What Are UTM Codes? Here's How to Use Them (w/ Examples)

UTM Codes (or UTM Tags) are a way to track traffic that is coming to your website from a specific platform. UTM codes have two components: ... Marketing Sales Service Leadership Hubspot Subscribe SubscribetoOurBlog Stayuptodatewiththelatestmarketing,sales,andservicetips. WhatAreUTMCodes?Here'sHowtoUseThem(w/Examples) ErikaGiles| July31,2020| Analytics| 12minread QuickLinks 1. WhatIsIt? 2. Examples 3. WhatCanYouTrack? 4. ToolstoUse 5. HowtoKeepCleanData 6. CreatingOneinHubSpot WhatIsaUTMCode? UTMCodes(orUTMTags)areawaytotracktrafficthatiscomingtoyourwebsitefromaspecificplatform.UTMcodeshavetwocomponents:thetrackingvariableandtheUTMparameters.Therearefiveparametersthatyoucanusefortrackingtraffic.Theseparametersaresource,medium,campaign,term(keyword),andcontent. Trackingwhereyourwebsitetrafficcomesfromisawisemoveformarketers.Youshouldalwaysbelookingforwindowsofopportunitytooptimizeandleveragenewstrategiesinthemediumsthatareperformingwellforyou. Butfindingthespecificnuancesofyourtrafficflowcanbetrickyifyoudon'thavethetoolsnecessaryorknowwheretolook. Onesimpleandeasy-to-usetrickistowriteUTMcodesintoyourlinks. WhatIsaUTMCode? AUTMcode,shortforUrchinTrafficMonitor,includessmallpiecesofcodeddatathatattachtotheendofaURLtohelpyoukeeptrackyourcontentandcampaignperformance.UTMcodeshavetwocomponentsandfivestandardparameters. viaGIPHY ThetwocomponentsofUTMcodesare: Trackingvariable:UTMcodeshaveauniquevariablethatidentifiesthedimensionyouaretracking.Thevariablealwayscomesafterthe"="sign.Thevariableaftertheequalssignmayonlyhaveletters,numbers,periods,hyphens,anda"+"sign.  UTMparameter:TheUTMparameterstartswith"utm_"andtherearefivedifferentparametersyoucantrack:utm_campaign,utm_source,utm_email,utm_term,andutm_content.  MostpeopleturntoUTMcodestotrackcampaignperformance.Thecodewillhelpdifferentiatethetrafficcomingfromeachsourceandmediumbycampaign.Essentially,theUTMcodeperformsonefunction–tohelpyouranalyticstoolstrackyourvisitors.  Let'sbreakdownthefiveUTMcodestohelpyouunderstandwhatyoucantrackwhenyouuseeachparameter. utm_source Thisparameterallowsyoutotrackthesourceofyourtraffic.ThesourcesyoucouldtrackincludeBing,Google,Facebook,Instagram,orotherindividualsourcesfromyourmarketingchannels.  utm_medium Thisparametertrackswhatmarketingchannelsyourvisitorscamefrom.Popularmarketingchannelsincludesocialmedia,organicsearch,PPC,email,andaffiliates.  utm_campaign Thistrackswhichmarketingeffortsorcampaignsattractedyourvisitorstoyoursite.  utm_content ThecontentparameterisusuallyoptionalandonlyusedifyouhavemultiplelinksthatgotothesameURL.Forinstance,youmayhavetwoCTAsinoneemail.ThecontentUTMhelpsyouseetheexactlinkorCTAthatwasclicked.  utm_term ThetermUTMparameterisusedtotrackkeywordterms.Thisparameteristypicallyusedforpaidsearchads.  