In short
- Tag every link you share outside your store: social bios and posts, emails, creators, QR codes.
- Always set source, medium and campaign, lowercase with dashes, spelled the same way every time.
- Use the platform as the source and a medium Google Analytics knows - social, email, affiliate, sms, referral, cpc - or the visit can land in "Unassigned".
How to use the UTM builder
- Paste the page the link should open - a product, a collection or your home page, on your own domain.
- Pick a preset above the tool, or type the source, medium and campaign. The builder makes them lowercase and replaces spaces with dashes.
- Copy the link and use it where you share. The box shows the channel Google Analytics files it under, and warns you about anything that breaks your reports.
What the five UTM tags mean
| Tag | Needed? | What it says | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
utm_source | Yes | Where the link sits - the site, app or list | instagram, newsletter, pinterest |
utm_medium | Yes | The kind of link | social, email, paid-social, affiliate |
utm_campaign | Yes | The promotion or reason for the link | winter-sale, new-collection |
utm_content | No | Which post, ad or button - to tell two links in one campaign apart | story, top-button, video-1 |
utm_term | No | A search keyword, for paid search links | winter-jacket |
Which source and medium for which link
The medium decides the channel Google Analytics files a visit under. These are the presets in the builder and where each one lands:
| Where the link is | utm_source | utm_medium | Google Analytics channel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Instagram story | instagram | social | Organic Social |
| Instagram bio | instagram | social | Organic Social |
| TikTok | tiktok | social | Organic Social |
| Facebook or Instagram ad | facebook | paid-social | Paid Social |
| Pinterest pin | pinterest | social | Organic Social |
| Email newsletter | newsletter | email | |
| Creator post | instagram | social | Organic Social |
| Affiliate | partner-blog | affiliate | Affiliates |
| SMS | sms | sms | SMS |
| QR code on packaging | packaging | qr | Unassigned |
Two traps: a creator's name as the source with a medium such as influencer gives Google Analytics nothing it knows, and the visit lands in "Unassigned" - keep the platform as the source (instagram) and put the creator's name in utm_content. And a campaign name with "shop" in it (shop-launch) makes Google Analytics file the visit under Shopping, whatever the source.
Naming rules that keep your reports clean
- Lowercase, dashes, no spaces:
winter-sale, neverWinter Sale. - One name per place: always
instagram, neverigone week andinstathe next. - Keep a list of the sources, mediums and campaigns you use - a shared sheet is enough - and copy from it.
- Name the campaign after the promotion, not the date:
winter-sale, withutm_contentfor the post or the email button.
Where to see your tagged visits
- Shopify: Analytics › Reports › Sessions by referrer, then Edit columns and add the UTM campaign source, medium and name. Filter by source to see one channel.
- One order: open it and click View conversion details in the Conversion summary. The visits behind the order show their UTM tags.
- Google Analytics: Reports › Acquisition › Traffic acquisition, with "Session source / medium" or "Session campaign" as the dimension.
Every Adeagle ad link carries utm_source=adeagle, so visits and orders from your Adeagle ads show as their own source in Shopify and Google Analytics - nothing to set up. The app shows the same orders next to what the ads cost, for each campaign.
Mistakes that break your reports
- Tags on links inside your store. A tagged banner on your own home page starts a new visit in Google Analytics and wipes out the real source.
- Mixed spelling.
Email,emailande-mailsplit one channel into three rows. - Your myshopify.com address. Link to the domain shoppers see; the builder warns you.
- Tagging by hand where the platform tags for you. Some ad platforms and email apps add their own tags - check one live link before you add yours, or the two can clash.
- Long links in print. Put a tagged link behind a QR code or a short link of your own domain, never a bare URL.
Clean tags are the first step of honest numbers. Our conversion rate guide shows the rest - human sessions only, one source of truth for orders, and a change log.
What UTM tags do not tell you
- Views. Tags count visits from a click. A shopper who saw a post and later typed your address shows as direct.
- Visits from shoppers who refuse tracking in Google Analytics - Shopify still counts the order.
- Shares. A tagged link that someone forwards keeps its tags, so a few of its visits come from elsewhere.
By Bart Ziem, Adeagle · Channels: Google Analytics 4 default channel group for manual traffic (Google Analytics Help, checked October 2026) · Shopify reports: Shopify Help Center · Nothing you type leaves your browser