How Uppercase UTM Parameters Fragment Your GA4 Data

You check your GA4 Traffic Acquisition report to see Google Ads performance.

Instead of one clean row, you see:

• google: 4,200 sessions
• Google: 3,100 sessions
• GOOGLE: 1,890 sessions
• google_ads: 2,400 sessions

Same traffic source. Four different rows.

You can't see total Google performance without manually adding four numbers. Multiply this across all sources, campaigns, and monthsand your reporting becomes unusable.

This is uppercase UTM data fragmentation. One capital letter creates duplicate data. Let me show you how to consolidate your fractured reporting and prevent it from happening again.

Why Case Creates Duplicate Rows

GA4 treats "google" and "Google" as completely different values.

In databases and analytics platforms:

• google Google GOOGLE GooGle`

Each variation creates a separate row in reports.

Example:

Campaign 1: ?utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=spring_sale Campaign 2: ?utm_source=Facebook&utm_campaign=Spring_Sale

GA4 shows:

Same platform. Same campaign. Two rows.

To see total performance, you must manually add the rows. Now imagine this across:

• 10 sources � 5 case variations = 50 rows
• 20 campaigns � 3 case variations = 60 rows
• 12 months of data

Reporting becomes impossible.

Real Example: 127 Sources � Actually 23 Platforms

Company: E-commerce brand

GA4 Traffic Acquisition showed 127 unique sources.

Investigation revealed:

Reality: 23 actual traffic platforms fragmented into 127 rows.

Impact:

• Can't quickly see which platforms drive traffic
• Pivot tables useless (too many rows)
• Leadership thinks we have 127 traffic sources (actually 23)
• Manual consolidation required for every report

After standardization (all lowercase):

127 sources � 23 clean sources

Reporting time: 2 hours/week � 15 minutes/week

Where Uppercase Creates Fragmentation

utm_source

Problem:

utm_source=google    � 4,200 sessions
utm_source=Google    � 3,100 sessions
utm_source=GOOGLE    � 1,890 sessions

Fix: Always lowercase

utm_source=google    � All 9,190 sessions in ONE row

utm_campaign

Problem:

utm_campaign=spring_sale    � 2,400 sessions
utm_campaign=Spring_Sale    � 1,600 sessions
utm_campaign=SPRING_SALE    � 890 sessions

Fix: Always lowercase

utm_campaign=spring_sale    � All 4,890 sessions in ONE row

utm_content

Problem:

utm_content=video_ad    � 1,200 sessions
utm_content=Video_Ad    � 780 sessions
utm_content=VIDEO_AD    � 340 sessions

Fix: Always lowercase

utm_content=video_ad    � All 2,320 sessions in ONE row

utm_term

Problem:

utm_term=project_management    � 890 sessions
utm_term=Project_Management    � 560 sessions
utm_term=PROJECT_MANAGEMENT    � 230 sessions

Fix: Always lowercase

utm_term=project_management    � All 1,680 sessions in ONE row

Common Causes of Case Variation

1. Different People Creating Links

Scenario:

• Marketer A: utm_source=facebook (lowercase)
• Marketer B: utm_source=Facebook (title case)
• Marketer C: utm_source=FACEBOOK (all caps)

Result: Three rows for same platform.

Solution: Centralized URL builder with enforced lowercase.

2. Auto-Capitalization in Tools

Email platforms:

• Some auto-capitalize first letter of fields
• facebook becomes Facebook
• Creates title case variation

Solution: Override platform defaults, force lowercase.

3. Copy-Paste from Capitalized Text

Scenario:

• Copy campaign name from doc: "Spring Sale"
• Paste into utm_campaign: Spring_Sale
• Should be: spring_sale

Solution: Use =LOWER() formula in URL builder.

4. Platform Name Variations

Scenario:

• Official name: "LinkedIn" (title case)
• Team uses: linkedin, LinkedIn, LINKEDIN, li, LI

Solution: Document standard: linkedin (lowercase, full name).

5. Legacy Campaigns

Scenario:

• 2022 campaigns: utm_source=Google (title case)
• 2023 campaigns: utm_source=google (lowercase)
• Both show in current reports

Solution: Accept historical fragmentation, standardize going forward.

