How do I create UTM links for ecommerce?

Steps

1. Start from a canonical URL

   No leftover `fbclid` or old UTMs. URL Cleaner first if needed.

2. Set source = the platform

   tiktok, facebook, klaviyo, google.

3. Set medium = the mechanism

   cpc, paid_social, email, influencer, affiliate.

4. Set campaign = the offer or flight

   ss26_launch, bfcm_2026—human readable, no spaces.

5. Test click-through to checkout UTM survival

   Some themes drop query params. Fix that before you spend.

Source, medium, campaign—lowercase and stable

Start from a canonical product or collection URL with no leftover fbclid or old UTMs (URL Cleaner first). utm_source is the platform (tiktok, facebook, klaviyo, google). utm_medium is the mechanism (cpc, paid_social, email, influencer, affiliate). utm_campaign is the offer or flight (ss26_launch, bfcm_2026)—human readable, no spaces. Optional utm_content and utm_term distinguish creatives and keywords. Never stack two UTM sets. Inconsistent casing splits one campaign into two. CrossKit UTM Builder generates the query string; Link Checker confirms the page exists; shorten only after the UTM is final.

Where UTM does and does not apply

UTM is for sites you control, such as Shopify. Amazon attribution is different; use Amazon’s campaign tools where required. Test that themes keep query params through to checkout before you spend. Do not put spaces or Chinese punctuation in UTMs—they encode into strings nobody searches. Do not create a unique campaign name per creative; use campaign for the flight and content for the creative so you can roll up. Shorteners hide parameters from humans, not from the destination site.

How CrossKit fits this job

UTM Builder creates the query string from a clean URL. URL Cleaner removes leftover parameters first. Link Checker confirms the destination is not a 404. URL Shortener comes last, only after the UTM is final. Keep source, medium and campaign lowercase so analytics does not split one flight into two.

Example

Base: `https://shop.example.com/products/harbor-tote`. Built: `...?utm_source=tiktok&utm_medium=paid_social&utm_campaign=harbor_launch&utm_content=creator_mia`. Analytics can attribute that creator without guessing from referrer. Document the naming scheme in one row of a sheet so two people do not invent tiktok vs TikTok vs TT in the same week.

Common mistakes

• Putting spaces or Chinese punctuation in UTMs

  They get encoded and nobody searches that string later.

• A unique campaign name per creative

  You cannot roll up. Use campaign for the flight, content for the creative.

• Using the creative filename as utm_campaign

  You will get thousands of campaign names. Put the flight in campaign and the filename in content.