utm_content: Complete Guide to Creative Variation Tracking

You've mastered utm_source (where traffic comes from), utm_medium (how it gets to you), and utm_campaign (which campaign it belongs to).

But you're still missing critical insights:

• Which banner size performs best?
• Does "Buy Now" or "Shop the Sale" convert better?
• Do hero CTAs outperform footer links?
• Which email subject line drives more clicks?

The answer: utm_content - the UTM parameter specifically designed to track creative variations.

This guide covers everything you need to know about utm_content: when to use it, how to name it, and how to analyze it in GA4.

What is utm_content?

utm_content is an optional UTM parameter that differentiates variations within the same campaign.

Standard UTM parameters:

?utm_source=facebook        ← Where (Facebook)
&utm_medium=cpc            ← How (paid ad)
&utm_campaign=spring-sale-2025  ← Which campaign

With utm_content:

&utm_content=300x250-blue-cta  ← Which creative variation

Full URL:

https://yoursite.com/sale?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=spring-sale-2025&utm_content=300x250-blue-cta

When to Use utm_content

Use Case 1: Display Ads - Multiple Banner Sizes

Scenario: Running 3 banner sizes in same campaign

300x250: ?utm_content=300x250-product-shot
728x90: ?utm_content=728x90-lifestyle-image
160x600: ?utm_content=160x600-text-heavy

GA4 shows: Which banner size drives best conversions.

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Use Case 2: A/B Testing - Multiple CTAs

Scenario: Testing 3 CTA button texts

CTA A: ?utm_content=cta-buy-now
CTA B: ?utm_content=cta-shop-sale
CTA C: ?utm_content=cta-get-yours

GA4 shows: Which CTA text converts best.

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Use Case 3: Email - Multiple Links in Same Email

Scenario: Newsletter with 3 CTAs (hero, mid-email, footer)

Hero button: ?utm_content=hero-cta
Mid-email link: ?utm_content=mid-email-link
Footer button: ?utm_content=footer-cta

GA4 shows: Which placement drives most clicks.

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Use Case 4: Social Posts - Multiple Creative Formats

Scenario: Testing image vs video vs carousel

Single image: ?utm_content=single-image-product
Video: ?utm_content=video-30sec-demo
Carousel: ?utm_content=carousel-5products

GA4 shows: Which format drives best engagement.

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Use Case 5: Landing Page Testing - Multiple Headlines

Scenario: Same page, testing 2 headlines

Headline A: ?utm_content=headline-best-crm
Headline B: ?utm_content=headline-actually-works

GA4 shows: Which headline converts better.

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Use Case 6: Product Variations - Which Product Drives Conversions

Scenario: Multi-product campaign

Product 1: ?utm_content=product-basic-plan
Product 2: ?utm_content=product-pro-plan
Product 3: ?utm_content=product-enterprise

GA4 shows: Which product generates most interest.

When NOT to Use utm_content

Skip utm_content if:

1. Only one creative

• No variations to track
• utm_content adds no value

2. Variation already tracked elsewhere

• Keywords? Use utm_term
• Audience segments? Use custom dimensions
• Geographic location? Use GA4's built-in geo dimensions

3. Testing completely different campaigns

• Use different utm_campaign values
• Don't try to cram everything into utm_content

utm_content Naming Standards

Format by Use Case

Display ads:

`{banner-size}`-`{design-type}`-`{cta-element}`

Examples:
300x250-product-blue-cta
728x90-lifestyle-red-cta
video-15sec-demo

Email:

`{"{"}{"{"}placement{"}"}{"}"}}`-`{"{"}{"{"}element{"}"}{"}"}}`

Examples:
hero-cta
mid-email-link
footer-button
sidebar-ad

A/B tests:

`{"{"}{"{"}element{"}"}{"}"}}`-`{variant-description}`

Examples:
cta-buy-now
cta-shop-sale
headline-save-30pct
headline-exclusive-offer

Social posts:

`{"{"}{"{"}format{"}"}{"}"}}`-`{"{"}{"{"}description{"}"}{"}"}}`

Examples:
single-image-product
video-30sec-testimonial
carousel-5products
story-swipe-up

Naming Rules

✅ DO:

• Use lowercase
• Use hyphens (not spaces or underscores)
• Be descriptive (not generic like "variant-1")
• Keep under 50 characters
• Be consistent across campaigns

