You tagged all your links. Then you open GA4 and can’t find any of it. The interface is different from old Google Analytics. Your campaign names aren’t where you expect. Half your traffic shows “(not set)” and you don’t know why.

GA4 changed where things live. And it doesn’t always show UTMs by default.

Where UTMs land in GA4

UTMs become fields in GA4. When someone clicks a tagged link:

• utm_source → Session source
• utm_medium → Session medium
• utm_campaign → Session campaign
• utm_term → Session manual term
• utm_content → Session manual ad content

These show up in reports, but you have to know where to look.

Why your data looks wrong

Looking in the wrong report. The main home dashboard shows high-level stats, not campaign breakdowns. You need the acquisition reports.

Expecting utm_term to auto-appear. GA4 doesn’t show all UTM dimensions by default. You need to add them or use the right report.

Not waiting long enough. GA4 can take a few hours to process data. If you just sent a campaign, wait before panicking.

Confusing “source” with “source/medium.” These are different dimensions. Source alone might group things you want separated.

Seeing “(not set)” and assuming tags are broken. Sometimes this means untagged traffic. Sometimes it means GA4 just doesn’t have that dimension for that traffic type.

Finding your campaigns step by step

To see your UTM data in GA4:

1. Log into Google Analytics. Select your property.
2. In the left sidebar, click “Reports.”
3. Click “Acquisition” to expand it.
4. Click “Traffic acquisition.”

This shows sessions grouped by source, medium, and campaign.

To see more detail:

Click the blue “+” button next to the primary dimension. Search for “Session campaign” and add it. Now you see traffic broken down by campaign name.

You can also add “Session manual term” or “Session manual ad content” to see utm_term and utm_content.

What it looks like when it works

You sent a newsletter with this link:

https://example.com/pricing?utm_source=email&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=july_digest

In GA4, go to Reports > Acquisition > Traffic acquisition.

You should see a row with:

• Source: email
• Medium: newsletter
• (Add the campaign dimension to see: july_digest)

If you see email / newsletter but the campaign shows (not set), something’s wrong with the link. Check it.

Common confusion: You might see traffic from email that you didn’t tag. Gmail and other webmail clients send referrer data that GA4 reads as email. Your tagged traffic has campaign names. Untagged traffic doesn’t.

Sanity check your tracking

After a campaign sends, wait 4-6 hours. Then:

1. Go to Reports > Acquisition > Traffic acquisition
2. Set date range to include today
3. Look for your source/medium combo
4. Add “Session campaign” dimension
5. Find your campaign name

It’s working if: You see sessions under your campaign name.

Something’s wrong if:

• Campaign shows (not set) — check your links
• Source shows (direct) — link wasn’t tagged, or parameters got stripped
• Numbers are way off from clicks — tracking might be blocked or broken

Pro tip: Click a tagged link yourself, then check the Realtime report in GA4. You should see your own visit with the correct source and campaign. If not, something’s wrong with the tag.