Channels, sources and UTM tags
How visits are grouped into channels, and how to tag your campaigns so they show up correctly.
3 min read
Each visit gets a channel (Organic Search, Paid Search, Social, Email, Referral, Direct, AI Assistants, Short Link…) from its UTM tags, ad click ids (gclid, fbclid, msclkid) or the referring website.
Tag your links
https://example.com/offer?utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=paid_social&utm_campaign=diwali_sale
utm_source: where the visitor came from (google, instagram, newsletter).utm_medium: the type (cpc, paid_social, email, affiliate).utm_campaign: the campaign name you want to see in reports.
Tip: Short links created in Engage → Short links add UTM tags for you and attribute the visit automatically.
Good to know: Paid visits without utm_campaign show as "(not set)": Recommendations will warn you when this happens often.