Track UTM parameters in WordPress analytics

UTM parameters are small tags added to the end of a link that tell your analytics which campaign a visitor came from. Without them, visitors from emails and paid ads show up as direct visits or generic referrals, and nobody can tell which campaign worked.

What to tag

Tag links you share outside your website: in emails, ads, PDFs, on partner sites, and in social media profiles. Do not tag links in your own menus or pages. Leave your normal URLs untouched so search engines index clean addresses.

Parameters that matter

utm_source — where the visitor comes from (newsletter, google, linkedin).
utm_medium — the type of channel (email, cpc for paid clicks, social).
utm_campaign — the name of your campaign.
Optional: utm_content / utm_term to tell ad versions or keywords apart.

Basics: what is UTM. To create links: campaign URL builder.

How PureMetrix uses UTM parameters

PureMetrix reads the UTM parameters from the address of the first page a visitor opens and credits the visit and any goals to that campaign.

To check: open a tagged link in a private browser window, then confirm the campaign appears in the Campaigns report for the visit (and for the goal, if you completed one).

Naming rules that save you trouble later

Write everything in lowercase.
Use hyphens instead of spaces.
Never rename a campaign while it is running.
Write your naming rules down in a spreadsheet the whole team (and your agency) uses.
Never put email addresses or customer numbers into UTM values.

WordPress pitfalls

Some redirect plugins remove everything after the “?” in a URL. Test your landing page and thank-you redirects with UTM parameters attached. Caching and SEO plugins must not redirect tagged URLs to a version without the parameters.

Reporting

A useful weekly overview: top campaigns by visits, bounce rate on the campaign landing page, goal rate, and (for WooCommerce shops) purchases. More: marketing campaigns with analytics.

Keep tags intact through WordPress redirects

Redirects to the canonical address, trailing-slash rules, and multilingual plugins can drop the part after the “?”. Click real ads and emails and check the final address in your browser. PureMetrix only sees tags that are still in the address of the page where its script loads.

Keep a fixed list of allowed UTM parameters; do not let every team invent its own extra parameters without shared definitions.

Reporting habits

Filter by campaign every week, not just by channel. The content parameter answers questions like “which subject line worked?” when source and medium alone are too rough. Fix clashing campaign names before the quarter ends.

A shared process beats another tool

Give everyone who runs ads, emails, or partner deals the same link-building spreadsheet. Do not launch campaigns whose brief has no tags. PureMetrix will show untagged ad spend as “direct”—that is a process problem, not a bug.

Once a quarter, merge campaign names that are almost identical. Messy reporting gets worse faster than you think.

Technical tips for keeping tags

Check caching and SEO plugins that redirect to a “clean” address without parameters—some treat bots and humans differently. If an SEO plugin strips parameters, allow the UTM keys explicitly. In WooCommerce, place a test order from a tagged link and check it is credited to the right campaign.

Partner and influencer tags

Give each partner their own campaign or content value. Retire values when contracts end, so old links do not keep claiming credit forever. With consistent naming, the PureMetrix campaign filter makes comparing partners easy.

Influencers who paste plain URLs without tags create “direct” traffic—send them ready-made short links from your builder.

From print to online

QR codes at events, on packaging, or in invoice footers should use short links that lead to tagged landing pages. Otherwise offline campaigns show up as unexplained direct visits. Scan a test print of the QR code before the brochure goes out—broken redirect chains fail on paper too.

Keep a list of retired tags so old posters do not clash with new campaign names.

Notes for single-page apps

If your WordPress site hands over to a JavaScript app (for example a React checkout), make sure the UTM parameters are still in the address when the first page loads. Some apps remove them while starting up. PureMetrix can only credit campaigns whose parameters are still present when its script loads.

Avoid QR code generators that strip the “?” part when exporting print files—check the address actually encoded in the QR code, not just the preview.

Link shorteners sometimes drop the parameters. Click your own tagged link in a private window and check that the final address still contains the UTM parameters.