How to Build UTMs for Campaign URLs & Where to Find the ...

Where to See UTM Data in Google Analytics and GA4 Skiptocontent Support Pricing Features FacebookUTMBuilder:BoostCampaignsw/FacebookAdTrackingUTMs UTMCampaignTracking UTMTemplates UTMChromeExtension UTMConventionsBuilder Blog Login SignUpwithGoogle Recent Totracktheperformanceofyourmarketingcampaigns,you’llneedtouseUTMparameters.SimplyaddUTMtagstoanycampaignURLviaafreeUTMbuilderorapremiumUTMtool.WhensomeoneclicksthattaggedURLtogotoyoursite,GoogleAnalyticsrecognizesthetags,processesthem,andconvertsthemintousabledataintheAcquisitionsreport.Let’sexplorethedetailsofexactlyhowtoappendUTMtagstoyourlinksandwheretofindthereportsinGoogleAnalyticsandGA4.   ContentsWhatAreUTMTags?WhatDataWillUTMsAddtoGoogleAnalytics?WheretoBuildUTMs&HowtoBuildThemWellWillGoogleAnalyticsAutomaticallyTrackURLswithUTMsonThem?WheretoSeeUTMDatainGoogleAnalyticsandGA4 WhatAreUTMTags? UTMstandsforUrchinTrackingModule.ItwasoriginallyusedbyUrchinSoftwareCorp.totrackwebtraffic.GoogleboughtUrchinin2005andtherestishistory.AlthoughUTMsaregenerallyassociatedwithGoogleAnalytics,manyanalyticsandmarketingtoolshaveadoptedthem.ThismeanswhenyouuseGoogleAnalyticsUTMparameters,you’realsofeedingmanyothertools—suchasyour emailprovider —withdatathattheycancollectandanalyze.Thisinturnprovidesyouwithpracticalinsightsanddatagranularityforimprovingmarketingcampaigns.TherearefivebasicUTMparameters.Threeofthese,utm_source,utm_medium,andutm_campaign,arerequired.Theothertwo,utm_termandutm_content,areoptional.MoreadvanceduserscanalsocustomizeUTMtags. ReadourcompleteguideoncustomUTMparameters. WhatDataWillUTMsAddtoGoogleAnalytics? LinkswithaddedUTMparametershelpGoogleAnalytics(andallotheranalyticstools)collectdetailedinformationaboutwhatdrovetraffictoyoursite.ItalsoensuresthattrafficsourcesareidentifiedcorrectlyinGAreports.Forexample, channels suchassocial,email,anddisplaygetmisattributedasReferralorOtherwithoutUTMs.Thiswillmakeyourcampaignreportsincompleteordownrightwrong.ButwhenURLshaveaddedUTMsthatareproperlysetup,yougetaccuratecampaignreports —whichareexactlywhatyouwantwhenyou’remakingdecisionsthatwilldriveyourmarketingstrategy.WhenURLshaveUTMs,GoogleAnalyticsgeneratesrelevantanddetailedcampaign metrics suchas: Thespecificsourceofthetraffic(notjustthewebsitebutwhichspecificpage)WhichlinkonthepagetheuserclickedHowusersgottoyoursite(bannerad,socialmedia,organictraffic)Butitdoesn’tstopthere.Onceyouhavetheabovedata,youcanthenconnectittootherreportsinGAtohelpyouanswermanyofyourmarketingquestionssuchas:Which email segmenthasthehighest click-throughrate?Whichcampaignsgeneratedmorereturnoninvestment?Whichpostsorlinksconvertbetter?Whichsocialmediaplatformgetsyouthebestfollowerengagement? WheretoBuildUTMs&HowtoBuildThemWell YoubuildUTMtagsoutsideofGoogleAnalytics.SimplychoosewhichURLsyouwanttoaddcampaigndatafor,addUTMtagstothem,andusethesemodifiedURLsinyourmarketingcampaigns. Therearethreewaystodothisforeffective GoogleAnalyticsUTMtracking. 1. BuildUTMsinasemi-automatedspreadsheet Youdon’tnecessarilyneedfancy-schmancytoolstobuildUTMtags.YoucanmodifyURLsusingasimplebutpowerfulUTMspreadsheet thatautomatesbuildingthetaggedURLandorganizesyourlinks.Theproblem?Oncethenumberoflinksyouneedtotrackincreases,thepossibilityoferrorsandinconsistenciesalsogrows.Thiswillmessupyourdata.Sofromtheonset,trackalltheUTMsyoubuildtoprepareforanyfuturechanges. 2.Usefreetools FreeonlineUTMbuildersautomaticallygenerateUTMcodes.Simplyfillinthetoolwithyourcampaigninformation,anditautomaticallymodifiestheURLforyou.UTMbuildersacceleratethetimeittakestobuildcampaignURLs.However,thisstillleavesagapingproblem.Thatis,ifyouhavealotofURLstotrackandyou’reworkingwithabigteam,it’seasytomakeclericalerrorsorbeinconsistentwithcampaignnames.AsmallmistakelikeusingacapitalletterinsteadofalowercaseonecanskewthedatathatGooglereportsshowyou. 