UTM parameters - Ortto

UTM stands for Urchin Tracking Module. UTM parameters (also called UTM codes or tags) are snippets of text you can add to the end of a URL. BlogDigitalMarketingSigninTryfreeDigitalMarketingUTMparametersIfyouknowhowtousethem,UTMparameterstellacompellingstoryaboutyourwebsitevisitors.Armedwiththisknowledge,youcanmaximizeyourmarketingROI.BySidneyO'Connell8Jun2022-13minsecommerceHowToSaaSEmailmarketingSaaSMarketingB2BContents:IntroductionWhatareUTMparameters?WhyareUTMparametersimportant?HowdoUTMparameterswork? ThefivetypesofUTMparameters7tipsforaddingUTMtagstoyourURLsToolsforUTMparametergenerationDomorewithUTMtagsusingOrttoFinalwordCopiedSharethisarticle:CopiedLet’sfaceit,mostlandingpageURLslookliketheywerewrittenbyaguywhofellasleeponhiskeyboard.Buttheseseeminglyjumbledcombinationsofletters,numbers,andsymbolsareUTMparameters,andtheyhelpmarketerstooptimizetheircampaignsandimprovetheirROI.Inthisblog,wewilldiscusswhatUTMparametersareandwhythey’reimportant,providesomebestpracticetipsforusingUTMparameters,andlistsomehelpfultools.IhopeyouhaveyourNotesappattheready?WhatareUTMparameters?UTMstandsforUrchinTrackingModule.UTMparameters(alsocalledUTMcodesortags)aresnippetsoftextyoucanaddtotheendofaURL.Thesesnippetshelpyoutrackwherewebsitetrafficcomesfrom.SoifauserclicksonaURLfromFacebookandlandsonyourlandingpage,you’llbeabletodeterminethesourceoftheclick,whichinthiscaseisFacebook.IfmostofthetrafficcamefromFacebook,you’dknowthatyouweredoingsomethingrightwithyourFacebookstrategy.TheseinsightscanbeaccessedinyourGoogleAnalyticsaccount–or,ifyou’reanOrttocustomer,insightsareavailablewithintheplatform.Asidefromidentifyingthesourceofaclick,UTMparameterscanalsoofferother,moreadvancedinsights.AddingUTMparameterstoyourURLswillenableyoutoanswerquestionssuchas:Whichadvertisingplatformbroughtinthemostwebsitetraffic?Or,morespecifically:Whichcall-to-actioninoursocialactivitygeneratedthemostrevenue?ThebelowscreenshotshowshowOrttouserscanbreakdownUTMlinksbycampaignsource.Ultimately,UTMparametersaddanimportantlayerofunderstandingandvisibilitytoyourmarketingefforts.WhyareUTMparametersimportant?Everybusinessdedicatesresourcetoproducingcampaignsandcontentwiththegoalofgeneratingnewbusiness.AmongalltheLinkedInposts,blogarticles,andPPCads,therearetop-performingassetscontributingadecentchunktoyourbottomline,andlikelyjustasmanywhoseperformanceistheequivalentofthrowingmoneydownthedrain.UsingUTMparameterstodiscoveryourhighest-performingcontentorcampaignscanhelpyouallocateyourmarketingbudgetmoreeffectively,focusingonthecontentformats,topics,andchannelsthatdrivemoretraffic—andmorerevenue. Thetroubleis,in2020,justoverhalf(52.7%)ofmarketersusedanalyticstotracktheirresults.Howcanmarketershopetomaximizeeffortsiftheyhavenoideaifwhatthey’redoingisworking?Whatitcomesdowntoisthis:ThebestmarketersaresobecausetheyusetoolslikeUTMparameterstodeterminewhat’sworkingandwhat’snot.HowdoUTMparameterswork? Needlesstosay,discoveringyourhighest-performingchannelsisn’taseasyasslappingaUTMparameterontheendofaURL.Whatisneededisknowledgeofnamingconventionsandcombinationtechniques.IfyouwanttogetthemostfromUTMtags,youneedastrategy.Here’swhatyou