How to Bulk Add UTM Parameters to Google Ads

Written by Coursera Staff • Updated on

UTM parameters are an effective way of tracking the success of your Google Ads campaign performance. Learn how to bulk add them to your ads.

A woman works on her Google Ads campaign on a laptop while sitting at a table by a window.

Urchin Tracking Module (UTM) parameters are tags that you add to the end of a URL to track how well ads are performing, levels of traffic, and the most effective keywords. Bulk adding UTM parameters to your Google Ads is more efficient and less time-consuming than adding them manually. By the end of this tutorial, you will be able to bulk add UTM parameters to your Google Ads to help track the success of your ads.

Steps to bulk add UTM parameters to Google Ads

Here is a brief look at the steps to take to bulk add UTM parameters to Google Ads:

  1. Log into your Google Ads Editor account.

  2. Navigate the campaigns menu.

  3. Select ads.

  4. Fill in your UTM parameters.

  5. Apply changes.

1. Log into your Google Ads Editor account.

If you haven’t already, you can install Google Ads Editor app, which allows you to make bulk changes to campaigns in Google Ads. Once you’ve installed it, log into your Google Ads account. 

2. Navigate the campaigns menu.

Once logged in, you can see your campaigns by clicking on the Campaigns icon to bring up the Campaigns drop-down section. From here, select Ads.

3. Select ads.

In this menu, check the boxes next to all the ads you want to change the UTM parameters for. Above the table of ads, you’ll see a blue bar. Click Edit and then select Change custom parameters from the drop-down menu. 

4. Fill in your UTM parameters.

You can add your UTM parameters by clicking Add parameters. You must write the parameters  in a certain way. You’ll need to add a “?” after your base URL followed by “utm_[parameter]” for each tag you want to add. You’ll connect each parameter with an “&.”

For example, to track your traffic source, you can use “utm_source=GoogleAds” and change the “source” to your source of traffic, such as Facebook, Instagram, or Google. If you want to track the marketing medium, you can use “utm_medium=cpc.” Here you will replace “medium” with the marketing method, such as email or social.

So to tag a URL for a social media video campaign on TikTok, it would look like “[base URL]?utm_campaign=video&utm_medium=social&utm_source=tiktok” 

5. Apply changes.

Once you’ve completed steps one to four, click Add. Click Apply, when you’re satisfied with the changes. 

Why track your campaigns with UTM parameters?

Tracking your campaigns allows you to examine performance data. You can see which campaigns are creating the most traffic, which campaign channel is most effective for your product or service, and which ads are converting. This information helps with future ads and helps you determine how to improve your campaigns to increase views and profits. Bulk adding UTM parameters is more time-effective than making changes to each individual ad for numerous campaigns.

Learn more with Coursera

Interested in learning more about Google Ads and digital marketing? The Google Digital Marketing and E-commerce Professional Certificate provides you with the fundamentals of digital marketing and e-commerce, including using analytics to track performance. This course can help you get job-ready in six months or less.

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