How to Consolidate Fragmented Data

Method 1: Google Sheets Consolidation

For one-time analysis:

1. Export GA4 Traffic Acquisition data
2. Add "Clean Source" column:

   CodeCopy

   =LOWER(A2)  // Converts to lowercase
   

3. Create pivot table on "Clean Source"
4. Now see consolidated totals

Example:

Method 2: Looker Studio Calculated Field

For ongoing dashboards:

1. Create calculated field: "Clean Source"
2. Formula: LOWER(Session source)
3. Use in all visualizations
4. Auto-consolidates data

Benefit: Works across all reports automatically.

Method 3: BigQuery SQL

For advanced analysis:

SELECT
  LOWER(utm_source) AS clean_source,
  LOWER(utm_campaign) AS clean_campaign,
  SUM(sessions) AS total_sessions,
  SUM(conversions) AS total_conversions
FROM
  `project.dataset.ga4_sessions`
GROUP BY
  clean_source, clean_campaign
ORDER BY
  total_sessions DESC

Benefit: Can process historical data at scale.

Prevention: Never Fragment Again

Rule 1: Always Lowercase

For ALL UTM parameters:

utm_source=google        (not Google)
utm_medium=cpc           (not CPC)
utm_campaign=spring_sale (not Spring_Sale)
utm_content=video_ad     (not Video_Ad)
utm_term=project         (not Project)

Rule 2: Auto-Lowercase in URL Builder

Google Sheets:

Column E (utm_source): =LOWER(A2)
Column F (utm_medium): =LOWER(B2)
Column G (utm_campaign): =LOWER(C2)

User can type anything. Output is always lowercase.

Rule 3: Dropdown Lists

Data validation:

utm_source dropdown: facebook, google, linkedin, twitter, email
utm_medium dropdown: cpc, email, social, display, affiliate

Can't create new uppercase variations.

Rule 4: Team Standards Document

One-page reference:

UTM NAMING STANDARDS

RULE: ALL UTM parameters MUST be lowercase

 CORRECT:
- utm_source=facebook
- utm_campaign=spring_sale
- utm_content=video_ad

L WRONG:
- utm_source=Facebook (title case)
- utm_campaign=Spring_Sale (title case)
- utm_content=VIDEO_AD (all caps)

When in doubt: lowercase.

Rule 5: Quarterly Audit

Every 3 months:

1. GA4 � Explore � Export sources
2. Check for uppercase variations:
   • Find: Google, GOOGLE, Facebook, FACEBOOK
   • Should be: google, facebook
3. Fix active campaigns
4. Update URL builder templates

FAQ

Can I bulk-fix historical data in GA4?

No. GA4 doesn't allow editing historical data. You can only:

1. Consolidate in exports (Google Sheets, BigQuery)
2. Use calculated fields in Looker Studio
3. Accept fragmentation and set cutoff date for clean analysis

Does case matter for utm_term and utm_content?

Technically nothey don't affect channel grouping. But inconsistent case still creates fragmented data:

• video_ad vs Video_Ad appear as 2 separate content values
• Makes analysis harder

Best practice: Lowercase everything for consistency.

What if I want title case for readability?

GA4 doesn't care about readabilityit's for tracking, not display.

If you want pretty labels:

• Use lowercase in actual UTM parameters
• Create custom dimensions or calculated fields for display
• Apply title case in reports/dashboards, not source data

How do I handle brand names that are uppercase (IBM, HP)?

Use lowercase in UTM parameters:

utm_source=ibm
utm_campaign=hp_partnership

If you need branded display:

• Track as lowercase
• Use calculated fields to display as "IBM" in reports

Will fixing case affect my attribution?

No. Consolidating case variations improves attribution by:

• Grouping related traffic correctly
• Making channel analysis accurate
• Enabling proper ROI calculation

Historical attribution stays as-is (fragmented).

Should I use underscores or hyphens for multi-word values?

Either works, but be consistent:

• spring_sale OR spring-sale (choose one)
• Don't mix: spring_sale AND spring-sale creates 2 rows

Recommendation: Underscores (slightly more readable in URLs).