How to See UTM in Google Analytics 4

UTM parameters let you see exactly which of your marketing efforts are driving traffic and conversions, turning vague analytics into a clear roadmap for success. While Google Analytics 4 handles them a bit differently than its predecessor, finding and analyzing your UTM-tagged traffic is straightforward once you know where to look. This tutorial will guide you through exactly where to find your campaign data in standard GA4 reports and how to build custom reports for a deeper analysis.

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A Quick Refresher: What Are UTM Parameters?

UTM (Urchin Tracking Module) parameters are simple tags you add to the end of a URL to track its performance. When someone clicks a link with these tags, the information is sent directly to Google Analytics, giving you precise data about the source of your traffic.

There are five standard UTM parameters you can use:

• utm_source: Identifies the source of your traffic, like a search engine, newsletter, or specific social network. Example: utm_source=google_ads
• utm_medium: Identifies the marketing medium, such as email, social, or cost-per-click (cpc). Example: utm_medium=cpc
• utm_campaign: Identifies a specific promotion or strategic campaign. Example: utm_campaign=q2_spring_sale
• utm_term: Identifies the paid keywords you're targeting. This is mainly used for paid search ads. Example: utm_term=data_analytics_software
• utm_content: Used to differentiate between links or ads that point to the same URL within a single campaign, perfect for A/B testing. Example: utm_content=blue_button_v1

Using these tags consistently is the difference between knowing "we got some traffic from our newsletter" and knowing "our Q2 Spring Sale campaign through the 'main_cta' link in our May newsletter drove 150 sessions and generated $1,200 in revenue."

How to Find UTM Data in GA4 Standard Reports

For most day-to-day needs, you can find all your UTM data within the standard Traffic acquisition report in Google Analytics 4. Here’s how to get there and customize the view to see your campaign performance.

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Step 1: Navigate to the Traffic Acquisition Report

Finding the right report is the first step. From your GA4 dashboard, follow this path:

1. On the left-hand navigation menu, click on Reports.
2. Under the Lifecycle collection, expand the Acquisition tab.
3. Click on the Traffic acquisition report.

This report shows you where your user sessions are coming from. By default, it's usually grouped by Session default channel group.

Step 2: Change the Primary Dimension to View UTM Data

The real power comes from changing the primary dimension to see the specific UTM parameters you’re tracking. To do this, click the small dropdown arrow next to the current primary dimension (likely Session default channel group).

Here are the most useful dimensions for UTM analysis:

• To see utm_source, select Session source.
• To see utm_medium, select Session medium.
• To see a combined view of source and medium, select Session source / medium.
• To see utm_campaign, select Session campaign.
• To see utm_term, select Session manual term.
• To see utm_content, select Session manual ad content.

Once you select one of these, the report will update to organize the data by the UTM parameter you've chosen, allowing you to quickly see which campaigns, sources, or mediums are bringing in the most sessions, users, and conversions.

Step 3: Add a Secondary Dimension for Deeper Insights

Analyzing one parameter is useful, but performance marketers almost always need to cross-reference data. Did your spring_sale campaign perform best on Google or Facebook? This is where secondary dimensions come in.

To add one, click the small plus sign (+) next to the primary dimension dropdown.

Here's a practical example: Let's say you want to see which campaigns from your email marketing are performing best.

1. Set your primary dimension to Session campaign to see a list of all your campaigns.
2. Click the + button to add a secondary dimension.
3. Search for and select Session source / medium.

Now, you can filter this report to only show session data from your email marketing channels. Click the filter button above the chart, type 'Email' and you'll have a clear view of which email campaigns drove the most conversions.

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Building a Custom UTM Report in GA4 Explorations

Standard reports are great for quick checks, but if you want to create a reusable, highly customized report for your campaigns, GA4’s Explore section is the place to be. Here’s how you can build a flexible Free form report to analyze your UTM data from any angle.

Step 1: Create a New Blank Exploration

From the left-hand navigation menu, click on Explore and then choose Blank report.

Step 2: Import Your Dimensions and Metrics

In the Exploration workspace, the first thing you need to do is import all the dimensions (the "what") and metrics (the "how many") you want to analyze.

Next to Dimensions, click the + button and add the following:

• Session campaign
• Session source / medium
• Session manual ad content
• Session manual term

Next, click the + button for Metrics, look for the ones you want to use and import them. Common metrics used to monitor campaigns include:

• Sessions
• Engaged sessions
• Conversions
• Total revenue
• Engagement rate

Click the Import button on the top right once you’ve selected them all.

Step 3: Build a Drag-and-Drop Report

Think of this as putting a pivot table together. Under the Tab Settings section, you design the table structure that answers your questions. For example, let's say you'd like to see which paid search campaigns and keywords generate the most conversions:

• Drag Session campaign into the Rows box.
• Drag Session manual term into the Columns box to display the ad performance by each campaign.
• Use Engaged sessions and Conversions metrics within the Values section.

This report presents all your campaigns by performance, ad group performance, and individual keyword performance, along with relevant engaged sessions and conversion totals. You can also view data to know what the most profitable terms are. Modify your Explore report by selecting cell types. Click on Plain text in Table settings to visualize where the most and least engaged sessions are. Now you know what terms drive more quality traffic and conversions.

The Exploration Report allows for saving your reports to come back to later, or you might share it with stakeholders. Now you have a customized campaign report saved which you can access anytime.

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Best Practices for UTM Tags

Using them correctly can make you an analytics superstar. Making mistakes turns a perfectly clean dashboard into a mess. Follow these best practices:

• Be Consistent. GA4 treats ‘Facebook’, “facebook” and facebook.com as different sources. Keep your source tags lowercase without spaces (facebook, instead) for better data quality.
• Don't tag internal links. This means adding utm_source on your website that leads to another can break a user session and start a new session which attributes visits to the site itself.
• Use a template or a builder tool: Google's free campaign builder can help prevent errors from typing by hand. A shared sheet listing every created UTM is a good way to maintain consistency and keep track.
• Be Descriptive and Concise. ‘promo12’ is a bit too vague as a campaign name. It doesn't tell you what the promotion was on that date or for what season. Instead, a name like spring_flash_sale_2022 gives more detail because it provides context which you'll appreciate months later.

Final Thoughts

Finding your UTM data in Google Analytics 4 is just a matter of knowing which report to pull and what dimensions to use. The Traffic acquisition report is your go-to for quick insights, while custom-built Explorations let you dive deeper into specific questions about campaign performance.

Streamlining this entire process is why we built our tool, Graphed. Instead of navigating menus, selecting dimensions, and tweaking reports, we let you talk to your data directly. You can simply ask, “What were our top 5 email campaigns by revenue last month?” or "Compare user engagement from our spring_sale on Google Ads versus Facebook Ads this quarter," and get an instant, real-time dashboard. We connect all your data sources to get answers that you need in simple, plain English. Give it a try and see how quickly you can uncover your UTM insights.