❌ DON'T:

• Use spaces (blue cta becomes blue%20cta)
• Mix case (Blue-CTA and blue-cta = different values in GA4)
• Use special characters (&, =, ?, !, @, #, $, %)
• Duplicate utm_campaign info in utm_content
• Be too vague ("test", "ad", "banner")

Examples: Good vs Bad

Good:

✅ utm_content=300x250-product-blue-cta
✅ utm_content=hero-cta-buy-now
✅ utm_content=video-30sec-testimonial
✅ utm_content=carousel-3products
✅ utm_content=headline-save-30pct

Bad:

❌ utm_content=Banner 1 (spaces)
❌ utm_content=test (too vague)
❌ utm_content=Blue_CTA (underscore, mixed case)
❌ utm_content=spring-sale-banner (duplicates campaign)
❌ utm_content=300x250 blue CTA! (spaces + special char)

Analyzing utm_content in GA4

Report 1: Creative Performance by Content

Location: GA4 → Reports → Acquisition → Traffic acquisition

Setup:

1. Primary dimension: Campaign
2. Secondary dimension: First user manual ad content

What you see: Each campaign broken down by utm_content variations

Example:

Campaign: spring-sale-2025
├─ Content: 300x250-blue-cta → 5,000 sessions, 150 conversions (3.0% CVR)
├─ Content: 728x90-red-cta → 3,000 sessions, 60 conversions (2.0% CVR)
└─ Content: video-15sec → 2,000 sessions, 90 conversions (4.5% CVR)

Winner: video-15sec (highest conversion rate)

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Report 2: Content-Only Analysis

Location: GA4 → Explore → Free form

Dimensions: First user manual ad content Metrics: Sessions, Conversions, Conversion rate, Revenue

What you see: Creative performance across ALL campaigns (not just one)

Use case: Identify which creative formats consistently perform best.

Example:

Content                      Sessions  Conversions  CVR
video-15sec                  25,000    1,125       4.5%
300x250-product-blue-cta     40,000    1,200       3.0%
carousel-5products           15,000    300         2.0%
728x90-text-heavy            10,000    100         1.0%

Insight: Video consistently outperforms static banners (4.5% vs 3.0% vs 2.0%)

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Report 3: Time-Series Creative Fatigue

Location: GA4 → Explore → Line chart

X-axis: Date (daily or weekly) Y-axis: Conversion rate Breakdown: First user manual ad content

What you see: How creative performance changes over time

Use case: Detect creative fatigue (declining performance = time to refresh creative)

Example:

300x250-blue-cta:
Week 1: 4.0% CVR
Week 2: 3.8% CVR
Week 3: 3.2% CVR
Week 4: 2.5% CVR ← Fatigue detected, refresh creative

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Report 4: Revenue by Creative (E-commerce)

Location: GA4 → Explore → Free form

Dimensions: First user manual ad content Metrics: Sessions, Revenue, Average order value, ROAS

What you see: Which creatives drive highest revenue (not just conversions)

Example:

Content                      Revenue  AOV   Conversions
video-30sec-testimonial      $45,000  $150  300
300x250-product-shot         $40,000  $100  400
carousel-5products           $30,000  $75   400

Insight: Video drives fewer conversions but higher AOV (more valuable customers)

Advanced utm_content Strategies

Strategy 1: Multi-Variable Testing

Testing: 2 headlines × 3 CTAs = 6 combinations

utm_content naming:

utm_content=headline-a-cta-buy-now
utm_content=headline-a-cta-shop-sale
utm_content=headline-a-cta-get-yours
utm_content=headline-b-cta-buy-now
utm_content=headline-b-cta-shop-sale
utm_content=headline-b-cta-get-yours

Analysis: Find best combination (not just best headline or best CTA separately).

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Strategy 2: Sequential Testing

Month 1: Test banner sizes

utm_content=300x250-product
utm_content=728x90-product
utm_content=160x600-product

Winner: 300x250

Month 2: Test designs (using winning size)

utm_content=300x250-product-shot
utm_content=300x250-lifestyle
utm_content=300x250-text-heavy

Winner: product-shot

Month 3: Test CTAs (using winning size + design)

utm_content=300x250-product-shot-blue-cta
utm_content=300x250-product-shot-red-cta
utm_content=300x250-product-shot-green-cta

Winner: blue-cta

Final winner: 300x250-product-shot-blue-cta (optimized through 3 rounds of testing)

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Strategy 3: Placement Testing (Email)

Test: Which email CTA placement drives most conversions?

