UTM Builder for Email Campaigns
This UTM builder for email tags every link in your newsletter with utm_source, utm_medium, and utm_campaign so the clicks show up as Email in your analytics instead of getting lost as anonymous direct traffic. Hit the Email preset once and it sets source=newsletter and medium=email following GA4 conventions; add a campaign name and copy your tagged URL.
Tag campaign links.
How to use the for email
- Click the Email preset to set utm_source=newsletter and utm_medium=email, keeping medium as the literal string email so GA4 files the clicks under its Email channel.
- Paste the link you are putting in the email into the Base URL field — the tool validates it is a real http or https URL and keeps any parameters already on it.
- Enter a utm_campaign for this specific send, like spring_sale or march_digest, and leave the naming lowercase so repeat sends stay consistent.
- If the email links to the same page more than once, add a utm_content value such as hero_button or footer_link to tell the placements apart, then copy the tagged URL into your email platform.
- For a full newsletter, switch to Bulk mode, paste every link one per line, apply the same tags to all, and copy them all or download the CSV.
About the for email
Email is the one channel where tracking breaks by default. When someone clicks a link inside Gmail, Apple Mail, or the Outlook desktop app, the mail client usually strips the referrer, so your analytics has no idea the visit came from your newsletter. Those sessions get dumped into "Direct / None" alongside people who typed your URL by hand, and a campaign that actually drove sales looks like it did nothing. UTM parameters are the fix: they travel in the URL itself, survive the referrer being wiped, and tell GA4 exactly which email sent the click. That is the whole reason this page exists as a dedicated email preset rather than a generic tagger.
The Email preset here sets utm_source=newsletter and utm_medium=email — and the medium value matters more than people realize. GA4's default channel grouping only files a session under "Email" when utm_medium is literally "email", so if you type "Email", "e-mail", or "eblast" the traffic slips into "Unassigned" or a catch-all bucket. Keep the medium as email, use utm_source for where the send came from (newsletter, or your platform name like mailchimp, klaviyo, or hubspot), and reserve utm_campaign for the specific send — spring_sale, march_digest, cart_abandon_2. Because everything is optional beyond the source/medium/campaign trio, you can leave term blank and use utm_content to label which link inside the email was clicked.
One trap this tool helps you avoid: many email platforms add their own UTM tags automatically. Mailchimp's Google Analytics link tracking, Klaviyo's UTM tracking, and HubSpot's tracking can all append their own utm_source/utm_medium behind your back. If you also paste a manually tagged link, you end up with duplicate or conflicting parameters and inconsistent source names in your reports. Decide on one system — either let the platform tag automatically, or turn its auto-tagging off and tag manually here — and then keep the naming identical every time. The "Clean values" toggle lowercases everything and swaps spaces for your chosen separator, so Newsletter and newsletter never fracture into two different sources in your reports.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a UTM builder for email?
- It is a free tool that appends utm_source, utm_medium, and utm_campaign tags to the links you put in a newsletter or email campaign, so your analytics can attribute those clicks to the specific email that sent them. This one preloads source=newsletter and medium=email with one click, URL-encodes every value, and builds the link in your browser — nothing is uploaded and there is no sign-up.
- Why do email links need UTM parameters at all?
- Because email clients strip the referrer. When a subscriber clicks a link from inside Gmail, Apple Mail, or Outlook, the browser often arrives with no referrer information, so GA4 files the visit under Direct / None — the same bucket as people who typed your URL directly. UTM tags live in the URL, so they survive that referrer loss and let analytics see the click really came from your email.
- What source and medium should I use for email?
- Use utm_medium=email exactly — GA4's default channel grouping only routes a session into the Email channel when the medium is the literal string email, so Email, e-mail, or eblast will miss it. For utm_source, use newsletter (the default here) or the sending context, such as your platform name (mailchimp, klaviyo, hubspot) or the list. Put the individual send in utm_campaign, like march_digest or welcome_series_2.
- Does Mailchimp or Klaviyo already add UTM tags automatically?
- Often yes. Mailchimp's Google Analytics link tracking, Klaviyo's UTM tracking, and HubSpot's tracking can each append their own utm_source and utm_medium automatically. If you also add manual tags, you get duplicate or conflicting parameters and split source names in your reports. Pick one system: either rely on the platform's auto-tagging, or switch it off and tag manually here so you control the exact naming.
- How do I track which link inside the same email got clicked?
- Use utm_content. When an email has a hero button, a text link, and a footer link all pointing to the same landing page, give each a different utm_content value — hero_button, text_link, footer_cta. The source, medium, and campaign stay identical, so the send is still counted as one campaign, but you can see which placement actually earned the clicks.
- Why does my email traffic still show as direct traffic in GA4?
- Almost always because the links were untagged or tagged inconsistently. Without a utm_medium the referrer-stripped click has nothing to identify it, so it lands in Direct / None. Tagging every link with the Email preset fixes this. Inconsistent casing also fragments reports — this is where the Clean values toggle helps, and the sibling naming-convention page covers building one consistent taxonomy.
- Will UTM tags break Mailchimp merge tags or personalization?
- No. UTM parameters are static text appended to the base URL and are set before any merge tag or dynamic content is resolved, so they coexist fine. The tool also preserves any parameters already on your URL, so a link that already carries a merge-tag query string keeps it and just gains the UTM tags on top.
- Can I tag a whole newsletter's links at once?
- Yes. Switch to Bulk mode, paste every base URL from the email one per line, and the same source, medium, and campaign are applied to all of them. You can copy all the tagged links at once or download them as a CSV to drop into your email platform — handy for a digest with a dozen article links.