How to Use Query Strings and Parameters (2025 Guide)

If you’re looking to track traffic, understand user behavior, or personalize your site, query string parameters play a key role. These small pieces of data added to URLs help marketers like me gather information about how users interact with websites.

A query string parameter is essentially extra data attached to a URL that provides important details. For example, it might tell you where a visitor came from, what they searched for, or which ad they clicked on. 

I’ve used query strings in many campaigns to track ad performance, see what channels are driving the most traffic, and adjust strategies accordingly. 

In this guide, I’ll explain how query strings work, how to use them, and why they matter. I’ll also share how to handle SEO query parameters and talk about how they can help you improve your marketing.

What is Query String?

A query string is the part of a URL that comes after the question mark (?).

Query string params carry extra information that helps websites or analytics tools track user behavior or personalize content.

Let’s understand query string parameters through the following URL Query string examples:

For example, in this URL query parameters:
https://www.example.com/products?category=shoes&color=blue
The query string is category=shoes&color=blue. It’s made up of key-value pairs. The key (like category) defines what information is being tracked, and the value (like shoes) is the data associated with it. Multiple key-value pairs are separated by an ampersand (&).

A common use of parameterized URL or query strings is in UTM parameters, which help track marketing campaigns.

Let’s see another URL query string example:
https://www.example.com?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=summer_sale
Here, utm_source, utm_medium, and utm_campaign are key-value pairs that help track where traffic is coming from and how specific campaigns perform.

By using UTM and query parameters, you can gain insights into campaign performance, track conversions, and even personalize content based on user data.

How Query Strings Work?

Query strings help websites or Google Analytics track user actions or customize experiences.

When someone clicks on a link with a query string, the browser sends the entire URL to the server. The server then reads the query string and uses it to display the right content.

UTM parameters in URLs are a method of passing data via query string to analytics platforms like Google Analytics. For instance, the URL:

https://www.example.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=summer_sale

includes parameters that tell Google Analytics where the visitor came from (utm_source), the type of traffic (utm_medium), and which campaign brought them (utm_campaign). This is a practical way of passing data via query string for tracking and analyzing marketing efforts.

Query strings can track lots of things, like session IDs, filters (e.g., category=shoes), or search queries. If a user clicks on a link with category=shoes, the website might display only shoe-related products.

By using query strings, you can measure campaign success, track conversions, and personalize content based on user data.

Why Query Strings Matter for Marketers?

Query strings are important because they help track where your traffic is coming from and how well your marketing campaigns are doing.

For example, UTM parameters in query strings let you track campaigns easily. With UTM parameters like utm_source, utm_medium, and utm_campaign, you can know exactly which ad or link brought people to your site.

Query strings also let you personalize content for visitors. If someone clicks a link with ?product=shoes, you can show them relevant products like shoes on your page.

Tip: If you want to track your campaigns easily, Analytify works well with Google Analytics. It automatically captures UTM data, so you don’t need to sort through complex reports. You can see your campaign performance right in your WordPress dashboard, saving you time and making your workflow smoother.

Another use is cross-domain tracking. This helps you track users across multiple websites.

Using query strings helps you track your campaigns, customize the user experience, and make better decisions based on data.

How to Use Query Strings?

Query strings are easy to use, and once you understand how they work, you can apply them to your marketing efforts. Here’s how to use them step by step.

1. Adding Query Strings to Your URLs

Adding query strings to your URLs is easy. You just need to append them at the end of the URL after a question mark (?). Query strings are made up of key-value pairs that provide useful information for tracking.

Here’s how you add query strings to a URL:

• Start with your base URL. For example: https://www.example.com/
  
• Add a question mark (?) to separate the base URL from the query string.
  
• Add key-value pairs separated by an equals sign (=). For example: utm_source=google.
  
• If you have multiple parameters, separate them with an ampersand (&).
  

For example, a basic UTM URL would look like this:
https://www.example.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=spring_sale

In this URL:

• utm_source=google tells you the traffic came from Google.
  
• utm_medium=cpc shows the medium used (e.g., cost-per-click).
  
• utm_campaign=spring_sale tracks the specific campaign (e.g., a Spring Sale campaign).
  

You can add as many parameters as needed, each separated by &.

2. Tracking Campaigns in Google Analytics 

Once you’ve set up query strings (like UTM parameters) in your URLs, Google Analytics will automatically capture this data, which allows you to track how well your marketing campaigns are performing. Here’s a detailed guide on how to track UTM parameters in Google Analytics and extract meaningful insights.

Step 1: Make Sure UTM Parameters Are Set Up Correctly

Before you can track campaigns in Google Analytics, you need to ensure you’re using the right UTM parameters in your URLs. When you add UTM parameters to your URLs, Google Analytics can automatically capture the data. For example:

• utm_source=google: Tracks the source of the traffic (e.g., Google).
  
