Level Marketing / Articles / Sales and analytics
UTM tags: how to know where every customer came from
People arrive at your website from Instagram, Telegram, Google and partner channels — but which of them bring leads and sales? UTM tags answer that: small "labels" added to a link that show the source of every visit in your analytics. Here is what UTM is, how to build a link and where to see the results.
UTM parameters
| Parameter | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| utm_source | Source | instagram, telegram, google |
| utm_medium | Channel type | cpc, post, stories, email |
| utm_campaign | Campaign | sofa_october |
| utm_content | Creative or variant | video_a, banner_b |
| utm_term | Keyword (for search ads) | sofa_tashkent |
An example link:
https://levelm.uz/en/?utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=audit_october&utm_content=video_a
How to build the link
- Google's Campaign URL Builder — fill in the fields and the link is ready.
- A spreadsheet template: parameters in columns, the final column assembling the link with a formula, so the whole team uses the same names.
Naming rules
- Lowercase only: "Instagram" and "instagram" are two different sources in analytics.
- Underscores or hyphens instead of spaces.
- The same thing always gets the same name.
- Write all names down in one document.
Where to see results
- Google Analytics 4 — in the traffic acquisition report by source, medium and campaign.
- Yandex Metrica — UTM reports.
- Your CRM — if you store UTM values with leads from website forms, each sale links to its exact source. For choosing a CRM, see our separate article.
What if you don't have a website
UTM doesn't work inside Instagram and Telegram. Instead:
- For a Telegram channel, create a separate named invite link for each source — more in our Telegram advertising article.
- For shops, a separate promo code per channel.
- A "Where did you hear about us?" question on the lead.
Common mistakes
- Different names for the same campaign.
- UTM tags on internal site links — they overwrite the real source.
- Typos from typing links by hand — always test them.
Conclusion
UTM tags are the simplest way to know where each customer came from. Without them you can't calculate ROMI or channel performance correctly. Build one template, follow the naming rules and review the results every month.
