Add Required UTM Parameters to LinkedIn Ads (Step-by-Step)

Your LinkedIn Ads are showing as referral traffic in GA4. You can't measure campaign performance, calculate ROI, or optimize ad spend.

You can fix this in 3 minutes by adding UTM parameters.

What You're Fixing

LinkedIn automatically adds li_fat_id (LinkedIn First-Party Ad Tracking ID) to track clicks, but GA4 doesn't recognize li_fat_id for traffic classification.

Without UTM parameters, GA4 sees LinkedIn Ads as referral traffic from linkedin.com.

Current State (Broken Attribution)

Your ad URL:

https://yoursite.com/demo

After user clicks (LinkedIn adds li_fat_id automatically):

https://yoursite.com/demo?li_fat_id=abc123xyz

Result in GA4:

• Source/Medium: linkedin.com / referral
• Channel: Referral (not Paid Social)
• Campaign: (not set)
• No attribution data

Why this happens: GA4 only recognizes click IDs from Google (gclid, gbraid, wbraid) and Facebook (fbclid). LinkedIn's li_fat_id requires manual UTMs for GA4 attribution.

The 3-Minute Fix

Step 1: Add UTM Parameters (2 minutes)

1. LinkedIn Campaign Manager → Campaigns
2. Select campaign to edit
3. Navigate to Campaign Settings
4. Find URL Parameters or Tracking section
5. Add UTM parameters to destination URL

Recommended UTM structure:

utm_source=linkedin
utm_medium=paid-social
utm_campaign={campaign_name}
utm_content={ad_name}

Example before fix:

https://yoursite.com/demo

Example after fix:

https://yoursite.com/demo?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=paid-social&utm_campaign=b2b_leads&utm_content=whitepaper_cta

LinkedIn will append li_fat_id when clicked:

https://yoursite.com/demo?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=paid-social&utm_campaign=b2b_leads&li_fat_id=abc123

Important: Both li_fat_id and UTMs work together without conflicts. GA4 reads the UTMs for classification and ignores the li_fat_id. LinkedIn Insight Tag uses li_fat_id for conversion tracking.

Step 2: Apply to All Campaigns

Update UTMs for:

• All active campaigns
• All ad groups
• All individual ads (if not inheriting from campaign level)

LinkedIn Campaign Manager hierarchy:

Campaign level → UTMs apply to all ads in campaign
↓
Ad group level → UTMs apply to ads in ad group
↓
Individual ad level → UTMs specific to single ad

Best practice: Add UTMs at campaign level for consistent tracking.

Step 3: Verify Tracking (1 minute)

Test GA4 attribution:

1. Create test campaign with small budget ($25/day minimum for LinkedIn)
2. Click ad from LinkedIn
3. Verify both UTMs and li_fat_id present in URL
4. Check GA4 → Real-time report
5. Confirm traffic shows as "linkedin / paid-social"

What Changes After You Fix It

Before (no UTMs):

• Source/Medium: linkedin.com / referral
• Channel: Referral
• Campaign: (not set)
• Content: (not set)
• Unable to track campaign performance or ROI

After (with UTMs):

• Source/Medium: linkedin / paid-social
• Channel: Paid Social
• Campaign: b2b_leads
• Content: whitepaper_cta
• Full attribution, ROI tracking, and campaign optimization

Advanced UTM Strategies for LinkedIn Ads

Option 1: Campaign-Level Tracking

Basic structure (good for most B2B campaigns):

?utm_source=linkedin
&utm_medium=paid-social
&utm_campaign=q4_demand_gen

Option 2: Audience-Level Tracking

Detailed structure (recommended for account-based marketing):

?utm_source=linkedin
&utm_medium=paid-social
&utm_campaign=enterprise_accounts
&utm_content=job_title_cfo

Track which LinkedIn audiences convert best:

• Job titles (CFO, CMO, VP Sales)
• Company size (1-50, 51-200, 201-500, 500+)
• Industries (SaaS, Healthcare, Finance)
• Seniority levels (C-Level, Director, Manager)

Option 3: Ad Format-Level Tracking

Granular structure (for creative testing):

?utm_source=linkedin
&utm_medium=paid-social
&utm_campaign=webinar_promotion
&utm_content=single_image_ad
&utm_term=headline_a

Test performance across LinkedIn ad formats:

• Single image ads
• Carousel ads
• Video ads
• Message ads (InMail)
• Text ads
• Event ads
• Document ads

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Issue 1: UTMs Not Appearing in GA4

Problem: Added UTMs to LinkedIn Ads but GA4 still shows "linkedin.com / referral".

Cause: URL redirect stripping UTM parameters.

Fix:

1. Check for landing page redirects (301/302)
2. Ensure redirects preserve query parameters:

   JavascriptCopy

   // ❌ Wrong (loses UTMs)
   window.location = '/new-page';
    
   // ✅ Correct (preserves UTMs)
   window.location = '/new-page' + window.location.search;

3. Test manually: Click ad and verify UTMs present in browser address bar

Issue 2: LinkedIn Conversion Tracking Stopped Working

Problem: After adding UTMs, LinkedIn conversions show zero.