3.UsespecializedtoolslikeUTM.io’spremiumversion YougetmorecontrolwhenusingpremiumUTMbuildertools.Ifyou’rerunningabigcampaignortrackingalotofURLs,apremiumtoolguaranteesconsistency.Evenifauserisfromadifferentteamintheorganization(sales,marketing,orproductdepartment),orevenifthey’renew,they’llbeusingthesameparametersaseveryoneelse.Noonemessesup.Everybodyworksfaster.Everything’sorganized. BuildConsistentUTMsAcrossTeams It’stimetosaygoodbyetomessyspreadsheets.OrganizeyourUTMswithease. TryUTM.ioforFree HowtoBuildtheBestUTMTags ThewayyoubuildUTMtags willdeterminewhatyouseeinGoogleAnalyticsreports.TobuildthebestUTMtags,followthesethreerules:Startsimple.UseparametersbasedonGoogleAnalytics’channelgrouping.Setupanamingconventionsoeveryoneintheteamusesthesametagsandyouendupwithdatathatisreliableandusable.Consistencyiskey.Buildclearly-labeledUTMssothatusersstillunderstandwhattheymeaninfiveyears.Formoredetails,readourcompleteguidetobuildingthebestpossibleUTMs. WillGoogleAnalyticsAutomaticallyTrackURLswithUTMsonThem? Outofthebox,GoogleAnalyticsisalreadyconfiguredtoautomaticallytrackURLswithUTMtags. WhenyoumodifyaURLbyappendingUTMparameters,GAseestheaddedtags,whichthenbecomefodderfordetermininggranulardataitwouldotherwisenothaveaccessto.Itwillnotonlyknowthesourceofthetrafficbutalsospecificdetailsaboutuserbehavior,forexample,whichlinktheyclickedinanemail. HowtoCheckThatGoogleIsTrackingUTMs AftermodifyingaURLwithUTMtags,youcaneasilyverifyifGoogleistrackingtheUTMparametersornot:CopytheURLwiththeUTMparametersPastetheURLinabrowser’ssearchbarGotoGAReports>Real-time>TrafficSourcesIfGoogleis trackingtheUTMs properly,thenyou’llseethisreflectedonthatpage. WheretoSeeUTMDatainGoogleAnalyticsandGA4 Soyou’veaddedUTMtagstoallcampaignURLs.Waitfortraffictocomein,thengotoGoogleAnalyticstoanalyzethereportsandgleaninsightsabouttrafficbehavior. WheretoFindUTMDatainUniversalAnalytics ReportsbasedonUTMsareavailableunderAcquisitionreports.Thedatathatyou’llseeherewillbetakenstraightfromtheUTMtagsyouuseinthemodifiedURLs.GotoReportsontheleftcolumnoftheGoogleAnalyticsdashboard.ThenclickAcquisition>Campaigns>AllcampaignsBydefault,thispagewillshowyouthenamesofthedifferentmarketingcampaignsthatyouuseinyourUTMs. StepstoviewingUTMdatainUniversalAnalytics Fromhere,youcanexamineotherdatafortheotherUTMparameters.YouhavetheoptiontolookatthereportsusingthePrimaryandSecondaryDimensions.Primarydimensionisthemaindatayouwanttofocuson.AndthenyoucanuseSecondarydimensiontodrillfurtherintothatdata.Forexample,youcanuseCampaignasyourPrimaryDimensionandanalyzethatdatafurtherbyusingSource/MediumastheSecondaryDimension.Doingthisallowsyoutofindnuanceddataabouttrafficbehavior. WheretoFindUTMDatainGA4 It’snotlongbeforeUniversalAnalyticsstopsworkingandGoogleAnalytics4(GA4)becomesthenorm.AndmuchlikeGoogle’sUniversalAnalytics,youcanfindthecampaignreportsinGA4’sAcquisitionchannel.Therearethreeplacesyoucanfindthis:Reports>LifeCycle>Acquisition>Useracquisition:FirstusermediumReports>LifeCycle>Acquisition>UseracquisitionReports>LifeCycle>Acquisition>TrafficacquisitionFromhere,youcandrilldownintomorespecificreports.Let’slookatgettingcampaigndataintheTrafficAcquisitionreports.ClickReports>LifeCycle>Acquisition>TrafficacquisitionInthisreport,you’llseetheSessiondefaultchannelgrouping. StepstoviewingUTMdatainGA4 ClickSessiondefaultchannelgroupingtotheleftofthecareticontogetthedatafortheotherUTMtagsyouusedinyourcampaignURLs.Youcanchoosefrom:SessionmediumSessionsourceSessionsourceplatformSessioncampaignTodrillfurtherandaddanotherdimension,clickthe+icon.Thenacquisition.Thiswillallowyoutoseemorespecificdataaboutyourcampaigns. Drilldowndatabyaddingasecondarydimension YourTurn WithoutUTMtags,you’llberunningblindwhenlaunchingmarketingcampaigns.Butwhenyouusethem —andusethemwell—you’llbeprivytomarketingdatathatcanpositivelyinfluencethedirectionofyourmarketingstrategy. GetAccurate&ReliableCampaignReports DiscoverUTMtaggingbestpracticesyoushouldn’tignore WatchtheWebinarNow DanMcGaw DanMcGawisanaward-winningentrepreneurandspeaker.HeisthefounderandCEOofEffinAmazing,amarketingtechnologyandanalyticsagency,andthecreatorofUTM.io,acampaignmanagementanddatagovernancetool.Namedoneofthegodfathersofthemarketingtechnologystackandoneoforiginalgrowthhackers,Danhasdecadesofexperienceindigitalmarketing,technology,andanalytics.(Histeamwon’tlethimtakethisouteventhoughhesaysitmakeshimsoundold.) LeaveaReplyCancelreplyYouremailaddresswillnotbepublished.Requiredfieldsaremarked* Comment* Name* Email* Website Δ ThissiteusesAkismettoreducespam.Learnhowyourcommentdataisprocessed.