• utm_medium=cpc: Tracks the medium (e.g., cost-per-click ads).
  
• utm_campaign=winter_sale: Tracks the specific marketing campaign (e.g., Winter Sale).
  

Here’s an example URL with UTM parameters:
https://www.example.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=winter_sale

Once your UTM parameters are added to the URL, any traffic that comes from that link will be tracked by Google Analytics.

Step 2: Log Into Google Analytics

Now that your UTM parameters are set up, log in to your Google Analytics account. Here’s how to check how your campaigns are performing:

1. Go to the Acquisition Section:
   

In the left-hand menu of Google Analytics, click on Acquisition.

This section is where Google Analytics provides detailed information about where your traffic is coming from, how users engage with your site, and which campaigns are driving traffic.

Then, you need to click on Traffic Acquisition.

2. Check Source/Medium:
   
   • Under Traffic Acquisition, then Source/Medium.

2. Here, you’ll see all the traffic coming from various sources (e.g., Google, Facebook, etc.) and mediums (e.g., CPC, email, organic search).
   

• The Source/Medium report will allow you to identify how much traffic you’re getting from each source (like Google or Facebook) and the medium (such as CPC or organic).

3. Campaigns Report:

• Next, select Session Campaign as a dimension in the Traffic Acquisition Report.
  

• This report provides insights into the performance of various campaigns tracked using UTM parameters, such as utm_campaign=ACi or utm_campaign=App Install – Chesca, showing metrics like traffic, engagement, and conversions.

• You can see how much traffic each campaign is driving, how long visitors stay on your site, and whether they complete any conversions (such as making a purchase or filling out a form).
  

Step 3: Analyze the Data

Once you have the data from Google Analytics, it’s time to analyze it. Here’s what to look for:

• Sessions & Users: Start by checking the number of sessions and users for each campaign. High session numbers indicate that your campaigns are successfully driving traffic to your site.
• Identify Top Performers: Look for campaigns with higher session counts. These are your most successful campaigns in terms of attracting visitors.
• Engagement Rate: A high engagement rate means that visitors are interacting with your site more. If campaigns like utm_campaign=App Install – Chesca show a high engagement rate, it’s an indication that visitors are interested in what you’re offering.
• Average Session Duration: Longer session durations suggest that visitors are spending more time exploring your site, which usually means they find the content valuable. Look for campaigns with high average session durations (e.g., “Campaign1-xinjunguo” with 8m 08s).
• Pages per Session: A high number of pages per session is a good sign that visitors are browsing through multiple pages, indicating strong user interest and a well-performing campaign.
  
• Short Sessions & Low Engagement: For campaigns with short session durations or low pages per session (e.g., “ACe – Android – Test JSON format – zbd@”), consider optimizing landing pages or adjusting ad creatives to capture user interest better.
• Conversion Optimization: If some campaigns are generating traffic but not converting well, you might need to optimize the landing pages, offers, or calls to action associated with those campaigns.
  

Step 4: Optimize Campaigns

After analyzing the data, you can start making data-driven decisions to improve your campaigns. For example:

• If one campaign is performing better, you can allocate more budget to that channel.
  
• If traffic from one source (e.g., Google Ads) is driving a lot of visitors but not converting, consider tweaking your ad copy or landing page for better alignment with your target audience.
  

3. Personalizing Content with Query Strings

Query strings also help you personalize content. For example, if you want to show specific products to visitors who clicked on a particular ad, you can add query strings like this:
https://www.example.com/?product=shoes

When users land on this page, they’ll only see shoes or related content. This helps improve the user experience and can increase conversion rates.

4. Cross-Domain Tracking

If you have multiple websites or use third-party platforms, query strings can be used for cross-domain tracking. By adding the same query string parameters across different domains, you can track user behavior across all of them and have a complete view of their journey.

Query strings help you track, personalize, and optimize your marketing efforts, making it easier to make data-driven decisions.

Tracking Query Strings Efficiently with Analytify 

Tracking query strings and UTM parameters helps you understand your campaign performance. While Google Analytics 4 (GA4) provides valuable insights, Analytify simplifies and makes tracking UTM parameters more accessible, especially for WordPress users.

Here’s how Analytify, the best WordPress plugin, helps streamline query string tracking and integrates seamlessly with Google Analytics 4 (GA4):

1. Easy Integration with Google Analytics 4 (GA4)

Rather than complicating your GA4 setup, Analytify simplifies the process by integrating with Google Analytics 4 (GA4). It automatically captures and displays UTM data in your WordPress dashboard, allowing you to track traffic sources, mediums, and campaign performance with minimal effort.

2. UTM Builder for Quick Campaign Setup

Analytify comes with an easy-to-use UTM Builder that helps you create UTM links quickly and accurately. You can easily generate UTM URLs for your campaigns, ensuring consistency and accuracy every time you set up a new campaign.

