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Analytics & UTM conventions

How we measure traffic on www.plrd.org and how to tag links so campaign attribution stays clean and consistent.

What's running

Tool What it does Cookies? Config
Google Analytics 4 Full analytics: acquisition, campaigns, events Yes (_ga) NEXT_PUBLIC_GA_ID (Vercel). Measurement ID G-M8LW4KE782, property PL R&D. Gated behind cookie consent for EU/EEA + UK visitors.
GoatCounter Lightweight, privacy-friendly page counts No plrd.goatcounter.com, always on

GA4 is added via @next/third-parties/google in src/app/layout.tsx and only loads when NEXT_PUBLIC_GA_ID is set. It auto-tracks client-side route changes (SPA), outbound clicks, scroll depth, and file downloads via GA4 Enhanced Measurement.

Where to see "how did people find us"

GA4 → Reports → Acquisition → Traffic acquisition, then set the primary dimension to Session default channel group (or Session source / medium):

  • Organic Search — Google etc. (richer once Search Console is linked)
  • Direct — typed URL / bookmarks
  • Referral — other sites linking us
  • Organic Social — Twitter/X, LinkedIn… ← where our UTM'd social links land
  • Email — the newsletter

For per-post breakdowns, filter by Session campaign (our utm_campaign).

UTM tagging — the rules

UTMs are query parameters appended to a link. GA4 reads them to attribute the visit. Only tag external links that point to the site (social posts, newsletters). Never UTM internal navigation.

Param Meaning Allowed values (keep it to these)
utm_source where it's posted twitter, linkedin, bluesky, mastodon, newsletter, farcaster, reddit, hn
utm_medium type of channel social (any social post), email (newsletter), referral (partner link)
utm_campaign the post/campaign the post slug, e.g. human-connectome
utm_content optional variant/placement thread-1, bio-link, pinned

Hard rules (so data doesn't fragment)

  1. Lowercase, hyphens, no spaces. twitter ≠ Twitter ≠ Twitter in GA4.
  2. utm_medium=social for all organic social, utm_medium=email for the newsletter. GA4's channel grouping keys off medium — get this wrong and the traffic falls into "Unassigned".
  3. Same utm_campaign across every channel for one post. Use the post slug. This lets us compare Twitter vs LinkedIn vs email for the same piece.
  4. Don't tag internal links. UTMs on same-site links restart the session and corrupt attribution.
  5. Log every link you create in the campaign tracker (see below) so the team reuses the exact same strings.

Naming template

utm_source = <platform>
utm_medium = social | email | referral
utm_campaign = <post-slug>
utm_content = <optional-variant>

Worked example

Post: https://www.plrd.org/insights/human-connectome/

# X / Twitter
https://www.plrd.org/insights/human-connectome/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=human-connectome

# LinkedIn
https://www.plrd.org/insights/human-connectome/?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=human-connectome

# Newsletter
https://www.plrd.org/insights/human-connectome/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=human-connectome

Build links with Google's free Campaign URL Builder to avoid syntax typos, or copy the template above.

Campaign tracker

Keep one source of truth for every tagged link (a shared sheet is fine). Suggested columns:

Date Post slug Channel (source) Medium Campaign utm_content Final URL

One row per link. This is what keeps utm_source/utm_campaign strings identical across the team.

Per-post checklist (when publishing)

  • Note the post slug — this is the utm_campaign for the whole push.
  • Build a tagged URL for each channel you'll post to (social / email).
  • Add each link + strings to the campaign tracker.
  • After a few days: GA4 → Traffic acquisition → filter Session campaign = the slug, to see which channel drove the most engaged traffic.

Maintainer notes (one-time GA4 setup)

  • Data retention: Admin → Data retention → 14 months (default 2 months is too short; not retroactive).
  • Internal traffic filter: define internal IPs + set the Data filter to Active so team/dev traffic is excluded.
  • Link Search Console: Admin → Product links → Search Console (unlocks organic search queries).
  • Google Signals: left off for now given the cookie-consent posture.