How to See UTM Content in Google Analytics 4

Tracking the exact link or ad a user clicked is essential for optimizing your marketing, yet finding this data in Google Analytics 4 can feel like a puzzle. If you're used to finding utm_content easily in Universal Analytics, you’ve probably noticed it’s not in the same spot in GA4. This guide will show you exactly where to find your utm_content data in standard reports and how to build a custom exploration for a much deeper analysis.

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First Things First: What is utm_content?

Before we jump into GA4, let's have a quick refresher. UTM parameters are tags you add to the end of a URL to tell Google Analytics more about where your traffic came from. You’re likely familiar with the main ones:

• utm_source: Identifies the referrer, like 'google', 'newsletter', or 'facebook'.
• utm_medium: Describes the marketing medium, such as 'cpc', 'email', or 'social'.
• utm_campaign: Names the specific campaign, like 'summer-sale' or 'q4-promo'.

But what about utm_content? A good campaign might have several different links all pointing to the same page. The utm_content parameter is your secret weapon for telling them apart. It differentiates between links or ads within the same campaign, source, and medium.

Think about these common scenarios:

• Email A/B test: You send a newsletter promotion with a big, flashy call-to-action button and a simple text link in the footer. Both links go to the same URL. You can use utm_content=cta-button and utm_content=footer-link to see which one gets more clicks and conversions.
• Ad creative testing: You're running a Facebook campaign with two different images but the same ad copy. By tagging one with utm_content=blue-product-photo and the other with utm_content=red-product-photo, you can see which visual actually drives results.
• Sponsorships and guest posts: If a partner features your link in their site's header and also in a blog post, you can use utm_content=header-link and utm_content=blog-link to track the performance of each placement individually.

Simply put, utm_content lets you drill down to see exactly which link performed best, giving you the insights needed to refine your copy, creative, and on-page element placement.

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Why You Can't Find "UTM Content" by Name in GA4

Here’s the part that trips up many experienced marketers. In Google Analytics 4, the dimension previously known as "Content" or "Ad Content" from Universal Analytics has been renamed. If you’re searching your report dimensions for anything with "UTM" in the name, you'll come up empty-handed.

Instead, GA4 refers to this manually tagged information with a new set of dimensions. For the utm_content parameter, its corresponding dimension in GA4 is called:

Manual ad content

Similarly, the other UTM parameters also have "manual" counterparts:

• utm_source maps to Manual source
• utm_medium maps to Manual medium
• utm_campaign maps to Manual campaign name
• utm_term maps to Manual term

It’s a simple name change, but if you don't know about it, you can spend hours digging through reports getting nowhere. Once you know to search for "Manual ad content," finding your utm_content data becomes straightforward.

Method 1: Finding utm_content in Standard Reports

The quickest way to get a glimpse of your utm_content data is by adding it as a secondary dimension to the standard Traffic Acquisition report. This is great for a fast check-up.

Here’s how to do it, step-by-step:

1. Navigate to your GA4 property and go to Reports on the left-hand navigation panel.
2. Under the Life cycle section, click on Acquisition, and then select the Traffic acquisition report.
3. By default, this report shows traffic grouped by Session default channel group. To make the data more useful for our analysis, click the dropdown arrow on the primary dimension and change it to Session manual campaign name. Now you can see a performance overview for each of your campaigns.
4. Click on the blue plus sign (+) located to the right of the primary dimension header in the table. This opens a menu to add a secondary dimension.
5. In the search box that appears, start typing "ad content". You will see an option for Session manual ad content. Click it.

That's it! The report will now update, showing your campaign name in the first column and the different utm_content values for that campaign broken out in the second column. Now you can scroll through and compare metrics like users, sessions, engagement rate, and conversions for each individual link placement or ad variation within a specific campaign.

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Method 2: Using Explorations for a Deeper Dive (Recommended)

While standard reports are useful for a quick look, the real power of GA4 lies in the Explore section. Creating a custom report, known as an Exploration, gives you far more flexibility to combine dimensions and metrics. This allows you to build a detailed, reusable report focused specifically on utm_content performance.

Follow these steps to build your custom utm_content exploration:

1. Create a New Exploration

In the left-hand navigation menu, click on Explore. On the exploration page, choose to start a new exploration by clicking on the Blank template.

2. Name Your Report and Import Dimensions

Give your exploration a helpful name, like "UTM Content Performance Detail." Now, in the Variables column on the left, you need to import the data dimensions you want to work with.

• Click the + sign next to the Dimensions header.
• Use the search bar to find and import the following dimensions (check the box for each one, then click the blue Import button):

3. Import Metrics

Next, you’ll import the metrics you want to measure. These are the quantitative numbers that tell you about performance.

• Click the + sign next to the Metrics header in the Variables column.
• Search for and import the key performance indicators that matter to your business. Good starting points include:

4. Build Your Report Table

With all your dimensions and metrics imported, it's time to assemble the report in the Tab Settings column.

• For Rows: Drag Session manual campaign name from the Variables panel over to the Rows box. Then, drag Session manual ad content and drop it directly underneath the campaign name in the same box. This creates a nested structure where each campaign will have its associated content variations listed below it.
• For Values: Drag all the metrics you imported (e.g., Sessions, Conversions, Total revenue) from the Variables panel over to the Values box. You can reorder them here to your liking.

The report canvas on the right will automatically populate with your data. You now have a clean, easy-to-read table showing each of your campaigns broken down by their specific utm_content tags, with all the relevant performance metrics lined up for direct comparison. You can save this exploration and come back to it anytime without having to rebuild it.

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Pro Tips for Effective utm_content Tracking

Knowing how to find the data is only half the battle. Here are some tips to make sure the data you're collecting is clean, consistent, and useful.

• Establish a Consistent Naming Convention: This is the most important rule. Decide on a clear format for your team and stick to it. Use dashes or underscores instead of spaces (e.g., main-cta-button instead of main cta button). Be descriptive but concise. A UTM builder tool can help enforce this consistency.
• Use It Purposefully: You don't need to add utm_content to every single link. Its purpose is to differentiate. If you only have one link from an email to your landing page, utm_source, medium, and campaign are usually enough.
• Double-check for Typos: Email-button and emal-button will show up as two separate line items in GA4, fragmenting your data. Always double-check your tags before launching a campaign.
• Be Mindful of Case Sensitivity: By default, utm_content=CTA-Button and utm_content=cta-button are treated as two distinct values. Agreeing on an all-lowercase convention is the simplest way to avoid this issue.

Final Thoughts

Finding your utm_content data in Google Analytics 4 is simple once you know its new name is Manual ad content. By adding it as a secondary dimension in traffic reports or, even better, building a custom Exploration, you can unlock granular insights to precisely evaluate which ad creatives, link placements, and calls-to-action are truly driving your success.

Pulling these kinds of reports, especially when you need to stitch together data from GA4, your ad platforms, and your e-commerce store, can still take up valuable time. This is why we built Graphed to simplify the entire process. By securely connecting all your tools in one place, we enable you to instantly create reports using simple language. You can just ask, "Show me which utm_content from my spring email campaign drove the most Shopify revenue," and get a real-time dashboard in seconds, allowing you to focus on strategy instead of report-building.