How to Fix Conflicting UTM Channel Medium Combinations

Laura Bennett discovered that 42% of her paid traffic was showing up in GA4's "Unassigned" channel.

$187,000 in quarterly ad spend with no channel attribution.

After two days of investigation, she found the problem: Her agency had been using conflicting source-medium combinations across all campaigns.

LinkedIn Ads: utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=social (should be cpc)
Facebook Ads: utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=organic (should be cpc)
Email campaigns: utm_source=mailchimp&utm_medium=referral (should be email)

This guide will show you exactly how to find and fix these conflicts—permanently.

How to Identify Conflicting Pairs

Step 1: Check GA4 Unassigned Channel

Unassigned channel = biggest red flag for conflicts

In GA4:

1. Reports → Acquisition → Traffic Acquisition
2. Look for "Unassigned" in Default channel grouping
3. If Unassigned has significant traffic → you have conflicts

Export the data:

1. Click "Unassigned" row
2. Add secondary dimension: Session medium
3. Add another dimension: Session source
4. Export to CSV

You'll see problematic pairs:

Channel,Source,Medium,Sessions
Unassigned,linkedin,social,12,445
Unassigned,facebook,organic,8,332
Unassigned,google,email,3,221

Step 2: Audit All Source-Medium Combinations

Complete source-medium inventory:

In GA4:

1. Explorations → Free Form
2. Dimensions: Session source, Session medium
3. Metrics: Sessions, Users, Conversions
4. Date range: Last 90 days
5. Export data

Review for logical conflicts:

Source,Medium,Sessions,Conflict?
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
facebook,organic,23,445,❌ CONFLICT (ads aren't "organic")
linkedin,social,12,334,⚠️  AMBIGUOUS (organic or paid?)
google,social,8,221,❌ CONFLICT (search ≠ social)
mailchimp,cpc,3,556,❌ CONFLICT (email ≠ paid ads)
twitter,email,1,223,❌ CONFLICT (social ≠ email)
facebook,cpc,34,221,✅ VALID (paid ads)
mailchimp,email,18,445,✅ VALID (email platform)
linkedin,cpc,9,334,✅ VALID (paid ads)

Step 3: Calculate Impact

For each conflict, measure:

Fix in priority order (highest revenue/spend impact first).

How to Fix Common Conflicts

Conflict Type 1: Paid Ads with Wrong Medium

Problem: Paid advertising campaigns using organic or social mediums

LinkedIn Ads

Conflict:

utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=social

Why it's wrong:

• Paid ads ≠ organic social posts
• Creates ambiguity about campaign type
• May assign to wrong channel

Fix:

utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=cpc
OR
utm_source=linkedin-ads&utm_medium=cpc

How to update:

1. LinkedIn Campaign Manager:

   • Navigate to campaign
   • Edit campaign settings
   • Update URL parameters section
   • Change medium from "social" to "cpc"

2. Bulk update (if many campaigns):

   Campaign Manager → Campaigns → Select all → Edit → URL parameters
   Find: utm_medium=social
   Replace: utm_medium=cpc
   

Facebook Ads

Conflict:

utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=organic

Why it's wrong:

• Facebook ads aren't organic
• "Organic" is for unpaid search results
• Completely illogical combination

Fix:

utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=cpc
OR
utm_source=facebook-ads&utm_medium=cpc

How to update:

1. Facebook Ads Manager:

   • Select campaign → Ad Set → Ad
   • Edit ad creative
   • Update URL parameters in "Website URL"
   • Change: utm_medium=organic → utm_medium=cpc

2. Use Facebook's auto-tag feature:

   • Settings → URL parameters
   • Template: utm_source={"{"}{"{"}site_source_name{"}"}{"}"}}&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign={"{"}{"{"}campaign.name{"}"}{"}"}}

Twitter Ads

Conflict:

utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=organic

Fix:

utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=cpc
OR
utm_source=twitter-ads&utm_medium=cpc

How to update:

1. Twitter Ads Manager
2. Select campaign → Edit
3. Update URL parameters
4. Change medium to "cpc"

Conflict Type 2: Search Engines with Non-Search Mediums

Google + Social

Conflict:

utm_source=google&utm_medium=social

Common cause: YouTube campaigns thinking it's "social"

Fix:

utm_source=google-youtube&utm_medium=cpc
OR
utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video

How to update:

1. Google Ads (YouTube campaigns):

   • Campaign → Settings → Campaign URL options
   • Update Final URL suffix
   • Change: utm_source=google&utm_medium=social
   • To: utm_source=google-youtube&utm_medium=cpc

2. Organic YouTube links:

   • Update channel/video descriptions
   • Change: utm_source=google&utm_medium=social
   • To: utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video