Cause: LinkedIn Insight Tag not installed or misconfigured.

Fix:

1. Verify LinkedIn Insight Tag installed on all pages:

   HtmlCopy

   <!-- LinkedIn Insight Tag -->
   <script type="text/javascript">
   _linkedin_partner_id = "123456";
   window._linkedin_data_partner_ids = window._linkedin_data_partner_ids || [];
   window._linkedin_data_partner_ids.push(_linkedin_partner_id);
   </script>
   <script type="text/javascript">
   (function(l) {
   if (!l){window.lintrk = function(a,b){window.lintrk.q.push([a,b])};
   window.lintrk.q=[]}
   var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];
   var b = document.createElement("script");
   b.type = "text/javascript";b.async = true;
   b.src = "https://snap.licdn.com/li.lms-analytics/insight.min.js";
   s.parentNode.insertBefore(b, s);})(window.lintrk);
   </script>

2. Add conversion events to thank-you pages:

   JavascriptCopy

   // Lead conversion
   window.lintrk('track', { conversion_id: 123456 });

3. Verify in LinkedIn Campaign Manager → Insight Tag → Status

Issue 3: Duplicate Sessions in GA4

Problem: Each LinkedIn ad click creates 2 sessions.

Cause: Rare with LinkedIn Ads. Most likely cause is duplicate GA4 tracking tags.

Fix:

1. Google Tag Manager → Check for duplicate GA4 configuration tags
2. View page source → Verify GA4 snippet appears only once
3. Remove redundant tracking implementations

FAQ

Will this break LinkedIn conversion tracking?

No. LinkedIn's Insight Tag operates independently and uses li_fat_id for attribution. UTMs are only for GA4 tracking. Both systems work simultaneously without conflicts.

What utm_medium should I use for LinkedIn Ads?

Recommended options:

• paid-social (best - GA4 classifies as "Paid Social")
• cpc (also works - classified as "Paid Search")
• paidsocial (no hyphen - also works)

Best practice: utm_medium=paid-social for consistency across all social ad platforms.

Does this affect LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms?

No. Lead Gen Forms submit directly to LinkedIn and don't redirect to your website. They bypass UTM tracking entirely. However, if users click through to your website after submitting, UTMs will track that subsequent visit.

Can I use dynamic UTM parameters?

LinkedIn supports limited dynamic parameters in URL tracking:

Supported:

utm_campaign={{campaign.name}}
utm_content={{creative.name}}

Example:

?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=paid-social&utm_campaign={{campaign.name}}

LinkedIn automatically replaces {{campaign.name}} with actual campaign name.

Do I need UTMs for organic LinkedIn posts?

Optional. UTMs are useful if you want to track which organic posts drive website traffic:

utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=organic_content

Add UTMs when sharing links in organic posts to differentiate from paid campaigns.

How do I track LinkedIn Message Ads (Sponsored InMail)?

Use the same UTM structure. Message Ads support li_fat_id and UTMs just like other LinkedIn ad formats:

?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=message-ads&utm_campaign=webinar_invite

Can I track which LinkedIn audience segment drove conversions?

Yes, use utm_content to identify audience segments:

utm_content=job_title_cfo
utm_content=company_size_500plus
utm_content=industry_saas

Then filter GA4 reports by utm_content to see audience-level performance.

What if I'm already using UTMs for Google Ads?

Use different campaign names to differentiate:

• Google Ads: utm_campaign=google_search_brand
• LinkedIn Ads: utm_campaign=linkedin_b2b_leads

This prevents attribution confusion across channels.

How long does it take for UTMs to appear in GA4?

Real-time. Click your ad with UTMs and check GA4 Real-time report within seconds.

Do I need to add UTMs to every ad?

Add UTMs at the campaign level in LinkedIn Campaign Manager. All ads within that campaign will inherit the UTMs from the campaign settings. This saves time and ensures consistency.

Related Resources

Internal Guides

• LinkedIn li_fat_id Shows Referral - Detailed troubleshooting
• Platform Click ID Conflicts - Auto-tagging across all platforms
• Complete UTM Tracking Guide (GA4 2025) - UTM fundamentals

LinkedIn Official Documentation

• LinkedIn Insight Tag Installation - Official setup guide
• LinkedIn Campaign Manager - Campaign setup
• URL Parameters for LinkedIn Ads - Official UTM guide

Conclusion

LinkedIn Ads require manual UTM parameters for GA4 attribution. Unlike Google Ads (which has automatic gclid), LinkedIn's li_fat_id is not recognized by GA4.

Quick fix checklist:

• ✅ Add utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=paid-social&utm_campaign={name} to all LinkedIn Ads destination URLs
• ✅ LinkedIn automatically appends li_fat_id when ads are clicked
• ✅ GA4 reads UTMs for attribution (classifies as "Paid Social")
• ✅ LinkedIn Insight Tag uses li_fat_id for conversion tracking
• ✅ Both systems work together without conflicts

Result: Proper LinkedIn Ads attribution in GA4 + conversion tracking in LinkedIn Campaign Manager + accurate ROI calculation for B2B campaigns.

Related Documentation:

• Platform Click ID Conflicts
• LinkedIn Ads Tracking Validation