Campaign Tracking Parameters: Source, Medium, and Name Explained

Summary

Campaign tracking uses three key parameters—Source, Medium, and Name—to categorize and identify traffic. Understanding how each parameter is defined helps you structure campaigns consistently and interpret analytics data more effectively.

Overview

It can be challenging to start using Campaign Tracking if you have never done so in the past. Below are definitions for the Medium, Source, and Name parameters and some suggestions to get you started.

Campaign tracking parameters

• Source: A source can be the location where a link is placed (e.g. newsletter/LinkedIn).
• Medium: The traffic medium on which the link was clicked (e.g. email/social).
• Name: A name to specifically identify your campaign.

Examples of parameter usage

Medium (Marketing channel, the way the campaign appears)

• Social Media
• Email
• Cost per Click (CPC)
• Pay per Click (PPC)
• Banner
• Offline

Source (The item being interacted with)

• Newsletter
• Facebook
• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Landing Page
• Website Signature
• Blog

Name (Specifically identify your campaign)

• Product_upgrade
• Product_XYZ
• Product_launch
• [Specific web page]
• [Specific blog post]
• [Specific Newsletter Month]

When to use each parameter

• Use Source to identify where the user came from (the specific platform, site, or placement of the link).
• Use Medium to categorize how the traffic was delivered (the marketing channel or type of campaign).
• Use Name to label the specific campaign or initiative, making it easy to group and analyze related efforts.

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