Hero CTA (top): utm_content=hero-cta
Mid-email link: utm_content=mid-email-link
Sidebar CTA: utm_content=sidebar-cta
Footer CTA: utm_content=footer-cta
P.S. link: utm_content=ps-link

Analysis: GA4 shows click volume and conversion rate by placement.

Common finding: Hero CTA gets most clicks, but footer CTA has higher conversion rate (more qualified intent).

Common Mistakes

Mistake #1: Same utm_content for Multiple Creatives

Wrong: All banners use utm_content=banner

Problem: Can't differentiate performance.

Fix: Unique value per creative:

utm_content=300x250-blue-cta
utm_content=728x90-red-cta
utm_content=video-15sec

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Mistake #2: Including Campaign Info

Wrong: utm_content=spring-sale-300x250-blue-cta

Problem: "spring-sale" already in utm_campaign (redundant).

Fix: utm_content=300x250-blue-cta

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Mistake #3: Not Testing Enough Variations

Wrong: Only testing 1 banner (no utm_content at all)

Problem: No way to optimize. Leaving money on the table.

Fix: Always test 2-3 variations minimum. Use utm_content to track each.

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Mistake #4: Changing utm_content Mid-Campaign

Wrong: Week 1 uses utm_content=variant-a, Week 2 changes to utm_content=300x250-blue-cta

Problem: Data fragmented. Can't see full campaign performance.

Fix: Set utm_content at campaign start, don't change.

Prevention Checklist

✅ Add utm_content when testing multiple creatives ✅ Use descriptive names (size, design, CTA) ✅ Make each creative's utm_content unique ✅ Use consistent naming format ✅ Test in GA4 real-time before full launch ✅ Analyze weekly for creative fatigue ✅ Document what each utm_content value represents

FAQ

What's the difference between utm_content and utm_term?

utm_content: Creative variations (banner size, CTA text, placement) utm_term: Keywords (for search ads)

Use utm_content for:

• Display ads (banners, video)
• Email (CTA placement)
• Social (image vs video)
• A/B tests (headlines, CTAs)

Use utm_term for:

• Search ads (track keywords)

Can I use both utm_content and utm_term?

Yes! They track different things:

Example (search ad with specific creative):

?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=product-launch&utm_term=buy-crm-software&utm_content=ad-variant-a

utm_term = keyword utm_content = ad creative variant

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Should I use utm_content for organic social posts?

Yes! utm_content works for any channel where you test multiple creatives:

Organic LinkedIn post with image:
?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=product-launch&utm_content=single-image-product

Organic LinkedIn post with video:
?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=product-launch&utm_content=video-30sec-demo

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How many utm_content variations can I test at once?

Depends on traffic volume.

Rule: Minimum 100 conversions per variation for statistical significance.

Examples:

• 1,000 conversions total → test 2-3 variations max
• 10,000 conversions total → test 5-10 variations

More variations = more traffic needed for reliable results.

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What if I have 50+ banner variations?

Track them all! utm_content has no limit.

But: Focus analysis on top 10-20 performers. Pause bottom 50%.

GA4 can handle unlimited utm_content values. The limit is your ability to analyze and act on the data.

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Should I include utm_content in transactional emails?

Only if testing variations.

Single transactional email (password reset):

❌ No utm_content needed: ?utm_source=transactional&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=password-reset

Testing 2 CTA buttons in order confirmation:

✅ Use utm_content:
CTA A: ?utm_content=cta-track-order
CTA B: ?utm_content=cta-shop-more

Conclusion

utm_content is your creative optimization tool:

When to use:

• Display ads (multiple banners)
• A/B tests (multiple variants)
• Email (multiple CTAs/placements)
• Social (multiple formats)

How to use:

1. Add unique utm_content to each creative variation
2. Use format: {size/placement}-{design/element}-{"{"}{"{"}cta{"}"}{"}"}}
3. Example: 300x250-product-blue-cta

How to analyze:

• GA4 → Traffic acquisition → Add "First user manual ad content" dimension
• Compare conversion rates by utm_content
• Scale winners, pause losers

Result: Data-driven creative decisions that can double conversion rates with same budget.

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Related: Optimize Display Ads with utm_content