TikTok Dynamic UTM Parameters: A Guide (2024)

What are UTM Parameters (UTMs)?

UTMs – or Urchin Tracking Modules – are parameters added to the end of a URL that help track customers ad traffic and lead activity online. Originating from Urchin Software Corporation, UTMs were later integrated into Google Analytics after Google’s acquisition of the company. They are crucial for tracking clicks and analyzing ad performance across multiple platforms. UTMs help you track website traffic by giving you insight into the source, medium and campaign that sent visitors to your site.

Benefits of UTMs

1. Tracking & ROI: Identify the source of your ad traffic, user interactions, and which ads drive the most conversions.
2. Channel Attribution: Determine if your ad spending is optimal across various channels.
3. Quality of Traffic: Measure session duration, bounce rates, and click-to-visit ratios to assess traffic quality.

How do UTMs work?

Here’s an example of what UTMs look like: www.strikepointmedia.com/studios/?utm_source=tiktok&utm_medium=paid-social&utm_campaign=_tiktok_ads.

Once you add these parameters to your ad URLs, you can use a third-party data platform like Google Analytics to see the traffic it’s getting. If you saw this link in your GA account you’d be able to see that the source of the traffic was TikTok, the medium was paid_social and the campaign was “Tiktok Ads”.

Now this doesn’t mean anything to you since this isn’t your campaign. But you can take this formula and put it into your current campaigns to track your traffic and ad performance better using specific campaign and parameters and UTM tags.

UTM Key Metrics to Track

1. Traffic Source: Which channel was the traffic from (e.g., Organic, Paid, Social Media, Email)
2. App Source: Which app was it from (e.g., TikTok, Facebook, Google)
3. Campaign Identification: Which campaign was it from
4. Creative Clicked: Which creative did they click on
5. Ad Format: What ad format was it? (Square? 4×5? Video)

How do I add TikTok UTM parameters?

Within the TikTok Ads Manager, you can add UTM parameters to track multiple links within the same ad campaign. This enables advertisers and you to monitor the performance of different creatives or social media links pointing to the same URL.

You can add the UTM parameters within the ad platform in TikTok. Here’s where you can add below as your UTMs within the TikTok Ads Manager:

That’s it! Need help with UTMs – hit us up and one of our marketing experts will help you out.

Dynamic UTM tracking

Now the question is “Can I use dynamic UTMs to track TikTok Ad Performance with dynamic utm parameters?” The answer is YES!

TikTok has a list of supported macros that allows you to pass campaign/placement values in your URL dynamically across various ad platforms. Here’s the list of macros with their specific parameters to use.

• CAMPAIGNNAME_ = Campaign Name
• CAMPAIGNID_ = Campaign ID
• AIDNAME_ = Ad Group Name
• AID = Ad Group ID
• CIDNAME_ = Ad Name or Creative
• CID = Creative ID
• PLACEMENT = Placement Type

Consistent Naming Convention

Maintain a consistent naming convention for UTM tracking links to ensure clean and accurate data in analytics.

How to Track UTMs in Google Analytics 4 (GA4)?

1. Enable Data Collection for UTMs:
   • Make sure your GA4 property is set to collect UTMs. GA4 automatically collects and recognizes standard UTMs like utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign, etc. Make sure to include the full website URL when setting up UTMs to track clicks correctly.
2. View UTM Data:
   • Once data collection is enabled you can view UTM data in your GA4 reports under the Acquisition > Traffic Sources section.
   • Go to Reports > Acquisition > Traffic Sources > Source/Medium to see the breakdown of which sources and mediums are driving traffic to your website based on UTMs.
3. Create Custom Reports with UTMs:
   • GA4 allows you to create custom reports that focuses on UTMs. You can create reports to analyze campaign, source or medium performance based on UTM tags.
4. UTM Parameter Filters:
   • Use filters in GA4 to segment traffic based on UTMs. For example, you can create a filter to exclude internal traffic or focus only on traffic from specific campaigns identified by
5. Real-Time Reporting:
   • GA4 provides real-time UTM reporting so you can see campaign performance as soon as traffic starts coming in from your marketing efforts.
6. Optimizing Marketing Strategies:
   • Analyze UTM data to optimize your marketing strategies. Identify high-performing campaigns or channels and use these insights to allocate budgets and refine future campaigns.

UTM Parameters FAQs

1. Do I Need to Use UTM Parameters?
   • UTM parameters are required for tracking and analyzing your marketing campaigns so, yes! They help you know which channels and campaigns are driving traffic and conversions making them super valuable for optimizing your marketing.
2. How Can UTM Parameters Benefit Marketing?
   • UTM parameters give you detailed insights into traffic sources by tracking each marketing channel (e.g. social media, email, paid search). These benefits includes measuring ROI, determine best performing campaigns and allocating budget more effectively.
3. What are the Components of UTM Parameters?
   • The main components of UTM parameters are:
     • utm_source: Identifies the source of the traffic (e.g. google, newsletter).
     • utm_medium: Specifies the marketing medium (e.g., cpc, social, email).
     • utm_campaign: Indicates the name of the campaign (e.g., summer_sale).
     • utm_term: Optional parameter for identifying paid search keywords.
     • utm_content: Optional parameter used to differentiate ads or links pointing to the same URL.
4. Why are UTM Parameters Important?
   • UTM parameters are required for tracking and analyzing marketing campaigns. They help marketers know which channels and campaigns drive traffic, conversions and revenue. This data informs strategic decisions and optimizations.
5. How do I Create UTM Parameters?
   • Use tools like Google’s Campaign URL Builder or third-party URL builders. Input the required fields (source, medium, campaign name) and generate a UTM-tagged URL that can be used in your marketing campaigns.
6. What Best Practices Should I Follow When Using UTM Parameters?
   • Follow these best practices when using UTM parameters:
     • Use consistent naming conventions to get clarity and organization in your analytics reports.
     • Avoid using sensitive information (like personal data) in UTM parameters for privacy compliance.
     • Review and update UTM parameters regularly to reflect changes in campaigns or tracking needs.

Now that you understand exactly what UTMs are and how you can add them to your TikTok ad set of ads, check out this list of 5 things you need to know before running ads on TikTok.

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