UTM Campaign Naming Conventions: Complete Standards Guide

"summer_sale" vs "Summer Sale" vs "summer-sale" vs "SUMMER_SALE" vs "summersale"

These all look like the same campaign, right?

To GA4, they're five completely different campaigns. Your $50,000 summer sale budget is now fragmented across five separate entries, making performance analysis impossible.

The solution: Campaign naming conventions that everyone on your team follows religiously.

Why Campaign Naming Conventions Matter

The Problem: Inconsistent Naming

Your team creates campaigns with random names:

GA4 sees these as 5 different campaigns.

Budget: $50K total GA4 shows:

• Black Friday 2024: $12K
• black_friday_2024: $15K
• black-friday-24: $10K
• BlackFriday2024: $8K
• bf2024: $5K

You can't aggregate performance. You can't compare year-over-year. Your reports are chaos.

The Solution: One Standard, Everyone Follows

Same campaign, one name format:

black-friday-2024

Everyone uses it. No exceptions.

GA4 shows:

• black-friday-2024: $50K

Clear, aggregated, actionable data.

Campaign Naming Structure

The Formula

`{"{"}{"{"}type{"}"}{"}"}}`_`{"{"}{"{"}initiative{"}"}{"}"}}`_`{"{"}{"{"}timing{"}"}{"}"}}`

Components:

1. Type - Campaign category (optional but recommended)
2. Initiative - What the campaign is about (required)
3. Timing - When it runs (required)

Examples:

ppc_product-launch_2024-q4
email_weekly-newsletter_2024-w45
social_blog-promotion_nov-2024
retarget_cart-abandoners_automated
brand_awareness_2024-q4

Component 1: Type (Campaign Category)

Purpose: Quickly identify campaign type without looking at medium

Common types:

Examples:

ppc_summer-sale_2024-q3
email_product-launch_nov-2024
retarget_cart-abandoners_automated

Component 2: Initiative (Campaign Focus)

Purpose: What the campaign is about

Guidelines:

• Be specific but concise
• Use hyphens for spaces
• Avoid abbreviations unless universally understood
• Include product/offer if relevant

Good examples:

product-launch
summer-sale
webinar-registration
ebook-download
free-trial
cart-abandonment
brand-awareness

Bad examples:

campaign1 (too generic)
plnov24 (too abbreviated)
buy-our-new-premium-enterprise-product-now (too long)

Component 3: Timing (When)

Purpose: Know when campaign ran without checking dates

Formats:

For campaigns with specific timeframes:

2024-q4 (quarterly)
2024-11 (monthly)
2024-w45 (weekly)
nov-2024 (month name)
black-friday-2024 (event date)
2024-11-15 (specific date)

For ongoing/automated campaigns:

automated
evergreen
ongoing
2024 (year-long)

Examples:

ppc_summer-sale_2024-q3
email_weekly-digest_2024-w45
retarget_cart-abandon_automated
brand_awareness_2024

Formatting Rules

Rule 1: Always Lowercase

Correct:

black-friday-2024
product-launch-q4
summer-sale

Wrong:

Black-Friday-2024
Product-Launch-Q4
Summer-Sale
SUMMER-SALE

Why: Case-sensitivity fragmentation. "summer" ≠ "Summer" in GA4.

Rule 2: Use Hyphens for Spaces

Correct:

product-launch
cart-abandonment
free-trial-signup

Wrong:

product_launch (underscores)
product launch (spaces - breaks URLs)
productlaunch (no separator - hard to read)
product.launch (periods)

Why: Hyphens are URL-safe, readable, and industry standard.

Rule 3: Use Underscores to Separate Components

Correct:

ppc_product-launch_2024-q4
email_newsletter_2024-w45

Why: Underscores separate major components. Hyphens separate words within components.

Alternative (if you prefer): Just use hyphens for everything:

ppc-product-launch-2024-q4

Pick one style and be consistent.