UTMCodeExamples GenericUTMCodeExample YoucanreadthisUTMcodelikeasentence.InthisexamplewiththeBluleadzURLslugpage,we’reonlytrackingpeoplethroughthesetcampaign(“CampaignName”),thesourceisLinkedIn,andthemediumispaidsocial. Sincewe’veusedthisUTMcode,wheneverwelookatourreportingplatformforthatsource/medium,we’llbeabletoseehowthatspecificcampaignperformedasopposedtotherestofourpaidLinkedIntraffic. IfyouweretocreateahypotheticalURLtocheckthesourceandcampaignforyourtraffic,itmaylooksomethinglikethis: http://www.fakebusiness.com/url-slug?utm_campaign=Campaign+name&source=Facebook EmailUTMExample BelowisascreenshotofaSlackemail.Thecalltoaction"LearnMore"takesvisitorstoaspecificwebpagerelevanttotheCTA.TheirUTMtagshelpthemtoseewhichCTAavisitorclickedonandwhichcampaigntheyengagedwith.   TheURLisdisplayedbelowwiththehighlightedUTMparameters: https://slack.com/resources/slack-101/create-new-channels?utm_medium=email&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=cd_email_email_all_ PaidUTMExample HereisashoeadforZappos.Theadwasfoundafterthekeyword"shoes"wastypedintotheGooglesearchbar.  TheURLhasseveralUTMparameterspresenttotrackterms,medium,content,andcampaigns.  https://www.zappos.com/c/shoes?utm_source=google&utm_medium=sem_g&utm_campaign=2411754&utm_term=kwd-12666661&utm_content ThisURLmakesiteasytoseethatthewebsitevisitorcamefromapaidadonGoogle.SomesiteschoosetospelloutGoogleasaUTMtagandothersuselettersorothercodes.  SocialMediaUTMExample Businessesoftenpostalinktotheirwebsiteintheirsocialmediabios.Forinstance,ColourPopcosmeticshasalinktotheirwebsiteintheirInstagrambio. HereistheirInstagramprofileandtheirURL:https://colourpop.com/?utm_source=IG&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=Bio FromtheURLyoucaneasilytellwherethewebtrafficcamefrom.Theyevenhaveatagthatsays"bio."Thishelpsthemtopinpointtheexactlinkavisitorclicked.  WhatDoUTMCodesTrack? We'vementionedacoupleofwaysthatUTMcodesmeasureandtrackdifferentelements,butwhatdotheseideasmeantoyourbusiness? Herearethefivethingsyoucantrackwithwell-writtenUTMcodes: 1.Sources Thesourceinyourcodeidentifiesthespecificoriginofyourtraffic.ArevisitorscomingfromGoogleorFacebook?YelporInstagram? YoucanspecifywhichwebsiteyouwanttotrackinyourUTMcodeandmonitorjusthowmuchtrafficyou'repullinginfromLinkedIn,forexample. 2.Mediums Amediumisthegeneralcategory,ortype,oftrafficsource,like: Organic Referral Paid Socialmedia Thispartofthetrackingcodeallowsyoutoidentifywherethelinkisfeaturedinandsingleoutspecificmediums.Forexample,aparticularUTMcodewilltracktrafficcomingfromemailinsteadofsocialmedia. 3.Keywords TrackingspecifickeywordsortermsinyourcodewillhelpyouidentifywhichonesareshowingapositiveROIfromyourPPCadefforts. viaGIPHY Ifyou'repayingforaGoogleAdscampaign,it'dbeagreatideatosubmitalinkthathasthekeywordyou'relookingtorankforintheUTMcode. 4.Content UTMcodestrackingspecifictypesofcontentareusedtoidentifywheretrafficisstemmingfromifthere'sidenticallinksonasinglepage. Forexample,isthelinkinthenavigationbardrivingtraffictothepage,orisitadifferentlinkinthefooterofthepage? 