Campaign tracking
UTM tracking for campaign links that still add up next month
UTM tracking with CTAurl: put your UTM tags on the destination, give each channel its own readable short link, and the redirect hands the tags to your analytics unchanged.
Last reviewed 27 October 2026 by the CTAurl team
https://shop.abc.yz/sneaker?utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=spring-drop
buy-it.now/sneakerSame address, tags includedTag once
How do UTM tags pass through a short link?
UTM tags pass through a CTAurl short link unchanged, because every link answers with a 302 to the destination exactly as you saved it. Paste a destination that already carries utm_source, utm_medium and utm_campaign, and your analytics tool attributes the visit to the source, medium and campaign you set.
Google Analytics Help says every tagged link should carry all three of those parameters, and a missing value shows up in reports as "(not set)".
Build a tagged URL
One link per channel
Campaign tracking by channel: one link per channel
Campaign tracking by channel in CTAurl means one short link per channel, all pointing at the same page: one for the Instagram bio, one for the newsletter and one for the printed flyer. Each link reports on its own, so you can see which channel did the work before anyone asks for the comparison.
buy-it.now/sneaker-igbuy-it.now/sneaker-mailbuy-it.now/sneaker-flyer
Stay consistent
Why does one campaign show up as two rows in UTM reports?
One campaign shows up as two rows because UTM values are case sensitive. Google Analytics Help states that parameter values are case sensitive and advises a strict naming convention for every field, so Instagram and instagram report as two different sources. Lowercase, hyphens and a fixed list of mediums keep one campaign as one row.
When you add UTM tags in CTAurl's create form, CTAurl lowercases the values. It does not enforce a naming convention beyond that, so the free UTM builder and the naming guide do the rest.
Read the naming conventionFrequently asked questions
Do UTM tags survive a short link redirect?
Yes. CTAurl stores your destination address as you paste it, apart from standard URL clean-up, UTM tags included, and every short link answers with a 302 to that address as saved. The redirect sets no cookie. Your own analytics tool sees the source, medium and campaign you set.
Does CTAurl show UTM values in its own analytics?
Yes. Each CTAurl click record keeps the utm_source, utm_medium and utm_campaign from the destination, next to the city, device and referring site. Counts are requests, not people, so they can include bots, security scanners and link previews. Link analytics explains what each record holds.
Does CTAurl enforce a UTM naming convention for my team?
No. CTAurl lowercases the UTM values you add in its create form, but it does not enforce a naming convention for your team. Use the free CTAurl UTM builder, which lowercases and hyphenates every value, and agree a one-page convention with your team. Our UTM naming guide has one you can copy.