My analytics reports show (not set) as the campaign for some of my visits. What is missing from my link?
Most likely the link carries only the source, with no utm_medium or utm_campaign. The source alone is enough for the link to work, but empty fields show up in many reports as (not set). The builder warns you when medium or campaign is missing and still lets you copy, so read the warnings and fill both before you publish.
How an incomplete link slips through
Say you are in a hurry, type only instagram as the source and copy the link. This is what the UTM campaign link builder gave for the product page:
https://example.com/oud?utm_source=instagram
The link is valid and opens the page, and the tool accepted it because the source is the only required field. But it showed two warnings above the link: no medium was entered and reports may show (not set), and no campaign name was entered. Add only the medium social and the first warning goes away, while the campaign warning stays.
Why the tool does not stop you
Because there are a few cases where a source on its own is intended, and because blocking you might push you to type any value just to get through, which is worse than an empty field. The tool tells you what is missing and leaves the decision to you. For normal shop use, fill all three every time.
Other reasons (not set) appears
- Visits that never came from a tagged link, such as ordinary search or direct visits. They have no campaign, so they show without one in the campaign report, and that is normal.
- A tagged link whose end got cut off when someone copied it, losing some parameters.
- A typo in a parameter name typed by hand, such as utm_campain, which analytics does not recognise. Building the link in the tool prevents this, since it writes the parameter names itself.
Each analytics tool displays these cases in its own way, so check your report and split visits by source to see which case you have: if the source is instagram and the campaign is (not set), an incomplete link is the likely cause.
Fixing the links going forward
- Find the incomplete link wherever it is published: the bio, ads, pinned messages.
- Open the builder, paste the page URL and enter the same source that was used, so the numbers stay continuous.
- Fill in medium and campaign and check that the warnings are gone.
- Replace the old link with the new one everywhere you found it.
Visits already recorded as (not set) stay that way; the fix only applies from now on. It helps to note the date of the change, so a later comparison does not make the campaign look as if it started from zero. Once you have the data, compare each campaign's cost and result in the Campaign performance calculator.
Common questions
Do I also need utm_term and utm_content to avoid (not set)?
No. Those two are optional, and seeing them empty in reports is normal if you do not use them.
Does the tool check whether the incomplete link is published somewhere?
No. It builds the link and flags what is missing; it has no idea where you posted it.