Complete List of GA4-Recognized utm_medium Values (2025 Guide)

You're creating UTM parameters for a new campaign.

You type utm_medium=paid-social.

Will GA4 recognize it? Will it go to "Paid Social" or "Unassigned"?

Without a definitive reference list, you're guessing. And guessing wrong means broken attribution.

This is the complete, verified list of every utm_medium value that GA4 recognizes in 2025—with regex patterns, channel mappings, and real-world examples.

Bookmark this page. Use it before every campaign.

How GA4 Channel Grouping Works

GA4 uses Default Channel Grouping rules to classify traffic into channels.

When a session arrives, GA4 checks UTM parameters against predefined regex patterns in this order:

1. Paid Search - Highest priority
2. Paid Social
3. Paid Shopping
4. Paid Video
5. Display
6. Paid Other
7. Organic Search
8. Organic Social
9. Organic Video
10. Email
11. Affiliates
12. Audio
13. SMS
14. Referral
15. Direct
16. Unassigned - Catch-all when nothing matches

Each channel has specific rules. If utm_medium doesn't match ANY rule, traffic goes to "Unassigned."

Complete utm_medium Reference (Alphabetical)

✅ Recognized Values

🚫 Not Recognized (Common Mistakes)

Channel-by-Channel Deep Dive

Email Channel

Recognized utm_medium values:

• email ✅ (recommended)
• e-mail ✅ (hyphenated version)

Regex pattern: Exact match ^(email|e-mail)$

Not recognized:

• newsletter ❌
• mail ❌
• emails ❌ (plural)
• e_mail ❌ (underscore)
• Email ❌ (uppercase)
• email-promotional ❌ (has suffix)
• promo-email ❌ (has prefix)

Examples:

✅ CORRECT
utm_source=mailchimp&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=spring-sale

✅ CORRECT (hyphenated)
utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=e-mail&utm_campaign=weekly-digest

❌ WRONG (creates Unassigned)
utm_source=mailchimp&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=spring-sale

❌ WRONG (case sensitive)
utm_source=mailchimp&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=spring-sale

Best practice: Always use utm_medium=email (no hyphen) for consistency.

Paid Search Channel

Recognized utm_medium values:

• cpc ✅ (most common)
• ppc ✅ (alternative)
• paidsearch ✅ (descriptive)

Regex pattern: Matches (cpc|ppc|paidsearch) anywhere in value

Additional pattern: Contains cp.* (anything starting with "cp")

Not recognized:

• paid-search ❌ (hyphen version)
• paid_search ❌ (underscore)
• CPC or PPC ❌ (uppercase)
• sem ❌
• search ❌ (alone)
• google-ads ❌

Examples:

✅ CORRECT
utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=brand-keywords

✅ CORRECT (alternative)
utm_source=bing&utm_medium=ppc&utm_campaign=competitor-keywords

✅ CORRECT (descriptive)
utm_source=google&utm_medium=paidsearch&utm_campaign=shopping

❌ WRONG (hyphen)
utm_source=google&utm_medium=paid-search&utm_campaign=brand

❌ WRONG (uppercase)
utm_source=google&utm_medium=CPC&utm_campaign=brand

Best practice: Use utm_medium=cpc for all paid search campaigns.

Paid Social Channel

Recognized utm_medium values:

• paidsocial ✅ (recommended, no hyphen)
• Values matching pattern .*cp.* with social utm_source ✅

Regex pattern:

1. Contains paidsocial OR
2. Contains cp (like cpc) AND utm_source indicates social platform

Not recognized:

• paid-social ⚠️ (depends on GA4 version—avoid)
• paid_social ❌ (underscore)
• social-paid ❌
• facebook ❌ (platform name)
• linkedin ❌ (platform name)

Examples:

✅ CORRECT
utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=paidsocial&utm_campaign=spring-promo

✅ CORRECT (alternative with cpc pattern)
utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=lead-gen

❌ WRONG (hyphen—risky)
utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=paid-social&utm_campaign=spring-promo

❌ WRONG (platform in medium)
utm_source=spring-campaign&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=promo

❌ WRONG (underscore)
utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=paid_social&utm_campaign=spring-promo

Best practice: Use utm_medium=paidsocial (no hyphen, no underscore) to ensure recognition across all GA4 versions.

Organic Social Channel

Recognized utm_medium values:

• social ✅ (most common)
• social-media ✅ (alternative)
• social-network ✅ (alternative)
• Values containing social ✅

Regex pattern: Contains social

Not recognized:

• sm ❌ (abbreviation)
• socail ❌ (typo)
• socialmedia ❌ (no hyphen)

Examples:

✅ CORRECT
utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=product-launch

✅ CORRECT (alternative)
utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=social-media&utm_campaign=thought-leadership

❌ WRONG (abbreviation)
utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=sm&utm_campaign=organic-post

❌ WRONG (typo)
utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=socail&utm_campaign=announcement

Note: For organic social, you often don't need UTM parameters at all (GA4 will classify as "Organic Social" based on referrer). Use UTMs only when you need campaign-level tracking.