5.Campaigns TrackingcampaigntrafficthroughUTMcodesallowsyoutogroupallofthecontentfromonecampaignintoonesetofanalytics.Youcanpullthesemetricsfromanycampaign,fromanewslettertoaLinkedIngroup. HowtoCreateaUTMCode:3ToolsYouCanUse Outsideofdeveloperswhodothisforaliving,mostpeoplearen'tabletowritecodeoffthetopoftheirhead.Butthat'sok.Wehaveheroesouttherewhobuildtoolstobridgethegap. HerearethreegreatURLbuildingtoolsthatwillhelpyoucreateUTMcodesthatwillhelpboostyourtrafficanalysis: 1.GoogleAnalytics Probablythemoststraightforwardofthetools,GoogleAnalytics'CampaignURLBuildergivesyouspecificfieldstohelpbreakdowneachpartofyourURLinaneasy-to-swallowway. Onceyou'vecompletedalltherequiredfields(andanyoftheapplicableoptionalones),aURLwillbegeneratedforyouthatcontainsthenecessaryUTMcodes. Thegreatthingaboutthiscodeisthatyoucandesignittobecampaignspecific.Also,it'sfree! 2.GooglePlayURLBuilder AppsrequireuniquelybuiltURLs,soGooglehasintroducedaURLbuildermeanttotrackappcampaignmanagement. FollowingsimilarrulestotheCampaignURLBuilder,youcanhaveacustombuiltUTMcodeinnotime.Therearecertaincampaignparametersthatyouhavetostickto,butyoucanfindthemdetailedabovethegenerator. 3.iOSCampaignTrackingURLBuilder Naturally,theiOSCampaignBuilderisabitdifferentfromtheothertwotools.ThefieldsyouhavetoenterareprettysimilartotheGooglePlayBuilder,buttherearedifferentrulesinvolved. InyourGoogleAnalyticssettings,makesurethatyouriOSCampaignTrackingisturnedonandthatyourapplicationIDsmatch. Onceyou'vecheckedthatyourtrackingURLsarecorrect,youshouldbegoodtogo. HowtoKeepYourDataCleanWithUTMCodes UTMcodesstarttosegmentwhenyoutaglinkswithdifferentparameterseachtime.Youcanaddwhatevervaluestotheparametersthatyouwish,butit'sbesttokeepthedatacleanbyassigningvaluesandtagsthatyouusethesamewayeachtime.  HerearesomewaysyoucankeepyourdatacleanwithUTMcodes: 1.TrackYourUTMs. KeepingyourUTMsconsistentandorganizediseasywhenyoutrackthemwithaspreadsheet. Addthenamingconventionsyouchoosesoyoucanmanageallyourlinksinoneplace.Thisway,thereisnoconfusionandallofyourlinkswillbeeasytoidentifyandassign. 2.CreateaNamingSystem. Establishaspecificnamingconventionandstickwithit.Thishelpsyoutorecallyourownruleswhenyousetaspecificsystem. Youwillknowexactlywhereyourdatawillendup,andyoureducethechancethatamistakewillbemade.Ifyouimproperlynameaconvention,youmaynotreceiveaccuratetrackingdata.  Forinstance,useonlylowercaseoruppercaseletters,andselectonlyoneortwocharacterstouse.  3.ReviewUTMDatainGoogleAnalytics. SetupyourGoogleAnalyticssothatyoucantrackdatafromUTMcodes.Thiswillhelpyouseespecifictrackingmeasures,suchastheuserbehaviorandactionsrelatedtoeachUTMlink.  4.UnderstandThatUTMTrackingandDataIsn'tPerfect. Acceptthesimplefactthatyourdatawillnotalwaysbeaccurateorperfect. Usersmaycopylinksandplacethemsomewhereelse.Thelinkmaygetafewclicksandshowyoudatathatisalteredandincorrect.Whenyouassessyourdata,leaveroomforerrors.  Uncleandatameansthatyou’llhaveadifficulttimereviewingwhereyourtrafficiscomingfrom.Thisproblemmaycauseyoutohavetomanageafewrowsofdatamanuallytofixerrors.Sometimes,thedatacangetsomessythatitisimpossibletoseewhereyourtrafficiscomingfrom. YoucanmanageyourdatamoreeffectivelybyusingspreadsheettemplatesthathelpyoubuildandmanageUTMsefficiently. 