Bing + Social

Conflict:

utm_source=bing&utm_medium=social

Fix:

utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc (for paid)
utm_source=bing&utm_medium=organic (for organic)

Conflict Type 3: Email Platforms with Wrong Medium

Mailchimp + CPC

Conflict:

utm_source=mailchimp&utm_medium=cpc

Why it's wrong: Email platforms don't run paid ad campaigns

Fix:

utm_source=mailchimp&utm_medium=email

How to update:

1. Mailchimp:

   • Campaign → Settings → Tracking
   • Google Analytics tracking
   • Verify/update UTM parameters
   • Medium must be "email"

2. Update all email templates:

   • Search all templates for utm_medium=cpc
   • Replace with utm_medium=email

SendGrid + Social

Conflict:

utm_source=sendgrid&utm_medium=social

Fix:

utm_source=sendgrid&utm_medium=email

How to update:

1. SendGrid → Marketing → Single Sends
2. Edit campaign
3. Update all links
4. Change medium to "email"

Conflict Type 4: Platform Mismatches

Facebook + Email

Conflict:

utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=email

Possible cause:

• Facebook notification emails
• Misunderstood campaign type

Fix (depends on actual source):

If Facebook ads:

utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=cpc

If Facebook email notification:

utm_source=facebook-notification&utm_medium=email

If organic Facebook post:

utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social

Step-by-Step Fix Process

Phase 1: Prioritize Conflicts

Create fix priority list:

# UTM Conflict Fix Priority
 
## Critical (Fix This Week)
1. LinkedIn Ads: social → cpc (12,445 sessions, $45K spend)
2. Facebook Ads: organic → cpc (8,332 sessions, $38K spend)
3. Google YouTube: social → cpc (3,221 sessions, $12K spend)
 
## High (Fix Next Week)
4. Mailchimp: referral → email (4,556 sessions)
5. Twitter Ads: social → cpc (2,334 sessions, $8K spend)
 
## Medium (Fix Within Month)
6. Various partner links: wrong mediums (1,223 sessions)

Phase 2: Update Active Campaigns

For each platform:

1. LinkedIn Ads

Old: utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=social
New: utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=cpc

Where to update:
- Campaign Manager → All campaigns → URL parameters
- Update templates for future campaigns

2. Facebook Ads

Old: utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=organic
New: utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=cpc

Where to update:
- Ads Manager → All active ads → URL parameters
- Ad account settings → Default parameters

3. Email Campaigns

Old: utm_source=mailchimp&utm_medium=referral
New: utm_source=mailchimp&utm_medium=email

Where to update:
- Mailchimp → All campaigns → Tracking settings
- Email templates → All link UTMs

Phase 3: Update Templates

Prevent future conflicts by fixing templates:

Campaign templates spreadsheet:

# Approved Source-Medium Templates
 
| Platform | Type | Source | Medium | Template |
|----------|------|--------|--------|----------|
| Facebook | Paid | facebook-ads | cpc | utm_source=facebook-ads&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=[name] |
| Facebook | Organic | facebook | social | utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=[name] |
| LinkedIn | Paid | linkedin-ads | cpc | utm_source=linkedin-ads&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=[name] |
| LinkedIn | Organic | linkedin | social | utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=[name] |
| Mailchimp | Email | mailchimp | email | utm_source=mailchimp&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=[name] |
| Google Ads | Search | google | cpc | Auto-tagged (gclid) |
| Google Ads | YouTube | google-youtube | cpc | utm_source=google-youtube&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=`{"{"}{"{"}campaignid{"}"}{"}"}}` |

Phase 4: Validate Fixes

Test each updated campaign:

Validation checklist:

Platform: LinkedIn Ads
- [ ] Updated UTM: utm_medium=cpc (changed from social)
- [ ] Clicked test ad
- [ ] Checked GA4 Realtime
- [ ] Verified channel: Paid Social (not Unassigned)
- [ ] Confirmed session source: linkedin
- [ ] Confirmed session medium: cpc
- [ ] Update date: 2025-01-14

GA4 Realtime verification:

1. Click updated campaign link
2. GA4 → Reports → Realtime
3. Check "Traffic sources" card
4. Verify correct source + medium appears
5. Check it's NOT in Unassigned

Phase 5: Monitor Migration

Track fix progress weekly:

Week 1 (Before fixes):

Unassigned channel: 45,892 sessions
Paid Social channel: 12,334 sessions

Week 2 (After LinkedIn fix):

Unassigned channel: 33,447 sessions (-27%)
Paid Social channel: 24,779 sessions (+101%)

Week 3 (After Facebook fix):

