Urchin Tracking Module Parameters (UTM) - Visitor Analytics

UTM (Urchin Tracking Module) parameters are URL parameters used by marketers and website owners in order to better track the performance of online marketing ... SkiptomaincontentYouarehere:VisitorAnalyticsGlossaryUUrchinTrackingModuleParameters(UTM)GlossaryUrchinTrackingModuleParameters(UTM)WhatareUTMParameters-VisitorAnalyticsGlossaryUTM(UrchinTrackingModule)parametersareURLparametersusedbymarketersandwebsiteowners tobettertracktheperformanceofonlinemarketingcampaigns.Whilethesourceofvisitstoacertainlandingpagecanalsobetrackedbylookingatreferralsources, UTMparameterscanprovideadditionalinformationaboutthesourceofthetrafficcomingfromacertainlink.TheycansimplybeaddedaftertheURLintendedfortracking,afterwhichtheyareinterpretedand“understood”byanalyticstools,whichwillprocesstheinformationfortheuser.VisitorAnalyticshasadistinctfeaturenamed“URLcampaigns”wheremarketingcampaignresultsaredisplayedbasedonUTMparameters. Thereare5standardparametersthatcanbeaddedtoanyURL.Thefirst3arerequiredandthelast2areoptional.· utm_source(requiredparameter)–youcanusethistodefinewhichsiteissendingthetrafficthroughtheURL(ex:utm_source=Googleorutm_source=Mashable).Notethatthisisarequiredparameter.Youcan’tuseUTMwithoutdefiningthesource.· utm_medium(requiredparameter)–itcangivemoredetailsaboutthelinkwithintheutm_source,describingthetypeoflink(ex:utm_medium=cpcorutm_medium=blog_article)· utm_campaign(requiredparameter)–theusercanchooseanamethatdefinesthestrategiccampaignthattheURLispartof(ex:utm_campaign=May_50%_saleorutm_campaign=link_building_reputation) · utm_content(optionalparameter)–itcanbeusedtoidentifyexactlywhatelementoftheutm_mediumwasclicked(ex:utm_content=cta_button_blueorutm_content=paragraph_link)· utm_term(optionalparameter)–definesthetypeofaudienceorthesearchtermusedinanadcampaign.Youcouldalsouseittoidentifytheanchorofthelink(ex:utm_term=summer_dress) Howtouse UTMparameters1.IMPORTANT:UsingUTMparametersispossibleonlywhenyouhavecontrolovertheeditingofthelinksonathirdpartywebsite/source.Forexample,whenyoudoaguestpostoryourunacampaignonsocialmediaoronGoogleandyoucaninserthyperlinksyourself.2.Inthecontent(guestpost,socialmedia,adcampaignetc.),carefullydecidewhereyouwanttoplacelinkstoyourownwebsite.3.DecidewhatthedestinationURL(s)shouldbe(whereusersshouldlandafterclickingonthelink)4.CopytheURL(s)ofthedestinationpage(s),adda“?”after,thenaddtheUTMparametersinsuchawaythatyouwillbeabletounderstandlaterwhatthecodesrepresent.Don’tforgettoseparatetheparametersusinga“&”sign.Seetheexamplesbelow.Usethesehyperlinksinthecontent,insteadoftheinitialURL(s).ClickingonthemwillstillleadtotheinitialURL,souserexperiencewillnotbeaffected.https://www.randomsite.com/landing-page/?utm_source=Mashable&utm_medium=blog_article&utm_campaign=May_50%_sale&utm_content=paragraph_link&utm_term=saleThisUTMtellsusthatthewebsitevisitcamefromablogarticleonMashable,whichispartofourMaysalescampaignwith50%offforsomeproducts.Wealsoknowitcamefromalinkinaparagraphwithinthetext,withtheanchor“sale”.https://www.randomsite.com/landing-page/?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=May_50%_sale&utm_content=text_ad_1&utm_term=summer_dressThisUTMtellsusthatthewebsitevisitcamefromapaidadscampaign(CPC)inGoogle,whichispartofourMaysalescampaignwith50%offforsomeproducts.Wealsoknowitcamefromourfirsttextad,whichwaspromotinga“summerdress”.5.OpenyourVisitorAnalyticsdashboardandgotoStatistics–URLCampaignsforabreakdownofthevisitorswhoreachedyoursitethroughoneofyourstrategiccampaigns.Seewhichsources,mediumsandtermsbroughtyouthemosttraffic.6.Compareresultsforseveralcampaigns,medium,contentandtermsinordertounderstandwhichlinkperformedbest.Adjustyourcampaignsorcreatenewonestoimproveperformance.Forexample,ifyounotice3xmorevisitsfromutm_content=cta_button_bluethanfromutm_content=cta_button_green,itmaybeagoodideatomakeallofyourCTAbuttonsblue. IfyoufinditdifficulttomanuallygenerateaURLwithaddedUTMparameters,feelfreetousetheVisitorAnalyticsUTMCampaignURLbuildertool.JustinsertyourdataandtheURLwillbegeneratedautomatically.Youcanjustcopyandpasteit.BuildyourcustomUTMCampaignURLnowFillinthedataandletthetoolgenerateyourcustomUTMCampaignURLtobeinsertedasalinkinyourcontent.WebsiteURL*ThefullwebsiteURL (e.g.www.example.com/landing-page)CampaignSource(utm_source)*TheReferrerDomain:(e.g.google,newsletter)CampaignMedium(utm_medium)*Typeoflink/Marketingmedium(e.g.cpc,banner,email,guestpost)CampaignName(utm_campaign)*Salespromotion,adcampaign(e.g.spring_sale)CampaignTerm(utm_term)Searchterminpaidadoranchortext(e.g.summer_dress)CampaignContent(utm_content)Contentelementwherevisitcamefrom(e.g.blue_CTA_button,text_ad1)YourcustomgeneratedUTMCampaignURLUsethisgeneratedURLasahyperlinkinyouradcampaignsandVisitorAnalyticswillshowyouautomaticallythestatisticsassociatedwithyourvariables!PleasefilltheinputsabovetoseegeneratedURLhere!YourcustomUTMCampaignURLwassuccessfullycopiedtoyourclipboardCopymycustomURLcampaignShareShareShareShareShare