Where to Find UTM in Google Analytics?

Using UTM parameters to track your marketing campaigns is a game-changer, but only if you know where to see the results of your hard work. Finding that specific campaign data inside Google Analytics can feel like a hunt if you don't know which report to open. This guide will show you exactly where to find your UTM-tagged traffic in both Google Analytics 4 and the older Universal Analytics (UA).

A Quick UTM Refresher

Before we jump into the reports, let's quickly clarify what UTMs are. UTM stands for "Urchin Tracking Module" - a name left over from Urchin, the company Google acquired to create Google Analytics. These are simple snippets of code, or parameters, that you add to the end of a URL to track specific details about your visitors. They tell Google Analytics exactly how a user arrived on your site.

There are five standard UTM parameters you can use:

• utm_source: Identifies the source of your traffic, like 'google', 'facebook', or 'newsletter'. [Required]
• utm_medium: Tracks the marketing medium, such as 'cpc', 'social', or 'email'. [Required]
• utm_campaign: Names the specific campaign, like 'summer-sale' or 'q4-promo'. [Required]
• utm_term: Used for paid search to note the keywords for an ad.
• utm_content: Differentiates similar content or links within the same ad, such as 'blue-button' vs. 'red-button'.

When combined, they look something like this on your URL:

https://www.yourwebsite.com/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=summer-sale&utm_content=video-ad

When someone clicks this link, Google Analytics reads these tags and sorts that visit into the correct digital bucket. This allows you to measure precisely how effective your 'summer-sale' video ad on Facebook was, separating its performance from all your other marketing efforts.

Finding UTM Data in Google Analytics 4

Since Google Analytics 4 is now the standard, let's start here. The GA4 interface is quite different from Universal Analytics, and it names the dimensions associated with UTM parameters a bit differently. But don't worry, the data is all there.

Method 1: The Traffic Acquisition Report

This is the quickest and most direct way to see your campaign performance. This report shows you how users discovered your website for the first time or for a specific session.

Here’s how to find it:

1. Log in to your GA4 account.
2. On the left-hand navigation menu, click on Reports.
3. Under the Life cycle section, open the Acquisition drop-down menu.
4. Click on Traffic acquisition.

By default, this report is grouped by "Session default channel grouping." To see your UTM data, you need to change this primary dimension.

Click the small drop-down arrow next to "Session default channel grouping" above the first column of the table. A search box will appear. Here, you can search for dimensions that map directly to your UTM parameters:

• For utm_campaign, select Session campaign.
• For utm_source and utm_medium, select Session source / medium.
• For utm_content, select Session manual ad content.
• For utm_term, select Session manual term.

Once you select one, such as Session campaign, the report will re-populate with all your campaign names as the first column, followed by metrics like Users, Sessions, Engaged sessions, and Conversions. This gives you a clear, high-level overview of how each campaign is performing.

Adding a Secondary Dimension

For more granular analysis, you can add a secondary dimension. Let's say you're viewing your campaigns and want to know which source drove the most traffic for each. Just click the blue "+" icon next to the primary dimension dropdown. You can then add "Session source / medium" or "Session manual ad content" to see, for example, which ad creative ("Ad Content") within a specific campaign drove the most conversions.

Method 2: Creating a Custom Exploration

If you want to build a more customized report from scratch, the "Explore" section in GA4 is incredibly powerful.

Here’s how to build a basic campaign report:

1. On the left-hand navigation menu, click Explore.
2. Click on Blank (+) to create a new exploration.
3. In the Variables column on the left, next to "Dimensions," click the "+" icon.
4. Search for and import the dimensions you need. Good starters include:
5. Next to "Metrics," click the "+" icon.
6. Search for and import metrics like:
7. Now, drag your chosen dimensions from the Variables panel into the Rows section in the Tab Settings panel. Drag your metrics into the Values section.

Your custom report will instantly appear on the right. This method offers much more flexibility to mix and match dimensions and metrics so you can analyze your UTM data in nearly any way you can imagine.

Finding UTM Data in Universal Analytics (UA)

Although Google has stopped processing new data in UA, you likely have years of historical data in these reports. Knowing where to look is still essential for historical comparisons.

Finding UTM data in UA is much more straightforward than in GA4, as the reports are built specifically around these parameters.

The All Campaigns Report

This is the primary destination for all your UTM data. It neatly organizes traffic based on the utm_campaign parameter.

1. Log in to your Universal Analytics property.
2. On the left navigation, go to Acquisition.
3. Click on Campaigns.
4. Select All Campaigns.

This report automatically lists an entry for every unique value you've used in your utm_campaign tags. From here, you can see key acquisition, behavior, and conversion metrics for each campaign.

The Source/Medium Report

This report is perfect if you want to look at your data from the perspective of where it came from (utm_source and utm_medium).

1. Go to Acquisition in the left navigation.
2. Click on All Traffic.
3. Select Source/Medium.

This shows you a combined view of the traffic source and medium, such as "google / cpc" or "facebook / social." Clicking on any Source/Medium pair in this list will let you drill down further.

Using Secondary Dimensions in UA

Just like in GA4, you can add more detail to your reports. In the "All Campaigns" report, you can click the "Secondary dimension" dropdown and select "Source / Medium" to see which channels drove traffic for each campaign. Or, you could add "Ad Content" to see which ad version performed best.

Practical Tips for Analyzing Your UTM Data

Finding the data is only half the battle. To get real insights, you need to be strategic.

1. Enforce Consistent Naming Conventions

The single biggest mistake marketers make is inconsistency. Google Analytics is case-sensitive and literal. This means Facebook, facebook, and FB will show up as three separate lines in your reports, splitting your data and making analysis a mess.

Create a simple UTM guide for your team. A few good rules:

• Use lowercase only: This avoids case-related errors. ("facebook" and "email")
• Use dashes instead of spaces: ("summer-sale" not "summer sale")
• Be descriptive but concise: ("2023-black-friday-promo" is much better than "campaign1")

A spreadsheet or a shared document where you log every campaign link you create can prevent chaos down the line.

2. Analyze Conversions, Not Just Clicks

High traffic numbers are nice, but they don’t pay the bills. The real value of UTM tracking is understanding which campaigns drive valuable actions. Make sure your reports include your key conversion metrics (like Purchases, Form Submissions, or Sign Ups). Sort your campaign report by conversion rate or total conversions instead of sessions. You might find that a low-traffic campaign is your most profitable one.

3. Use UTMs for Everything External

Don't just reserve UTMs for paid ads. Tag every single link that points to your site from an external source you control:

• Links in your email newsletters
• Your social media profile links (Link in Bio)
• Links you share in guest posts or an affiliate promotion
• Even QR codes for offline marketing materials

This level of tracking gives you a complete, 360-degree view of how every initiative contributes to your goals.

Final Thoughts

Mastering UTM tracking is one of the most powerful skills a marketer can have. Once you know exactly where to locate and analyze this data in Google Analytics, you move from guessing games to making confident, data-backed decisions that prove your ROI and grow your business.

Bringing all your analytics from Google Analytics, paid ad platforms, your CRM, and e-commerce stores into one place can feel like a full-time job. At Graphed, we automate that entire manual process. After a one-click connection to your data sources, you can ask plain English questions like, "Build me a dashboard showing my top ad campaigns from Facebook Ads and Google Ads by revenue" and get a live, interactive dashboard in seconds. No more CSVs, no more tedious report building - just the answers you need to make better decisions, faster.