Urchin Tracking Module (UTM) codes or links measure the performance of your different digital marketing campaigns. UTM links identify where individual sources of traffic to your website come from. The data can provide insight into what platforms are effective and help you improve your campaigns in the future. UTM links help monitor your website traffic, conversion sources, and help you understand how visitors interact with your content.
UTM is compact codes attached to the end of a URL. UTM links include a campaign name, a medium, and a traffic source. These links might also contain keywords and unique content identifiers to help you identify them.
Overview of UTM Links
UTM links are a reliable source for tracking online traffic. They work with Google Analytics and do not affect third-party cookie changes. UTM codes are incorporated into your existing URL and allow you to track the source of your visitors.
For example, you can incorporate a UTM code into the URL while building a landing page and the web link will deliver the data to your Google Analytics.
Most Common Types of UTM Parameters
There are five main types of UTM tags, used to track the performance of online marketing campaigns based on individual data points. The five UTM parameters recognized in Google Analytics are:
- Campaign Source: Identifies the source of traffic, this could be a website, newsletter, social platform, or search engine. For example, if your web page’s traffic source is Facebook, the UTM code will be utm_source=facebook.
- Campaign Medium: Informs you about the medium used to share and access your web page. For example, if the campaign medium is email, the UTM code will be utm_medium=email. However, the medium can be social platforms, emails, PPC ads, or other communication platforms.
- Campaign Name: This parameter allows you to track a specific campaign, using a specific campaign name you identify. For example, in a campaign named “Holiday Sale,” the code will be utm_campaign=holiday_sale.
- Campaign Term: A parameter for paid campaigns to help you track the paid keyword performance. For example, for the keyword “best restaurant in Ottawa,” the UTM code is utm_term=best_restaurant_ottawa.
- Campaign Content: This parameter identifies the content that is clicked on to get to your site. Campaign content parameter is used when multiple links lead to the same URL. Here the content types can be email, blogs, landing pages, or a call-to-action. This parameter is used to track targeted ads and A/B testing.
How To Create UTM Links
You can generate UTM parameters manually or create links through a code generator using Google Analytics. You can follow these steps to generate your codes:
Visit Google Analytics Campaign URL Builder.
- Enter the web page URL you want to link to and the parameters you want to track.
- Scroll down the page to find a generated URL for your specified campaign.
- Convert the URL to a short link, or you can copy the URL and use it in different URL shorteners.
- Paste your link to the platforms where you want to run the campaign.
You can also use Hootsuite Composer, iOS Campaign Tracking URL Builder, Google Play URL Builder, and UTM.codes to generate your UTM codes.
How To Implement UTM Parameters
Once you have generated your UTM link, you can use them to gather data in your campaign. To access this data, follow these steps:
- Log into Google Analytics.
- Click on the Reports Tab.
- Select the Acquisition option.
- Select Campaigns.
- Scroll down to where the campaign URLs are listed.
- Collect traffic numbers and conversion rates for each URL.
Once you have gathered this data you can use it to analyze where you are generating traffic in your campaigns.
Benefits Of UTM Parameters For Business Marketing
When using a variety of digital marketing efforts, UTM parameters tell you which campaign is most effective for your business. UTM codes can track the performance of your social media marketing, email marketing, or blogging. You can also use these codes for affiliate links, guest posts, or on-page advertising. Creating UTM links provides you with market insight to improve your future campaigns according to objective data.
Reach Your Digital Marketing Goals With UTM Parameters
UTM links help you understand which of your digital marketing campaigns generate the most traffic. It is important to monitor your links and stay organized. For assistance creating a continuous flow of traffic, talk to a digital marketer to create UTM links to make the process easier and faster.
