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Google UTM Tracking For Emails

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Google UTM Tracking For Emails

Yes, tracking email links using UTM parameters is a standard and effective approach.

For your blog link, the tagged URL would look like this: [https://website-doctor.com/news/blog/google-business-profile-listing/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=gbp-article](https://website-doctor.com/news/blog/google-business-profile-listing/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=gbp-article)

Key Rules & Best Practice Guidelines

1. Always Use Lowercase Letters

  • Analytics platforms (like Google Analytics 4) are strictly case-sensitive.
  • utm_medium=email and utm_medium=Email will be reported as two separate channels. Stick exclusively to lowercase across all parameters.

2. Avoid Spaces and Special Characters

  • Use hyphens (-) or underscores (_) instead of spaces.
  • Spaces in a URL convert to %20, which can cause links to break or look un professional in an email reader.

3. Keep standard parameter values consistent

  • utm_source: Identifies where the email came from (e.g., newsletter, mailchimp, or direct-client-email).
  • utm_medium: Always set this to email. Google Analytics automatically groups traffic under the default “Email” channel if this exact word is used.
  • utm_campaign: Identifies the specific email broadcast or offer (e.g., monthly-news-october or gbp-article-promo).

4. Differentiate Multiple Links with utm_content

  • If you have two different links in the same email leading to that article (e.g., a text link in the paragraph and a button at the bottom), add utm_content to see which one was clicked:
    • Button link: ...&utm_content=button
    • Text link: ...&utm_content=text-link

5. Crucial Don’ts

  • Never use UTMs on internal website links: Do not put UTM tags on links going from one page of your site to another. This overrides the visitor’s original traffic source and ruins your analytics attribution.
  • Don’t use link shorteners unnecessarily: Avoid using generic link shorteners inside marketing emails. Spam filters often flag shortened URLs, which harms email deliverability. Hyperlink ordinary text or buttons on the GeneratePress page instead.

OK I am getting on board with the big idea. If I add “gbp-article” suppose in a months time I want to promote a different page “gbp-article” is relatively generic can I add say gbp-article-001 to the first one and gbp-article-002 to the second and so on to track various campaigns?

SME Web & Marketing Advisor

Custom Gem

Yes, absolutely. Using sequential or descriptive campaign names (like gbp-article-001, gbp-article-002) is a great way to track individual sends or promotions.

Here are the key dos and don’ts to keep in mind as you scale up your campaign tagging:

Dos

  • Keep naming conventions structured: Standardise your naming system so reports are easy to read in Google Analytics (e.g., gbp-article-001, gbp-article-002, or date-based tags like 2026-10-gbp-article).
  • Use lowercase only: Analytics treats gbp-article-001 and GBP-Article-001 as two completely separate campaigns. Always stick to lowercase letters.
  • Keep a central tracking sheet: Maintain a quick spreadsheet or document listing your URLs and what campaign tag belongs to which email send or promotional push.

Don’ts

  • Don’t change utm_source or utm_medium: Keep these consistent across all your emails (e.g., utm_source=newsletter and utm_medium=email). Only change the utm_campaign parameter (gbp-article-001, gbp-article-002, etc.) to differentiate the sends.
  • Don’t use spaces or special characters: Use hyphens (-) instead of spaces. Avoid using symbols like #, ?, or & inside parameter values, as these break the web link.
  • Don’t use UTM tags on internal site links: Never use UTM links on buttons or menu items within your WordPress site (e.g., linking from your homepage to a blog post). Internal UTMs strip away the visitor’s original traffic source and skew your analytics data.

Example Tagged URLs

  • First Campaign:[https://website-doctor.com/news/blog/google-business-profile-listing/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=gbp-article-001](https://website-doctor.com/news/blog/google-business-profile-listing/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=gbp-article-001)
  • Second Campaign:[https://website-doctor.com/news/blog/another-page-link/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=gbp-article-002](https://website-doctor.com/news/blog/another-page-link/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=gbp-article-002)
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