Unassigned channel: 25,115 sessions (-45% from baseline)
Paid Social channel: 33,111 sessions (+169% from baseline)

Goal: Unassigned < 5% of total traffic

Prevention: Stop Conflicts Forever

1. Source-Medium Validation Rules

Implement validation before campaign launch:

const VALID_COMBINATIONS = {
  'facebook': ['social', 'cpc', 'paid-social'],
  'facebook-ads': ['cpc', 'paid-social'],
  'linkedin': ['social', 'cpc', 'paid-social'],
  'linkedin-ads': ['cpc', 'paid-social'],
  'google': ['organic', 'cpc', 'display'],
  'google-youtube': ['cpc', 'video'],
  'youtube': ['social', 'video'],
  'mailchimp': ['email'],
  'sendgrid': ['email'],
  'klaviyo': ['email']
};
 
function validateSourceMedium(source, medium) {
  const validMediums = VALID_COMBINATIONS[source];
 
  if (!validMediums) {
    throw new Error(`Unknown source: ${"{"}{"{"}source{"}"}{"}"}}`);
  }
 
  if (!validMediums.includes(medium)) {
    throw new Error(
      `Invalid medium "${"{"}{"{"}medium{"}"}{"}"}}" for source "${"{"}{"{"}source{"}"}{"}"}}". ` +
      `Valid options: ${validMediums.join(', ')}`
    );
  }
 
  return true;
}
 
// Usage
try {
  validateSourceMedium('linkedin', 'social'); // For paid ads, should be 'cpc'
} catch (error) {
  alert(error.message); // "Invalid medium..."
}

2. Platform-Specific UTM Builders

Create dedicated builders per platform:

LinkedIn Ads Builder:

• Source: Pre-filled "linkedin-ads" (locked)
• Medium: Pre-filled "cpc" (locked)
• Campaign: User input
• Content: User input

Facebook Organic Builder:

• Source: Pre-filled "facebook" (locked)
• Medium: Pre-filled "social" (locked)
• Campaign: User input

Benefit: Impossible to create conflicts

3. Automated Auditing

Monthly audit script:

// Fetch GA4 data via API
// Check for problematic combinations
 
const FORBIDDEN_PAIRS = [
  { source: 'google', medium: 'social' },
  { source: 'google', medium: 'email' },
  { source: 'facebook', medium: 'organic' },
  { source: 'facebook', medium: 'email' },
  { source: 'linkedin', medium: 'email' },
  { source: 'mailchimp', medium: 'cpc' },
  { source: 'mailchimp', medium: 'social' }
];
 
// Alert if any forbidden pair has sessions
// Notify team to investigate and fix

4. Documentation & Training

Team training checklist:

• Understand GA4 channel grouping logic
• Know valid source-medium combinations per platform
• Use approved templates only
• Validate in GA4 Realtime before full launch
• Monthly review of Unassigned channel

FAQ

How long does it take to fix all conflicts?

Typical timeline:

• Audit and prioritize: 1-2 hours
• Fix top 3 conflicts: 2-4 hours
• Update all templates: 1-2 hours
• Validate changes: 1 hour
• Total: 1-2 days

Most teams can fix critical conflicts within one week.

Will fixing conflicts break historical data?

No. Historical data remains unchanged. Future data will have correct attribution.

Tip: Note the fix date so you can filter reports by before/after periods.

Can I bulk-edit UTMs in GA4?

No. GA4 doesn't allow retroactive data editing.

Solution: Fix at the source (campaign platforms) so new data is correct.

What if my agency refuses to fix conflicts?

Require compliance or find new agency.

Email template:

Subject: Required UTM Parameter Fixes

Our GA4 data shows 42% of paid traffic is unattributable due to
conflicting source-medium combinations.

Required fixes (by [date]):
1. LinkedIn Ads: Change utm_medium from "social" to "cpc"
2. Facebook Ads: Change utm_medium from "organic" to "cpc"
3. All email campaigns: Ensure utm_medium="email"

This is non-negotiable for accurate attribution reporting.
Please confirm completion by [date].

Should I fix old paused campaigns?

Only if you plan to restart them. Focus on active campaigns first.

Priority:

1. Active high-spend campaigns
2. Templates for future campaigns
3. Paused campaigns (if restarting)
4. Archived campaigns (leave alone)

How do I know if my fixes worked?

Check GA4 after 24-48 hours:

1. Reports → Acquisition → Traffic Acquisition
2. Unassigned channel traffic should decrease
3. Correct channels (Paid Social, Email, etc.) should increase
4. Compare week-over-week changes

Success criteria: Unassigned < 5% of total traffic

Related: Conflicting Channel Medium Attribution Rule