (e.g., cpc, social, email).
• utm_campaign: The specific campaign, promotion, or initiative you're running (e.g., summer_sale_2024, newsletter_promo).
• utm_content: Used to differentiate between links or ads within the same campaign (e.g., blue_button, header_link). This is optional.
• utm_term: Used to identify paid search keywords (e.g., utm_term=data_analytics_software). This is also optional.

A URL with these tags might look like this:

https://www.yourwebsite.com/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=summer_sale

Using these consistently is the key to understanding your marketing performance at a granular level. Now, let's find this valuable data.

Where to Find UTM Data in Google Analytics 4

Google has shifted its reporting in GA4 to be more user and event-focused. While the interface is different from Universal Analytics, finding your campaign data is still straightforward. The main place you'll go is the Traffic acquisition report.

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Step 1: Navigate to the Traffic Acquisition Report

First, log in to your Google Analytics 4 account. From the left-hand navigation menu, follow these steps:

1. Click on Reports.
2. Expand the Acquisition section.
3. Click on Traffic acquisition.

This report shows you the data organized by the traffic sources that brought new sessions to your website or app. By default, it uses a dimension called "Session default channel grouping," which provides a high-level overview (e.g., Direct, Organic Search, Paid Social).

Step 2: Change the Primary Dimension to View UTM Parameters

This is where you'll uncover your UTM data. The default channel groupings are useful, but we need to see the specific parameters you set in your campaigns.

In the report table, click the small dropdown arrow next to the current primary dimension, which is likely set to "Session default channel grouping."

A search box and a list of alternative dimensions will appear. To view your UTM data, select one of the following:

• Session source / medium: This is the most common and useful dimension. It combines your utm_source and utm_medium parameters, giving you a clear view like "facebook / cpc" or "google / organic."
• Session campaign: This dimension shows you the data for your utm_campaign names. It’s perfect for comparing the performance of different campaigns side-by-side.
• Session source: Use this to see only the utm_source.
• Session medium: Use this to see only the utm_medium.

Once you select one of these, the report will update to show your traffic and engagement metrics broken down by the specific UTMs you used.

Step 3: Add Secondary Dimensions for Deeper Analysis

What about utm_content and utm_term? These don't have their own standalone reports by default, so you need to add them as a secondary dimension. This lets you drill down even further.

For example, let’s say you’ve set your primary dimension to Session campaign and want to see which ad creative (utm_content) performed best within that campaign.

1. Next to the primary dimension dropdown, click the blue "+" icon.
2. A search box will appear. Here, you’ll search for the specific dimension you need. The names in GA4 are a bit different:

Your report table will now have two columns for dimensions, allowing you to see which ad content or keyword drove the most sessions, engagement, or conversions for a given campaign. This is incredibly powerful for optimizing your ad creative and keyword targeting.

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Customizing Reports for Better UTM Insights

Don't stop at just finding the data. GA4 allows you to customize and save reports so you can get to your campaign insights even faster.

Filter for a Specific Campaign

If you're running dozens of campaigns, your reports can get crowded. You can easily filter the report to show data for just one specific campaign.

1. At the top of the report, click Add filter.
2. In the "Build filter" panel that appears, select the dimension you want to filter by. For this, choose Session campaign.
3. Set the "Match Type" to "contains."
4. In the "Value" field, enter the name of the campaign you want to analyze (e.g., summer_sale_2024).
5. Click Apply.

Now, the report will only show data associated with that specific campaign, making your analysis work much cleaner and more focused.

Create an Exploration Report

For even more flexibility, you can use the "Explore" section to build entirely custom reports from scratch. This allows you to combine your UTM dimensions with any metric you want in a table or visualization.

Navigate to Explore > Free form. From there, you can import your UTM dimensions (like "Session campaign," "Session manual ad content") and metrics (like "Sessions," "Conversions," "Total users") to build a report that is tailored exactly to your business questions.

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For Historical Data: Finding UTM Tags in Universal Analytics (UA)

While Universal Analytics stopped processing new data in July 2023, you might still need to access historical campaign data from your UA property. The process is a bit different but just as simple.

In your UA property, all campaign-related traffic is easily accessible under the Acquisition section.

1. From the left-hand navigation menu, click Acquisition.
2. Go to Campaigns.
3. Click on All Campaigns.

This report will automatically show performance data grouped by the utm_campaign parameter. It's the most direct way to compare your historical campaigns.

To see other UTM parameters, you can either:

• Navigate to Acquisition > All Traffic > Source/Medium to see a report based on utm_source and utm_medium.
• Use the Secondary dimension dropdown (located just above the data table) in the All Campaigns report. You can add "Ad Content" to see utm_content or "Keyword" to see utm_term.

Proven Tips for Better UTM Tracking

Finding the data is one thing, ensuring the data is clean and reliable is another. Here are a few common issues and best practices:

1. Maintain a Consistent Naming Convention: One of the biggest mistakes marketers make is inconsistency. facebook, Facebook, and FB will all show up as separate sources in your reports, splitting your data and making it messy. Decide on a clear, consistent format (pro-tip: always use lowercase with underscores for spaces) and stick to it.
2. Use a URL Builder: Don't try to build your UTM-tagged URLs by hand. It's too easy to make a typo. Use a tool like Google's Campaign URL Builder or maintain a shared spreadsheet to ensure every link is tagged correctly and consistently across your team.
3. Never Use UTMs for Internal Links: UTM tags should only be used for external marketing traffic pointing to your site. If you put UTM tags on an internal link (e.g., a banner link from your homepage), it will overwrite the original source data for that user. So, if someone came from Google organic search and then clicks that internal UTM-tagged link, their session will suddenly be attributed to your internal campaign, losing the valuable original source info.

Final Thoughts

Once you know where to look, finding your campaign data in Google Analytics becomes a quick and routine task. By regularly analyzing your traffic in the Traffic acquisition report, you can gain a clear understanding of which marketing strategies move the needle, allowing you to optimize your budget and effort for better results.

Manually piecing this campaign data together across different platforms is where things can get time-consuming. Comparing conversion data from Google Analytics with ad spend from Facebook Ads requires logging into two platforms and trying to stitch them together yourself. We built Graphed to remove this friction entirely. After connecting your tools in just a few clicks, you can simply ask in plain language, "Show me a comparison of Facebook Ads spend versus conversions by campaign for last month." We instantly build a live dashboard that pulls your data together, so you spend less time gathering reports and more time acting on insights.