Guide: UTM Attribution Best Practices

CleanClicks automatically captures UTM parameters from every visitor's landing page URL. This guide covers how to structure your UTMs for the best attribution data across all platforms.

What CleanClicks Captures

The tag automatically reads these parameters from the URL:

• utm_source — where the traffic came from (google, facebook, tiktok, etc.)
• utm_medium — the marketing channel (cpc, social, email, etc.)
• utm_campaign — the specific campaign name
• utm_term — the keyword (primarily for search ads)
• utm_content — the specific ad creative or variant

These are stored in first-party cookies and attached to every conversion event sent to your ad platforms.

Click IDs vs. UTMs

Ad platforms also append their own click IDs to URLs:

CleanClicks captures both click IDs and UTMs. Click IDs provide precise ad-level attribution within each platform. UTMs provide cross-platform attribution and are readable by your analytics tools.

Use both. Click IDs and UTMs serve different purposes and don't conflict.

Google Ads: Final URL Suffix

The most impactful UTM setup for CleanClicks users. Set this once at the account level and every ad automatically includes UTMs:

Location: Google Ads > Admin > Account Settings > Tracking > Final URL suffix

utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign={campaignname}&utm_term={keyword}&utm_content={creative}&matchtype={matchtype}&network={network}&device={device}&ad_id={creative}

What the Dynamic Parameters Do

This gives CleanClicks (and your analytics platforms) detailed campaign-level attribution on every Google Ads click.

Meta (Facebook) Ads

Meta automatically appends fbclid to all ad clicks. For UTM data, add URL parameters in your ad setup:

1. When creating an ad in Ads Manager, go to the Tracking section
2. Add URL Parameters:

utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=paid_social&utm_campaign={{campaign.name}}&utm_content={{ad.name}}&utm_term={{adset.name}}

Meta's dynamic parameters use double curly braces {{}}.

TikTok Ads

Add UTM parameters in your TikTok ad's tracking settings:

utm_source=tiktok&utm_medium=paid_social&utm_campaign=__CAMPAIGN_NAME__&utm_content=__AID_NAME__

TikTok uses __PARAMETER__ format for dynamic values.

Microsoft Ads (Bing)

Similar to Google Ads, set a Final URL suffix:

Location: Microsoft Ads > Settings > Account Settings > Tracking

utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign={CampaignName}&utm_term={Keyword}&utm_content={AdId}&matchtype={MatchType}&device={Device}

Naming Conventions

Consistent naming is the single most important thing for clean attribution data. Pick a convention and stick with it across all platforms.

Recommended Format

Rules

• Lowercase everything. Google and google are different values in analytics.
• No spaces. Use hyphens or underscores.
• Be consistent across platforms. If Google is cpc, don't use ppc for Microsoft.
• Don't put PII in UTMs. No email addresses, names, or phone numbers.

How CleanClicks Uses UTMs

1. Visitor lands on your site with UTMs in the URL
2. CleanClicks tag captures and stores them in first-party cookies
3. Cookies persist across the session (and revisits)
4. When a conversion fires, UTMs are included in the event data
5. Each connected platform receives the UTMs alongside click IDs
6. Your analytics platforms (GA4, Usermaven) use UTMs for source/medium/campaign reporting

UTMs flow through to all connected platforms, so proper tagging benefits every system simultaneously.

Common Mistakes

• Missing UTMs on ads. Click IDs alone don't populate your analytics with campaign names. Always add UTMs.
• Inconsistent source names. google vs. Google vs. google-ads fractures your data.
• Overwriting UTMs on redirects. If your site has redirect chains, make sure they preserve query parameters.
• UTMs on internal links. Only use UTMs on external links pointing to your site. Internal links with UTMs create false "new sessions" in analytics.

Related: Triggers and Events | Connecting Google Ads