Campaign Tracking

What Is UTM Term?

The utm_term parameter captures the keyword, search term, audience, or targeting criteria that contributed to a website visit.

Updated 2026-06-28

Quick Definition

The utm_term parameter captures the keyword, search term, audience, or targeting criteria that contributed to a website visit.

In plain English

If utm_source answers who sent the visitor, utm_medium answers how they arrived, utm_campaign answers why the campaign exists, and utm_content answers which asset generated the click, then utm_term answers: Which keyword or audience generated the click? It is optional, and many teams do not need it for every campaign.

Expanded explanation

The utm_term parameter adds keyword, audience, or targeting context to a campaign URL. In a paid search campaign, it might identify the keyword running_shoes. In a paid social campaign, it might identify an audience such as returning_customers, lookalike_audience, or cart_abandoners. Because every organization measures campaigns differently, there is no single correct way to use utm_term. The most important decision is whether the field will support meaningful reporting. If your team does not analyze performance by keyword, audience, ad group, or targeting strategy, adding utm_term may create more data to govern without improving decision-making.

Why it matters

Using utm_term can help teams understand which paid search keywords generated conversions, which audience segment produced the strongest engagement, which remarketing audience performed best, and which targeting strategy generated better return on ad spend. If that level of reporting is not useful for your organization, leaving utm_term unused is perfectly acceptable. The value comes from capturing information that supports real decisions, not from filling every possible UTM parameter.

How it works

The utm_term parameter travels with the campaign URL as a query parameter. Google Analytics records the value when the visitor lands on the site, then makes it available for campaign analysis. Two advertisements can share the same source, medium, campaign, and content values while using different term values to compare keyword or audience performance.

For example, one ad might use utm_term=running_shoes while another uses utm_term=trail_running. Both belong to the same campaign, but the term value helps identify which keyword or audience generated each visit.

Diagram

UTM term campaign reporting flow

flowchart TD
  A[Summer Sale Campaign]
  A --> B[Headline A<br/>Keyword: Running Shoes]
  A --> C[Headline B<br/>Keyword: Trail Running]
  B --> D[Google Analytics 4]
  C --> D
  D --> E[Keyword and Audience Reporting]

Common misconceptions

UTM Term is required. It is not. Unlike utm_source, utm_medium, and utm_campaign, utm_term is optional.
UTM Term is only for Google Ads. It was originally intended for paid search keywords, but many teams now use it for audience segments, remarketing lists, ad groups, and other paid media metadata.
UTM Term affects channel classification. It does not. Google Analytics 4 primarily uses source and medium values for Default Channel Group classification.

Common mistakes

Populating utm_term with placeholders such as none, na, or a repeated campaign name.
Using utm_term when no meaningful keyword, audience, ad group, or targeting information exists.
Recording inconsistent audience names across campaigns.
Changing term naming conventions during an active campaign.
Mixing keywords and audience names without documenting the strategy.
Assuming every campaign requires a utm_term value.

Examples

utm_source=google
utm_medium=cpc
utm_campaign=summer_sale_2026
utm_term=running_shoes

utm_source=google
utm_medium=cpc
utm_campaign=summer_sale_2026
utm_content=headline_a
utm_term=running_shoes

utm_term=trail_running

utm_term=returning_customers

utm_term=lookalike_audience

utm_term=cart_abandoners

utm_term=customer_match

Practical example

An ecommerce retailer promotes the same summer sale using Google Ads. Every advertisement uses utm_campaign=summer_sale_2026, but each ad uses a different utm_term value such as running_shoes, trail_running, or lightweight_sneakers. The retailer can compare which search intent generated stronger campaign performance without creating separate campaigns for every keyword.

Real-world example

Another marketing team might use utm_term values such as returning_customers, lookalike_audience, and cart_abandoners to compare audience performance across the same paid social campaign. In that workflow, utm_content can identify the creative version, while utm_term identifies the audience or targeting criteria being evaluated.

Best practices

Only use utm_term when it adds meaningful reporting value.
Decide whether your organization uses utm_term for keywords, audiences, ad groups, targeting strategies, or another specific purpose.
Keep keyword and audience names consistent across campaigns.
Use lowercase values consistently.
Avoid mixing multiple naming strategies unless there is a clear reporting reason.
Document your utm_term strategy so marketers, analysts, and agencies use the field the same way.

Implementation tips

Think of utm_term as the answer to: Which keyword or audience generated this click?
Before using utm_term, decide what information you want to capture and how that information will be used in reports.
For paid advertising, review each platform's dynamic URL parameters before building manual values.
Dynamic parameters can reduce manual work, but they should still map cleanly to your organization's UTM naming conventions.
If your reporting does not require keyword, audience, or targeting-level analysis, omit utm_term rather than filling it with low-value placeholders.

Lessons learned from real implementations

From Experience

One of the biggest misconceptions around utm_term is that every campaign should use it. In practice, the best tracking strategies are often the simplest. If your team is not making decisions based on keyword, audience, ad group, or targeting performance, adding utm_term simply creates more data to manage. But for organizations running sophisticated paid advertising programs, utm_term can be extremely useful for understanding which audiences, keywords, or targeting strategies consistently outperform others. Good measurement strategies collect the data needed to answer business questions, not every piece of data that could possibly be collected.

Role-based notes

Marketers

Use utm_term when comparing keywords, audiences, ad groups, or targeting strategies within paid advertising campaigns.

Analysts

Review utm_term values periodically to ensure naming conventions remain consistent and still support useful reporting.

Developers

Like other UTM parameters, utm_term is a URL query parameter. Analytics platforms collect it automatically when it is present on the landing URL.

FAQs

Should every campaign use utm_term?

No. If your reporting does not require keyword, audience, ad group, or targeting-level analysis, it is fine to omit utm_term.

Is utm_term only for paid search?

Originally, yes. Today, many organizations also use it to identify audience segments, remarketing lists, Customer Match audiences, ad groups, or other paid media metadata.

Should I use utm_term with Google Ads?

It depends. If Google Ads auto-tagging is enabled, Google can pass advertising information to Google Analytics using the gclid parameter. In many cases, manually populating utm_term is unnecessary for Google Search campaigns, but it may still be useful for other platforms or for metadata that is not automatically collected.

Is utm_term case-sensitive?

Yes. Google Analytics treats Running_Shoes, running_shoes, and RUNNING_SHOES as separate values. Consistent lowercase naming is a best practice.