Rule 4: No Special Characters

Allowed:

• Letters: a-z
• Numbers: 0-9
• Hyphens: -
• Underscores: _

Not allowed:

❌ Spaces: "black friday"
❌ Ampersands: "black&friday"
❌ Slashes: "black/friday"
❌ Parentheses: "black-friday(2024)"
❌ Exclamation: "black-friday!"
❌ Hashtags: "#blackfriday"

Rule 5: Keep It Concise (But Clear)

Target length: 20-40 characters

Too short:

bf24 (unclear)
c1 (meaningless)

Too long:

black-friday-cyber-monday-holiday-shopping-event-2024-november-december-q4

Just right:

black-friday-2024 (18 chars)
holiday-shopping-q4-2024 (24 chars)

Channel-Specific Conventions

Paid Search (Google Ads, Bing)

Format:

ppc_`{campaign-focus}`_`{"{"}{"{"}timing{"}"}{"}"}}`

Examples:

ppc_brand-shoes_2024-q4
ppc_competitor-nike_2024-11
ppc_product-running-shoes_nov-2024

ValueTrack alternative (uses Google campaign name):

{{_campaign}} (set as custom parameter)

Paid Social (Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok)

Format:

social_`{"{"}{"{"}platform{"}"}{"}"}}`_`{"{"}{"{"}objective{"}"}{"}"}}`_`{"{"}{"{"}timing{"}"}{"}"}}`

Examples:

social_facebook_lead-gen_2024-q4
social_linkedin_awareness_nov-2024
social_tiktok_conversions_2024-11

Or use platform's dynamic naming:

{"{"}{"{"}campaign.name{"}"}{"}"}} (Facebook/LinkedIn)
__CAMPAIGN_NAME__ (TikTok)
{"{"}{"{"}CampaignName{"}"}{"}"}} (Microsoft)

Email Campaigns

Format:

email_`{"{"}{"{"}type{"}"}{"}"}}`_`{"{"}{"{"}timing{"}"}{"}"}}`

Examples:

email_weekly-newsletter_2024-w45
email_promotional_black-friday-2024
email_abandoned-cart_automated
email_onboarding_day-1
email_re-engagement_2024-q4

Social Organic Posts

Format:

organic-social_`{"{"}{"{"}topic{"}"}{"}"}}`_`{"{"}{"{"}date{"}"}{"}"}}`

Examples:

organic-social_blog-post-promo_2024-11-09
organic-social_product-launch_nov-2024
organic-social_event-registration_2024-11-15

Partnerships & Affiliates

Format:

partner_`{partner-name}`_`{"{"}{"{"}initiative{"}"}{"}"}}`_`{"{"}{"{"}timing{"}"}{"}"}}`

Examples:

partner_acme-corp_co-marketing_2024-q4
affiliate_influencer-jane_product-review_nov-2024
referral_customer-program_2024

Platform-Specific Implementation

Google Ads

Method 1: Auto-tagging (Recommended)

Enable auto-tagging
Campaign names come from Google Ads directly

Method 2: Custom parameter

Tracking template: `{"{"}{"{"}lpurl{"}"}{"}"}}`?utm_campaign={{_campaign}}
Custom parameter: _campaign = ppc_product-launch_2024-q4

Facebook/Instagram Ads

Use dynamic campaign name:

utm_campaign={"{"}{"{"}campaign.name{"}"}{"}"}}

Name your campaign in Ads Manager:

social_instagram_product-launch_2024-q4

Email Platforms

Mailchimp:

Campaign name: email_newsletter_2024-w45
This becomes utm_campaign automatically

HubSpot:

Email name: email_product-launch_nov-2024
Add manually: utm_campaign=email_product-launch_nov-2024

Campaign Naming Template Library

Copy-Paste Templates

Paid Search:

ppc_[product/service]_[timeframe]
Example: ppc_running-shoes_2024-q4

Paid Social:

social_[platform]_[objective]_[timeframe]
Example: social_facebook_lead-gen_nov-2024