3. Automatic UTM Tracking

Once you add UTM parameters to your URLs, Analytify automatically tracks this data without the need for any manual configuration. For instance, if you’re using a link like:
https://www.example.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=winter_sale
Analytify captures the UTM data and displays it directly in your WordPress dashboard, making it easier for you to analyze your campaigns without navigating between multiple tools.

4. Real-Time Tracking

With Analytify, you can track campaigns in real-time. As visitors interact with your UTM-linked URLs, Analytify instantly updates your WordPress dashboard. This provides immediate insights into how your campaigns are performing, allowing you to make quick adjustments to optimize your efforts.

5. WooCommerce Integration

For e-commerce websites, Analytify integrates with WooCommerce, allowing you to track how each campaign influences sales and revenue directly from your WordPress dashboard.

By using Analytify, you can track UTM parameters and query strings in a way that’s simple, efficient, and fully integrated with Google Analytics 4 (GA4). This streamlines your workflow and ensures that you have all the insights you need to optimize your campaigns.

Best Practices for Using Query Strings in Marketing

When using query strings for tracking and personalization, it’s important to follow some best practices to ensure everything works smoothly. Here are a few key tips that I recommend:

Keep It Simple

Avoid overcomplicating your query strings. The simpler they are, the easier they are to manage and analyze. Stick to the essentials, just the information you really need. For example, use parameters like utm_source, utm_medium, and utm_campaign for tracking campaigns. Avoid adding too many unnecessary parameters, as this can clutter your URLs and make it harder to track the data properly.

Use Proper Encoding

Sometimes, special characters like spaces or punctuation marks can cause issues in your URLs. To avoid this, make sure to encode your query strings properly. For example, spaces should be replaced with a plus sign (+), and other special characters like & or = need to be encoded as well. This ensures that your query strings are read correctly by tracking tools like Google Analytics.

Consistency is Key

If you’re using UTM parameters, be consistent with how you name them. For example, always use utm_source=google instead of switching between utm_source=Google and utm_source=google. Consistent naming makes it easier to analyze your data over time and avoids confusion when reviewing reports.

Avoid Long, Cluttered URLs

Long and messy URLs can be hard to read and share, which is why it’s a good idea to keep your query strings clean. If your URLs are too long or cluttered, consider using URL shorteners to make them more user-friendly, especially when sharing them in emails or on social media.

By following these query string best practices, you’ll ensure that your query string params are easy to use, track, and analyze. This helps you stay organized and get the most value out of your marketing campaigns.

Impact of Query String Parameters on SEO 

While UTM and query string parameters are essential for tracking and personalizing content, they can also have an impact on your SEO efforts. Here’s how query string parameters affect SEO and what you can do to avoid any negative effects.

1. Duplicate Content Issues

One of the main SEO challenges with query strings is that they can create duplicate content. This happens when search engines see multiple versions of the same page but with different query strings. For example, a page with the query string ?utm_source=google and another with ?utm_source=facebook might be seen as two different pages, even though they lead to the same content.

Tip: To prevent this, use canonical tags to indicate the preferred version of a page to search engines. This will tell Google that the content is the same, just with different query parameters.

2. Handling URL Parameters in Google Search Console

Another way to control how query string parameters are treated is by configuring URL parameters in Google Search Console. You can specify which parameters Google should ignore, which will help avoid any issues with duplicate content and prevent search engines from crawling unnecessary variations of your pages.

For example, if you’re using UTM and query parameters for campaign tracking, you can tell Google Search Console to ignore them in the crawling process, ensuring that only the main content is indexed.

3. UTM Parameters Don’t Hurt SEO

When used correctly, UTM parameters (like utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign) don’t hurt SEO. They are just used for tracking campaign data and don’t affect how search engines index your content. However, it’s crucial to use them correctly to avoid duplicate content issues and ensure your site remains SEO-friendly.

By following best practices like using canonical tags and managing URL parameters in Google Search Console, you can keep your SEO intact while using query string parameters to track and analyze your marketing efforts.

Frequently Asked Questions

Query String Parameter: Final Words

To conclude, we can say query strings are an essential tool for marketers. They allow you to track the performance of your campaigns, personalize user experiences, and gather insights into user behavior. Whether you’re using UTM parameters to monitor traffic sources or passing data for content personalization, query strings help make your marketing efforts more effective.

By following best practices and using Analytify to streamline query string tracking, you can save time and focus on improving your strategies instead of sifting through complex reports.

I hope this article helped you in using Query strings and parameters.

Further Readings:

• How to Track Google Ads Conversions in WordPress
• How to Boost PPC Conversion Rates (Best Tips 2025)
• How To Set Up Google Ads UTM Parameters (2025)

How do you use query string parameters in your marketing? What’s your favorite way to track campaign performance? Share your thoughts below!