Automatic UTM tagging by platform
The four platforms take different approaches to defaults, values and precedence. The table shows what each vendor documents. [1] [3] [4] [5]
| Platform | On by default? | utm_source | utm_medium | utm_campaign | Manual UTMs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| beehiiv | Yes, all plans [1] | Publication domain [1] | Email, or Referral for web views [1] | URL-friendly post title [1] | Manual values take precedence [1] |
| MailerLite | Per-campaign "UTM tags" toggle [3] | Defaults not listed; editable in Account settings, Link tracking [3] | Editable in the same tab [3] | Editable in the same tab [3] | Not documented [3] |
| Kit | Enable in Advanced settings [4] | kit [4] | email [4] | Subject line plus campaign ID, e.g. newsletter1234 [4] | Not overridden [4] |
| Moosend | Per-campaign Google Analytics toggle [5] | newsletter (transactional: transactional) [5] | email [5] | Your campaign name [5] | Not documented [5] |
Platform settings, step by step
beehiiv: automatic tagging lives in Settings, General Info, in the UTM Analytics section, under the Automatic UTM Tagging toggle. Pro and Enterprise plans, and the free trial, can also add custom link parameters. Each pairs a parameter name with a reserved or custom field, under Settings, General Info, Custom link parameters. beehiiv says these are added alongside existing parameters rather than replacing them. [1] [2]
MailerLite: on the Campaign details page, find the Tracking options section and toggle UTM tags. In automations, select the email step and check "Add parameters to your URLs to track newsletter traffic on web analytics platforms". Custom values go in Account settings under the Link tracking tab. The article does not list MailerLite's default values, so check that tab before relying on the defaults. [3]
Kit: enable "Automatically append UTM parameters to email links" on the Advanced settings page and save. [4]
Moosend: in a campaign, open Set basic settings and toggle Track your campaign with Google Analytics to Yes. If revenue tracking is on, Moosend also appends a cmid campaign ID. [5]
How GA4 reads these tags
Google says you should always use utm_source, utm_medium and utm_campaign, and strongly recommends utm_id and utm_source_platform too. Missing parameters appear as "(not set)". Values are case-sensitive, so utm_source=google and utm_source=Google are different sources. [6]
Channel grouping is more forgiving. GA4's default Email channel matches when source or medium is email, e-mail, e_mail or "e mail", and Google says channel definitions are not case-sensitive. So beehiiv's "Email" and Kit's "email" both land in the Email channel. beehiiv's "Referral" for web views lands in GA4's Referral channel, which matches medium referral, app or link. [7] [1]
A naming convention that keeps reports clean
Automatic tags are fine for a single newsletter. Once you run more than one list, or mix email with social, agree on a convention and write it down. This one is consistent with Google's guidance. The specific values are our suggestion. [6]
- Never mix cases. GA4 treats "Weekly-Digest" and "weekly-digest" as two sources. [6]
- Where a platform lets manual tags win, as beehiiv and Kit do, add your own utm_content to key links and let the automatic tags handle the rest. [1] [4]
- Do not add UTMs to affiliate links unless the network allows extra parameters. Test one click end to end.
| Parameter | Rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| utm_source | Lowercase publication or list name, hyphenated | weekly-digest |
| utm_medium | Always "email" for email sends, so GA4 groups it as Email [7] | |
| utm_campaign | Date plus short topic, lowercase | 2026-10-30-pricing-guide |
| utm_content | Which link or block, to tell links in one email apart [6] | hero-button |
| utm_id | Optional campaign ID if you track cost or imports [6] | nl-0412 |
Worked GA4 example
Hypothetical: a beehiiv publication at example-digest.com sends a post titled "Pricing guide" with automatic tagging on. An email reader's click arrives as utm_source=example-digest.com, utm_medium=Email and utm_campaign=pricing-guide. A web reader's click arrives with utm_medium=Referral. [1]
In a GA4 report broken down by source / medium and campaign, you would see two rows for the same post: example-digest.com / Email and example-digest.com / Referral. Add them together to see the post's total traffic, or compare them to see how much comes from web readers. [6] [1]
If the same post also appears as "(not set)" campaign traffic, some links were missing tags. One possible cause is links sent from a platform or automation email where tagging was switched off. [6] [3]
Setup checklist
Run this once for each platform you send from.
- Confirm automatic tagging is on, or deliberately off, in each platform you send from. [1] [3] [4] [5]
- In MailerLite, check the Link tracking tab values and switch on UTM tags in every automation email, not only campaigns. [3]
- Send a test, click each link and read the landing URL to confirm the parameters.
- In GA4, check acquisition reporting for the expected source and medium pair after the first send. [6]
- Record your convention in a shared doc so every sender uses the same lowercase values. [6]
Questions before you decide
Does beehiiv add UTM parameters automatically?
Yes. beehiiv says automatic UTM tagging is on by default on all plans. It sets utm_source to your publication domain, utm_medium to Email for email readers or Referral for web readers, and utm_campaign to a URL-friendly version of the post title. You can turn it off under Settings, General Info, UTM Analytics.
Will automatic UTMs overwrite the ones I add by hand?
beehiiv says manually added utm_source, utm_medium and utm_campaign values take precedence over its automatic ones. Kit says it will not override parameters you add manually. The MailerLite and Moosend articles we reviewed do not address this, so test one link.
Why does GA4 show my newsletter traffic as Referral?
beehiiv sets utm_medium to Referral when someone reads the post on the web, and GA4's Referral channel matches medium values of referral, app or link. Email-read clicks with medium Email fall into GA4's Email channel, which is not case-sensitive.
Is utm_source=Newsletter the same as utm_source=newsletter in GA4?
No. Google says UTM parameter values are case-sensitive, so the two appear as separate sources. Pick one lowercase convention and use it everywhere.
Sources & verification
Product details and prices can change. Check the linked provider before buying.
- beehiiv Support: Using UTM parameter tracking with beehiiv Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- beehiiv Support: Using custom link parameters Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- MailerLite Help: How to use Google Analytics in your campaigns and websites Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Kit Help: Automatic UTM parameters Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Moosend Docs: Track campaigns with Google Analytics Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Google Analytics Help: Collect campaign data with custom URLs Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Google Analytics Help: Default channel group Accessed 30 Oct 2026
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