UTM parameter strategy, campaign tracking, and marketing attribution modeling. Build consistent UTM taxonomies, configure attribution models, measure cross-channel performance, and connect marketing spend to revenue. Use when the user asks about UTM parameters, campaign tracking, attribution models, marketing measurement, or cross-channel analytics.

UTM & Attribution Strategy

Campaign tracking with UTM parameters and marketing attribution modeling.

Install

git clone https://github.com/thatrebeccarae/claude-marketing.git && cp -r claude-marketing/skills/utm-attribution-strategy ~/.claude/skills/

UTM Parameter Reference

The 5 Standard UTM Parameters

Parameter	Purpose	Required	Example
`utm_source`	Where traffic comes from	Yes	google, linkedin, newsletter
`utm_medium`	Marketing medium/channel	Yes	cpc, email, social, referral
`utm_campaign`	Campaign name	Yes	spring-sale, product-launch-q1
`utm_term`	Paid keyword (search ads)	No	email+marketing+software
`utm_content`	Differentiate ad variants	No	cta-button, sidebar-banner, video-ad

UTM Naming Convention

Rules:

All lowercase (Google Analytics is case-sensitive)
Use hyphens (-) as word separators, never spaces or underscores
Be descriptive but concise
Use consistent vocabulary across all teams
Document your taxonomy and enforce it

Recommended Taxonomy

utm_source

Value	When to Use
`google`	Google Ads, Google organic
`facebook`	Meta/Facebook ads and organic
`instagram`	Instagram ads and organic
`linkedin`	LinkedIn ads and organic
`tiktok`	TikTok ads
`twitter`	Twitter/X
`youtube`	YouTube ads and organic
`bing`	Microsoft/Bing ads
`newsletter`	Your email newsletter
`email`	Transactional or one-off emails
`partner-[name]`	Partner/affiliate traffic
`podcast-[name]`	Podcast mentions

utm_medium

Value	When to Use
`cpc`	Paid search (cost per click)
`paid-social`	Paid social media
`social`	Organic social media
`email`	Email marketing
`referral`	Partner/affiliate referrals
`display`	Display/banner ads
`video`	Video ads (pre-roll, in-stream)
`retargeting`	Retargeting/remarketing
`influencer`	Influencer partnerships
`organic`	Organic search (usually auto-tagged)
`direct`	Direct traffic (usually auto-tagged)

utm_campaign

Pattern: [initiative]-[audience]-[date]

Examples:

spring-sale-2026
product-launch-enterprise-q1
webinar-seo-masterclass-mar2026
blog-weekly-digest-w12
retarget-cart-abandoners-mar

utm_content

Pattern: [format]-[variant]-[placement]

Examples:

video-testimonial-feed
carousel-product-stories
cta-start-trial-hero
banner-logo-sidebar
text-ad-headline-v2

UTM Builder

URL Structure

https://example.com/landing-page?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=paid-social&utm_campaign=product-launch-q1&utm_content=video-demo-feed

Common UTM Templates

Channel	Full UTM String
Google Search Ad	`?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=[campaign]&utm_term=[keyword]&utm_content=[ad-group]`
Facebook Ad	`?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=paid-social&utm_campaign=[campaign]&utm_content=[ad-name]`
LinkedIn Ad	`?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=paid-social&utm_campaign=[campaign]&utm_content=[creative-type]`
Email Newsletter	`?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=[newsletter-name]-[date]&utm_content=[link-position]`
Organic LinkedIn Post	`?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=[post-topic]`
Partner Referral	`?utm_source=partner-[name]&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=[initiative]`

Attribution Models

Model Comparison

Model	How It Works	Best For	Limitation
Last Click	100% credit to last touchpoint	Short sales cycles, direct response	Ignores awareness/consideration
First Click	100% credit to first touchpoint	Brand awareness measurement	Ignores conversion-driving touches
Linear	Equal credit to all touchpoints	Simple multi-touch view	Over-credits low-impact touches
Time Decay	More credit to recent touches	Long sales cycles with clear momentum	Under-values early awareness
Position-Based	40% first, 40% last, 20% middle	Balanced view of full funnel	Arbitrary weight distribution
Data-Driven	ML-based credit allocation	Large datasets (1000+ conversions)	Black box, requires volume

GA4 Attribution

GA4 uses data-driven attribution by default. Key settings:

Reporting attribution model: Set in Admin > Attribution Settings
Lookback window: 30 days (click) / 7 days (view) default
Conversion paths: Analyze in Advertising > Attribution > Conversion Paths

Choosing a Model

Sales cycle < 7 days → Last Click or Data-Driven
Sales cycle 7-30 days → Position-Based or Data-Driven
Sales cycle > 30 days → Time Decay or Data-Driven
Brand awareness focus → First Click
Performance marketing focus → Last Click
Balanced view needed → Position-Based
1000+ monthly conversions → Data-Driven (always)

UTM Audit Checklist

Common Mistakes

UTMs on internal links — breaks session attribution, inflates source counts
Inconsistent naming — Facebook vs facebook vs fb creates 3 separate sources
Missing utm_medium — traffic falls into "(other)" channel grouping
Non-standard utm_medium values — use GA4 recognized values for proper channel grouping
UTMs on organic search results — Google auto-tags organic; adding UTMs creates duplicate sources
PII in UTM parameters — email addresses or user IDs in URLs violate privacy policies
Forgetting post-click tracking — UTMs track the click, not what happens after

Integration with Other Skills

google-analytics — UTM data flows into GA4 for analysis
google-ads — Google auto-tags with gclid; UTMs are supplementary
facebook-ads — Meta auto-tags with fbclid; UTMs needed for GA4 attribution
linkedin-ads — LinkedIn requires manual UTM configuration
tiktok-ads — TikTok requires manual UTM configuration