5 Common Types Of TikTok UTM Parameters & How To Use (2025 Guide)

Hello TikTok marketers! So, you are getting visitors and sales coming from TikTok, but you don’t know which videos, posts, or links are generating traffic? That’s when TikTok UTM parameters become necessary. This article explains the 5 main types of UTM parameters and how to use them for tracking link performance on TikTok effectively. Ready to discover? Let’s dive in!

What Are TikTok UTM Parameters?

TikTok UTM parameters, fully called TikTok Urchin Tracking Module parameters, are snippets of code appended to URLs to track their performance on the TikTok platform. 

These parameters let you know where on TikTok your website visitors are coming from. Particularly, you’ll learn which source, method, campaign, and content bring them there.

That’s the definition of TikTok UTM parameters. To understand how they actually work, please look at the example below.

Example:

Suppose you are a fashion brand running a sales discount program. You post two different videos on TikTok with links to your site to promote it:

• Video 1: A dance video featuring a dancer wearing the discounted products of your brand.
• Video 2: An informational video presenting the discount rate for each product.

To know which video drives more traffic to your website, you can add different UTM parameters to the website URL, like this:

Normal URL:

https://www.yourwebsite.com/

Video 1 URL:

https://www.yourwebsite.com/sale?utm_source=tiktok&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=summer_sale&utm_content=dance_video

Video 2 URL:

https://www.yourwebsite.com/sale?utm_source=tiktok&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=summer_sale&utm_content=info_video

Then, you can use Google Analytics 4 (GA4) to track the traffic volume generated by each video. This way, you will know which one works better at driving website visitors and sales.

5 Common Types Of TikTok UTM Parameters

There are five main types of UTM parameters that are often used to track traffic driven from TikTok. Let’s explore what they are, what they can help, and how they show up in examples.

#1. utm_source

This parameter recognizes which application, website, or publisher drives traffic to your website.

Example:

https://www.yourwebsite.com/?utm_source=tiktok

#2. utm_medium

This tag identifies what type of link is used.

Example:

https://www.yourwebsite.com/?utm_medium=bio

#3. utm_campaign

This tag points out the specific marketing campaign the link belongs to. 

Example:

https://www.yourwebsite.com/?utm_campaign=summersale2025

#4. utm_term

This snippet is used to spot search terms/keywords. 

Example:

https://www.yourwebsite.com/?utm_term=adname

#5. utm_content

This parameter differentiates what specifically was clicked to bring the user to the site.

Example:

https://www.yourwebsite.com/?utm_content=buynow

You can add multiple UTM parameters together to a single URL using the ampersand symbol (&).

Example:

https://www.yourwebsite.com/?utm_source=tiktok&utm_medium=paid&utm_content=buynow

By using TikTok UTM parameters, you can easily track traffic acquisition and analyze the performance of your TikTok posts, ads, and campaigns. Then, you can adjust and optimize them accordingly for better results.

How To Add TikTok UTM Parameters?

There are two main ways to add UTM parameters to the URLs you share on TikTok: automatically and manually.

How to add TikTok UTM parameters automatically

You can leverage the URL Auto-attach feature within the TikTok Ads Manager to add UTM parameters automatically to your URLs.

Here’s how:

Step #1: Go to the Destination section in TikTok Ads Manager.

Step #2: Enter the URL in the Destination URL box.

Step #3: Toggle the Automatically add URL parameters switch on.

Once you finish, TikTok will automatically add essential UTM parameters to your URL.

Example:

https://www.yourwebsite.com/?utm_source=tiktok&utm_medium=paid

Note: You can turn this feature on or off directly in your TikTok ad settings.

How to add TikTok UTM parameters manually

If you want to have more control and add more specific, custom strings to your TikTok UTM tracking links, you can add parameters manually.

Especially, for organic TikTok content like in the bio, there is no automatic feature to use. Therefore, knowing how to add TikTok UTM parameters manually is essential.

Follow these steps:

Step #1: Utilize a TikTok URL builder

Use a TikTok UTM parameters builder tool like Google’s Campaign URL Builder to construct your UTM-tagged URLs.

Step #2: Populate UTM fields

Enter the relevant information for each parameter:

• utm_source: Use <tiktok>
• utm_medium: Specify the traffic type (e.g., <organic> for regular posts, <cpc> for paid ads not using the auto-attach feature, <bio> for links in bio).
• utm_campaign: Use a clear and descriptive campaign name (e.g., <product_launch_q3>).
• utm_content: Detail the specific content being linked (e.g., <video_demo> or <link_in_bio_profile>).
• utm_term: (Optional) Include relevant keywords, ad group names, audience targeting information, etc.

Step #3: Copy the generated URL

Once you fill out all the fields, the tool will generate a new URL with the respective UTM string (starting with ?) for you.

Example:

https://yourwebsite.com/?utm_source=tiktok&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=summer_sale&utm_id=0123456789

Step #4: Test your link

Paste the generated URL into your web browser’s address bar to check whether it directs to your website properly or not. Make sure all the UTM parameters show up in the link.

Step #5: Apply to TikTok content

Paste the UTM-tagged URL into your TikTok bio, post, or ad manually.

How To Track TikTok UTM Parameters?

Now that you’ve added parameters for assessing link performance successfully, it’s important to learn how to track UTM URLs. 

To analyze the effectiveness of your links on TikTok, you need to use Google Analytics 4 (GA4). GA4 is a free and powerful web analytics tool by Google.

It helps you measure website traffic and engagement, analyze user behavior, and understand the customer journey.

Here is how to track TikTok UTM parameters with GA4:

1. Install GA4 and set it up for your website.
2. Go to https://analytics.google.com/analytics/web/.
3. Navigate to Reports > Acquisition.
4. Select Traffic Acquisition to view overall traffic sources or User Acquisition to view sources of new users.
5. You can change the primary and secondary dimensions within these reports to customize your data analysis to your needs.

>>> Previous article: Free TikTok Summarizer Tools And Methods

Conclusion

Mastering TikTok UTM parameters can be a game-changer skill for any content creator or business marketer serious about understanding the effectiveness of their TikTok campaigns. By adding these simple yet powerful tracking codes, automatically and manually, you can unlock the valuable data of your TikTok-driven visitors. With these insights, you can make informed decisions, optimize your content, and achieve your marketing goals on TikTok.

If you want to enhance the effectiveness of your TikTok advertising campaigns, consider using a TikTok agency ad account for rent. And don’t forget to follow GDT Agency to learn more useful TikTok marketing insights.

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