4oftheBestUTMBuilderSpreadsheetTemplates HerearefourofthebestUTMbuilderspreadsheettemplatestohelpyoumaintaincleanandusefuldata: UTMTagger:UTMTaggerisasimpleGoogleSheetstemplatebyHallamthathasvariouscolumnstohelpyouorganizeyourUTMcodes.SomeofthecategoriesaredestinationURL,source,medium,andcampaign. UTMStandardizer:AmazeeMetricscreatedUTMStandardizerasaneasyspreadsheetwithcategoriessuchascontent,source,medium,URL,andUTMtaggedlink.  GoogleAnalyticsCampaignTaggingTool:GoogleAnalyticshasatemplategallerythathasacampaigntaggingtooltemplateforyoutouse.Ithelpsyoutotagandorganizeyourlinks. UTMTaggingTemplate:ThistaggingtemplatebyLinkToSheetsisasimplespreadsheetthatallowsyoutocategorizeandmanageyourconventions.YoucanusecolumnsdesignatedforURL,medium,source,campaignname,content,keyword,andgeneratedURL. HowtoCreateaUTMCodeinHubSpot Ifyou'reaHubSpotuser,thenyouhaveaccesstoahelpfulURLgeneratoraswell.JustfollowthesestepstogetyourownUTMcodes. 1.GotoYourAnalyticsTool. InyourMarketingHubdashboard,lookforthe"Reports"tabinthenavigationbar.Select"AnalyticsTools"fromthedropdownmenu. 2.OpenTrackingURLBuilder. Scrolltothebottomofthepagetofindthe"TrackingURLBuilder"buttonontherightsideofthepage.Selectit. Itwillopentoanewpagewhere,ontheright,you'llseeanorange"CreateTrackingURL"button.Openthebuilderupbyclickingit. 3.CreateaTrackingURL. FillouttherequiredfieldsandaddanycontentortermUTMcodesyoumaywanttotrackaswell. Onceyouhit"Create,"HubSpotwilllogthenewUTMcodeasanewcampaign.Thelinkwillbereadyforuseonanywebpagethatyouwanttotracktrafficon. WerecommendusingUTMcodesforanycampaignthatyouwouldliketoseedirectROIfrom.Theycanbeveryuseful,butifoverdoneordoneincorrectly,theycangetveryconfusinginreports. Ifyouhaveeverneededtoshowyourbossoraclienttheimportanceofyourdigitalmarketingeffortswithaspecificcampaignorchannel,UTMcodeswillbeextremelyuseful. Withpropertags,youcantrackeverybitofperformancefromyourdesiredchannelorcampaign! CreateCampaignsWorthTracking CreateEffectiveCampaignsYou’llWanttoTrackwithourfreeHowToCreateanEffectiveInboundMarketingCampaigneBook DownloadNow GeneralFAQ WhatDoesUTMStandFor? UTMstandsforUrchinTrackingModule. WhatIsaUTMTag? AUTMcodeisasnippetoftextyoucanattachtotheendofaURLinordertotrackasource,medium,andcampaignname.WhenyouattachaUTMtagtoaURL,GoogleAnalyticswilltellyouwhereyoursearchersarecomingfromandwhatcampaignbroughtthemtoyoursite. WhatDoesaUTMTagLookLikeinaURL? AUTMtagattachedtoaURLwilllooklikethis: https://www.bluleadz.com/blog/url-slug?utm_campaign=Campaign%Name&utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=paidsocial LeaveaComment ErikaGiles ErikaisaMarketingCopywriteratBluleadz.Sheisahugefanofhouseplantsandpodcastsaboutconspiracytheories.Shespendsmostofherfreetimereading,writing,andenjoyingtheoutdoors. MoreMarketingInsights 5TipsforIdentifyingYourBrand'sTargetAudience 10TipsforImplementingRe-EngagementEmailCampaignsThatDriveConversions 7VideoMarketingContentCreationTipsforEngagingYourAudience Subscribetoourblog&getnotifiedonthelatesttrendsthatimpactyourbusiness. No,Idon'twanttogetyourawesomecontent. ClosePopup.