Source is the platform, medium is the type of traffic and campaign is the initiative. Keep them lower case and consistent: analytics tools treat Facebook and facebook as different sources, which splits reports.
Example
https://yourbrand.com/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=paid-social&utm_campaign=diwali-2026
Build clean, consistent UTM links with presets for Meta, Google, LinkedIn and WhatsApp, and see how GA4 will classify them.
Related terms
- GA4 default channel groupThe GA4 default channel group is the set of rules Google Analytics 4 uses to sort traffic into channels such as Paid Social, Paid Search and Email.
- Link shortenerA link shortener turns a long URL into a short one that redirects to it, usually with click counts.
Part of the growth marketing glossary by Shiva Sharma.