How to Apply UTM Tags on Meta Ads

Applying UTM tags on your Meta Ads campaigns gives you super useful insights in tools like Google Analytics, helping you see which campaigns, ad sets, or ads are driving clicks and conversions. This quick and easy guide will show you how to create and apply UTM Tags to your Meta Ads campaigns!

Option 1: Apply UTM Tags directly on Meta Ads

1. Select your Meta Ads Campaign

2. Navigate to Ads

3. Select the Ad you would like to modify and click on the ✏️ Edit button

4. Scroll down, under Destination

5. Click on Build a "URL parameter" under the Website URL box

6. Paste your landing page URL under the Website URL box

7. Insert the parameters for Campaign source and Campaign medium

8. Click on the Apply button

🔗 Advise this link to create correct UTM Tags for your Paid Social Campaigns

Scroll down to Channels for manual traffic and advise the instructions under Paid Social. In order for your traffic to be grouped correctly under paid social, you must use the below combination of UTM parameters:

Source matches a regex list of social sites

AND

Medium matches regex ^(.*cp.*|ppc|retargeting|paid.*)$

For example, all the below combinations wil result in your traffic grouped correctly under Paid Social Session default channel group in Google Analytics: https://test.com/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=paid

https://test.com/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=cpc https://test.com/?utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=paid

Option 2: Apply UTM Tags via the URL Builder

1. Navigate to the Campaign URL Builder

2. Insert your landing page unde the Website URL box

3. Insert parameters for campaign source (for example: facebook) and campaign medium (for example: cpc)

4. Scroll down and copy the tagged URL under the generated URL box

5. Navigate to your Meta Ads

6. Navigate to the Ad you would like to modify and paste the tagged URL under Destination > Website URL

💡Tip: While you can use anything as a UTM parameter, remeber that for your traffic to be grouped correctly under Paid Social in Google Analytics, you should any combination of the below UTM parameters:

Source matches a regex list of social sites

AND

Medium matches regex ^(.*cp.*|ppc|retargeting|paid.*)$

💡 UTM Tag Tips

1. Be consistent with naming conventions

2. Always use lower case characters to avoid tracking errors

3. Replace spaces with underscores

4. Keep parameters short but descriptive

Frequently Asked Questions on Applying UTM Tags on Meta Ads

What are UTM parameters and why use them?

UTM parameters are tags you add to your URLs to track where your website traffic comes from. For Meta Ads, they help you understand which ads, campaigns, and placements are driving the best results via Google Analytics.

What UTM parameters should I use for Meta Ads?

For Paid Traffic (Advertising):

• utm_source: facebook (or instagram)

• utm_medium: cpc (or paid)

• utm_campaign: [your campaign name]

• utm_content: [ad identifier]
  

Example UTM Tag: ?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=paid&utm_campaign=campaign_name&utm_content=ad_name

For Organic Social Traffic (Non-Paid):

• utm_source: facebook (or instagram)

• utm_medium: social (or social-media)

• utm_campaign: [your campaign name]

• utm_content: [ad identifier]

Example UTM Tag: ?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=paid&utm_campaign=campaign_name&utm_content=ad_name

Where do I view my UTM tracking results?

1. Login to your Google Analytics

2. Go to Traffic Acquisition report

3. Change the dimension to "Session source / medium"

4. Look for entries matching your UTM parameters

   
   

   
   

Can I use different UTM tags for different ads in the same campaign?

Yes! This is recommended. Use unique utm_content values to track which specific ads perform best.

Is there a URL length limit?

Keep the full URL under 2,048 characters to ensure it works everywhere.

Can I use dynamic parameters?

Yes! Meta Ads supports dynamic values like:

• {{campaign.name}}

• {{adset.name}} These automatically fill with actual campaign data.