Display Channel

Recognized utm_medium values:

• display ✅ (recommended)
• cpm ✅ (cost per thousand impressions)
• banner ✅ (singular only)

Regex pattern: Exact match ^(display|cpm|banner)$

Not recognized:

• banners ❌ (plural)
• retargeting ❌ (goes to "Paid Other" instead)
• remarketing ❌
• programmatic ❌
• native ❌
• display-ads ❌ (has suffix)

Examples:

✅ CORRECT
utm_source=google-display&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=retargeting-cart-abandoners

✅ CORRECT (alternative)
utm_source=programmatic-platform&utm_medium=cpm&utm_campaign=awareness

✅ CORRECT (banner ads)
utm_source=ad-network&utm_medium=banner&utm_campaign=homepage-placement

❌ WRONG (plural)
utm_source=ad-network&utm_medium=banners&utm_campaign=homepage

❌ WRONG (not recognized—goes to Paid Other)
utm_source=google&utm_medium=retargeting&utm_campaign=cart-abandoners

Best practice: Use utm_medium=display for all display advertising, including retargeting.

Affiliates Channel

Recognized utm_medium values:

• affiliate ✅ (only this exact value works)

Regex pattern: Exact match ^affiliate$

Not recognized:

• affiliates ❌ (plural)
• partner ❌
• influencer ❌
• ambassador ❌
• referral-partner ❌

Examples:

✅ CORRECT
utm_source=impact&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=bloggers

✅ CORRECT
utm_source=shareasale&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=q1-2025

❌ WRONG (plural)
utm_source=cj&utm_medium=affiliates&utm_campaign=influencers

❌ WRONG (different term)
utm_source=partner-network&utm_medium=partner&utm_campaign=referrals

Best practice: Always use singular affiliate.

Additional Channels

SMS

• Recognized: sms ✅
• Pattern: Exact match ^sms$
• Not recognized: text, SMS (uppercase)

Audio

• Recognized: audio ✅
• Pattern: Exact match ^audio$
• Use for: Podcast ads, audio streaming platforms

Video

• Recognized: video ✅
• Pattern: Contains video
• Use for: YouTube organic, video platform placements

Paid Video

• Recognized: cpv ✅ (cost per view)
• Pattern: Contains cpv
• Use for: YouTube ads, video advertising

Validation Testing: How to Verify utm_medium Works

Method 1: Realtime Testing (Fastest)

1. Create test link with utm_medium:

   CodeCopy

   https://yoursite.com?utm_source=test&utm_medium=YOURVALUE&utm_campaign=test
   

2. Click the link in incognito browser

3. GA4 → Realtime (wait 30-60 seconds)

4. Check "Traffic acquisition" card → Session default channel group

5. If shows correct channel (not "Unassigned") → utm_medium works ✅

Method 2: Campaign URL Builder Preview

Use Google's Campaign URL Builder with GA4 preview:

1. Go to ga-dev-tools.google/campaign-url-builder/
2. Enter your utm_medium value
3. Check preview (shows which channel GA4 will assign)

Note: Preview isn't always 100% accurate for complex patterns. Realtime testing is definitive.

Method 3: Regex Testing (Advanced)

Test your utm_medium against GA4 regex patterns:

Email pattern test:

^(email|e-mail)$

Paid Search pattern test:

^(cpc|ppc|paidsearch)$|cp.*

Social pattern test:

.*social.*

Display pattern test:

^(display|cpm|banner)$

Use regex101.com to test your utm_medium values against these patterns.

Quick Reference Cheat Sheet

Print this and pin it to your desk:

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GA4-RECOGNIZED utm_medium VALUES
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✅ Email Campaigns
   utm_medium=email

✅ Paid Search (Google Ads, Bing Ads)
   utm_medium=cpc

✅ Paid Social (Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.)
   utm_medium=paidsocial

✅ Organic Social Posts
   utm_medium=social

✅ Display Ads & Retargeting
   utm_medium=display

✅ Affiliate Links
   utm_medium=affiliate

✅ SMS Campaigns
   utm_medium=sms

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RULES
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1. Always lowercase
2. Use exact values above
3. No hyphens in compound words (paidsocial, not paid-social)
4. No typos (automated validation recommended)
5. Platform names go in utm_source, NOT utm_medium

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FAQ

Why does "paid-social" (with hyphen) sometimes work?

GA4's channel grouping rules have evolved. In some GA4 versions, paid-social may match the Paid Social pattern because it contains "social." However, this isn't guaranteed across all GA4 implementations. Use paidsocial (no hyphen) to ensure consistent recognition.

Can I use multiple medium values in one URL?

No. utm_medium accepts only one value. If you need to track multiple dimensions, use utm_campaign or utm_content.

What if I need more granular tracking than these channels provide?

Use utm_campaign or utm_content for granularity:

• utm_medium=email (channel)
• utm_campaign=promotional-spring-sale (specific campaign)
• utm_content=hero-banner (specific placement)

Does case matter?

Yes. GA4's regex patterns are case-sensitive and expect lowercase. Always use lowercase utm_medium values.

Can I create custom values and map them in GA4?

You can create custom channel groups in GA4 to map non-standard values, but:

1. They don't work in standard reports (only Explorations)
2. They must be manually created for every GA4 property
3. They don't transfer to Looker Studio automatically

It's better to use GA4-recognized values from the start.

How often does Google update these patterns?

Rarely. GA4's Default Channel Grouping patterns have been stable since GA4 launched (2020). They're unlikely to change significantly.

What about GA4 360 vs standard GA4?

Channel grouping rules are identical between GA4 and GA4 360. Both use the same utm_medium recognition patterns.

Related: GA4 Medium Unrecognized Rule Documentation