Email:

email_[type]_[timeframe]
Example: email_weekly-newsletter_2024-w45

Retargeting:

retarget_[audience]_[timeframe]
Example: retarget_cart-abandoners_automated

Promotional:

promo_[offer]_[timeframe]
Example: promo_black-friday_2024

Brand Awareness:

brand_[target-audience]_[timeframe]
Example: brand_awareness_2024-q4

Creating Your Team's Naming Standard

Step 1: Document Your Convention

Create a shared document: "UTM Campaign Naming Standards"

# Campaign Naming Convention
 
## Format
`{"{"}{"{"}type{"}"}{"}"}}`_`{"{"}{"{"}initiative{"}"}{"}"}}`_`{"{"}{"{"}timing{"}"}{"}"}}`
 
## Rules
1. Always lowercase
2. Hyphens for spaces
3. Underscores between components
4. No special characters
5. Include timing/date
 
## Examples
- ppc_product-launch_2024-q4
- email_newsletter_2024-w45
- social_awareness_nov-2024
 
## Approved Types
- ppc, display, social, email, retarget, brand, promo, event
 
## Review Required
All campaign names must be approved before launch

Step 2: Create a UTM Builder Tool

Enforce standards with a tool:

<select id="type">
  <option value="ppc">PPC</option>
  <option value="social">Social</option>
  <option value="email">Email</option>
</select>
 
<input id="initiative" placeholder="product-launch">
<input id="timing" placeholder="2024-q4">
 
<button onclick="generateCampaign()">Generate</button>
 
<script>
function generateCampaign() {
  const type = document.getElementById('type').value;
  const initiative = document.getElementById('initiative').value
    .toLowerCase()
    .replace(/\s+/g, '-')
    .replace(/[^a-z0-9-]/g, '');
  const timing = document.getElementById('timing').value;
 
  const campaign = `${"{"}{"{"}type{"}"}{"}"}}_${"{"}{"{"}initiative{"}"}{"}"}}_${"{"}{"{"}timing{"}"}{"}"}}`;
  alert(`Campaign name: ${"{"}{"{"}campaign{"}"}{"}"}}`);
}
</script>

Step 3: Training & Onboarding

15-minute team training:

1. Why naming matters (5 min)
2. The convention rules (5 min)
3. Tool walkthrough (5 min)

Quiz before launch access:

Q: Format a campaign name for a Black Friday email
A: email_black-friday_2024

Step 4: Review Process

Before any campaign launches:

• Campaign name follows convention?
• Timing component included?
• All lowercase?
• Documented in tracking sheet?

FAQ

Can I use the same campaign name across multiple platforms?

Yes! If it's the same marketing initiative:

Google Ads: utm_campaign=product-launch-2024-q4
Facebook Ads: utm_campaign=product-launch-2024-q4
Email: utm_campaign=product-launch-2024-q4

Benefit: Aggregate cross-channel performance for the same campaign.

Should I include the year in campaign names?

Yes, always.

Why:

• Year-over-year comparisons
• Prevents reusing old campaign names
• Clear historical context

Format: 2024-q4 or 2024-11 or nov-2024

What if a campaign runs across multiple months?

Use quarter or year:

summer-sale-2024-q3 (runs June-August)
holiday-campaign-2024-q4 (runs Oct-Dec)
annual-sale-2024 (runs all year)

Can I change a campaign name mid-flight?

Not recommended. GA4 will treat it as two separate campaigns.

Better: Use utm_content for variants:

utm_campaign=product-launch-2024
utm_content=phase-1 (first month)
utm_content=phase-2 (second month)

What about A/B test variants?

Same campaign name, different content:

utm_campaign=black-friday-2024
utm_content=variant-a

utm_campaign=black-friday-2024
utm_content=variant-b

Related: ROI Tracking for Paid Campaigns Guide