Tag your ads and emails with UTMs
How Fabrik Analytics reads UTM tags, the utm_medium to use for each channel, and how to check Google Ads, Meta and Klaviyo tagging on the Tracking tab.
4 min readUpdated 7 October 2026
UTM tags are the labels on a link that say where a visit came from. Fabrik Analytics reads them, with click identifiers such as Google's gclid, to credit each visit and order to a channel. Consistent tags mean your channel reports, order attribution and the Website pages all agree.
The rule: utm_medium names the channel
Fabrik Analytics reads the utm_medium of a link as its channel, whatever the source says. Use these:
| utm_medium | Channel | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| paid_search | Paid Search | Google Ads and Microsoft Ads |
| paid_social | Paid Social | Meta, TikTok, Pinterest and Snapchat ads |
| display | Display | display and programmatic ads |
| affiliate | Affiliate | affiliate networks and partner links |
| Klaviyo and every other email | ||
| sms | SMS | text messages |
| organic_social | Organic Social | unpaid posts, profile and bio links |
| referral | Referral | links placed on other sites |
| organic | Organic Search | unpaid search, where a link can be tagged at all |
Links tagged before this rule (cpc, ppc, paid) still count as they always did.
Before you start
- Open the brand, then Settings, Tracking.
- The four tagging cards are for the agency's owner, directors and account managers. Only the agency owner sees Set suffix and Undo the last change.
- A client of an agency-managed brand sees a note naming the agency that checks the tags. A brand without an agency sees "Tag checks are not set up for this brand": your tags are still read as they are.
Google Ads: the final URL suffix
The card Google Ads: the final URL suffix shows what the account carries now, with a status such as Suffix set, Other suffix, Old medium, update, No suffix or Not read yet.
- Click Read from Google to read the account now. It is also read daily.
- If the status is not Suffix set, click Set suffix.
- Check Replaces (what is there now) and With (Fabrik's suffix), then confirm.
- Google is read again just before the change. If anything changed in the meantime, nothing is written.
- The change appears under Changes made here. To reverse it, click Undo the last change.
A campaign with its own suffix or tracking template keeps it, and the card lists those campaigns.
Meta: each active ad's URL parameters
The card Meta: each active ad's URL parameters lists every active ad that delivered in the last 7 days, with All tagged, Ads missing tags or No active ads.
- Under Paste into each ad's URL parameters in Ads Manager, click the copy button.
- In Meta Ads Manager, open each ad, find URL parameters, paste and publish.
- After the next Meta sync, each ad shows Tagged, Partly tagged, Untagged or Old medium, update.
Klaviyo: UTMs on email clicks
Klaviyo has no way for apps to change this, so switch on UTM tracking in your Klaviyo account so it adds UTM parameters to links. The card shows UTMs on, UTMs off, Some UTMs or Not seen yet, judged from what recent email clicks carried, and lists recent campaigns with whether each adds UTMs.
What you will see
- Each card's status updates after the next read or sync.
- How each is checked explains each rule and lists the mediums, with links to Google's, Meta's and Klaviyo's own guides.
- Orders and visits from correctly tagged links show the right channel on the order record, the Paid Media pages and the Website page.
Troubleshooting
- "Google Ads is not connected for this brand" or "Meta is not connected for this brand": connect it on the Integrations tab first.
- "The suffix was not set": Google held something different from what you were shown. Click Read from Google and try again.
- "Tracking is for the agency's owner, directors and account managers": your role cannot see these cards. Ask the agency owner.