How to Use UTM Parameters to Track Marketing Success
As a marketer it's essential that you understand how effective your online campaigns are — and a big part of this is analyzing which ones had an impact. UTM parameters are a piece of information that's added to the end of a URL (or link) that provides information on the source of the traffic and therefore on the performance of your marketing efforts.
There are 3 main reasons to use UTM parameters:
- Measure the ROI of marketing campaigns (like webinars)
- Precise tracking for conversions (Google Ads, Social Media, etc.)
- Allow for A/B testing (links, creatives, distribution channels)
Every time you add a link to your website, social media post, or newsletter, you can add UTM parameters. In this article we'll explain how to create your own UTMs as well as some best practices.
What are UTM parameters?
UTMs (or Urchin Tracking Module) were coined by Urchin (Google Analytics' granddaddy).
UTM Parameters
A UTM (Urchin Tracking Module) code is a text snippet added at the end of a URL to track the metrics and performance of a specific link. They provide analytics at a campaign level.
UTM codes usually contain up to five parameters:
- Source (utm_source)
- Medium (utm_medium)
- Campaign (utm_campaign)
- Content (utm_content)
- Term (utm_term)
UTM parameters are query parameters (short pieces of text you add at the end of links) that convey information about a link. They provide insights into "where", "why" and "how" a link was placed. This makes it easy to track clicks and traffic coming from a specific platform, marketing campaign, or medium (blog, newsletter, etc.).
Here's an example of a URL with UTMs:
When adding UTMs to a link, they must follow these rules:
- All UTMs are structured as [UTM name]=[UTM value]
- The first UTM is preceded by a ?
- All following UTMs are preceded by a &
Creating these links on your own might seem intimidating, but many tools (like Contrast) offer free UTM builders, and Google has their own UTM builder too.
Why UTM parameters matter?
As marketers, we need to talk about something that we all know is important: showing how effective our work is. Thankfully, we've got UTM parameters as our trusty sidekick to help us report on our different actions and what's working. Let's dive into five reasons why these handy tags should be part of our toolkit.
1. Spot-on attribution
UTMs allow you to attribute credit to your different traffic sources, knowing which ones drive most traffic, conversions, signups, or other. This is valuable information to find out which of your channels are driving growth to your business.
2. In-depth campaign analysis
UTMs provide the capability to measure and compare the performance of your marketing initiatives across various channels. By employing analytics tools, you can dive into metrics like conversion rates, bounce rates, and average session durations per campaign, allowing for a thorough understanding of your campaign's effectiveness across different platforms.
3. ROI Calculation
Understanding the impact of each marketing channel on traffic and conversions enables you to calculate the return on investment (ROI) of your marketing efforts with precision.
4. Audience segmentation
UTM parameters allow you to segment your audience based on their originating traffic source, offering insights into which types of links or content resonate most with different segments.
5. Data-Driven Decisions
Lastly, UTMs provide you with clear, unbiased data that inform your marketing strategy. With this data, you can pinpoint campaigns that might require refinement, strategically allocate your advertising budget, and focus your efforts on platforms that yield the most engagement and value.
How to create UTM parameters
Google Campaign URL Builder
The Campaign URL builder is a free Google tool that you can use to add UTMs to your links.
Contrast's UTM builder
All the best webinar tools such as Contrast offer similar UTM builders to help clients who are sending out registration links to their webinars and want to add UTMs.
Google Sheets
Google Sheets or other Excel alternatives can be a good solution for companies that prefer to keep all tracking URLs documented in one place.
How to analyze UTM parameters
If you have Google Analytics set up on your website, Google will automatically track all the traffic and group it by different UTM values.
6 best practices for UTM parameters
- Standardize UTMs: Consistency avoids discrepancies in tracking.
- No spaces: Use underscores or dashes instead.
- Lower case only: Avoid capitalization to simplify the process.
- Track internal links: UTMs can also be used on internal traffic.
- Use URL shorteners: Hide UTM parameters in public links.
- Commit to a tracking plan: Regular audits help maintain consistency.
Conclusion
Learning to use UTMs is an important skill for all marketers. They will help you track the success of your marketing actions and determine your ROI.