’llneedtoknow.ThefivetypesofUTMparametersTherearefivetypesofUTMparametersyoucanaddtoyourcontenttohelpyoutracktraffic.Eachonehasitsownjobtodo,andthemoreyouuse,themoreyouranalyticsplatformwillbeabletoshowyou.1.utm_sourceThistagidentifiesthesourceofyourtraffic(e.g.Facebook,searchengine,etc.).Forexample,iftheuserarrivedtoyourwebsitebyclickingthroughaGooglesearchengineresult,thetagwouldread:utm_source=google2.utm_mediumThisUTMcodespecifiesthemedium,likeCPCornewsletter,forexample.IfyoursourceisFacebook,youmightusethelabel“social”toindicatethetrafficcamefromsocialmedia.Belowiswhatthetagwouldlooklikeinthisinstance:utm_medium=social3.utm_campaignThisparameterindicatesthecampaignthattheURLispartof.Thismightbeanidentifierlikeatagline–e.g.“launch02015”or“website-redesign.”Example:utm_campaign=website-redesign4.utm_contentThisiswherethingsgetreallygranular.Ifyouhave,forexample,twodifferentcalls-to-actioninonepieceofcontent,youcanusethistagtotellyouranalyticstoolwhichoneismoreeffective.Here’sanexamplefromaGlassdooremailwithseveralCTAs.Clickthefirstgreenbuttonandyou’llberedirectedtoapagewiththisURL:utm_content=salary-alert-1-viewcompany-nationalClickonthesecondgreenbuttonandyou’llbedirectedtoapagewiththisURL:utm_content=salary-alert-1-allsalariesBoththeseURLsarepartofthesamecampaignandcomefromthesamesourceandmedium,butthecontentthatdirectspeopletothemisdifferent.TheUTMparameter“utm_content”indicatesthisdifference.5.utm_termThisUTMparameterisimportantforidentifyingthekeywordsthatdriveclicksviaapaidsearchcampaign.Here’sanexamplefromschedulingtoolCalendly.The“utm_term”taghereindicatesthesearchterm“calendarschedulingtool”wasresponsibleforgeneratingthisclick.7tipsforaddingUTMtagstoyourURLsYouknowwhatUTMparametersare,buthowdoyoucreatethem?You’llhaveafewdifferentoptions.Beforewedivein,though,therearesomethingsyoushouldknow.UTMparameterguidelinesandnamingconventionsPhysicallytaggingyourURLsisactuallytheeasypart.Thehardstuffisknowingwhattodobeforeandafteryoutagthem.Inconsistentparameterswill,atbest,confusewhoever’stryingtointerpretyouranalyticsreports.Atworst,they’llactuallysendyouthewrongdata.That’swhynamingandmonitoringthemisimportant.Hereareafewguidelinestohelpyoudoitright.1.BedescriptivewithyourtagsRemember,thepointofUTMparametersistotrackyourdataandsortitintoaneasilydigestiblereport.IfyoutagyourURLswithambiguoustermsornumbersequenceslike1A,IB,1C,you’llhaveahardtimeinterpretingthoselateron.Ifit’sashortcampaign,thatmightnotbeaproblem.Butifitspanslonger,orifyouwanttoanalyzeolderdatainthefuture,youshouldcreateasimpleyetdescriptivetaggingsystem.2.Don’trepeatyourself Remember,you’regoingtohavetoreadtheseinanalyticsreports.Togetmaximuminformationaboutyourtrafficwithminimumconfusion,youshouldmakesureyoudon’trepeatnames.EveryUTMparametershouldtellyousomethingdifferentaboutyourvisitors.So,don’tjustbeclearandspecific,butnameaUTMparametersoitreadslikeasentence.Examplebelow:/utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=new-admin-dashboard-2014-aprilEachparameteranswersaquestion:Whatcampaignisthis?NewadmindashboardlaunchedinApril2014WherewastheURLclicked(i.e.source)?URLwasonFacebookWhere/howwastheURLdisplayed(i.e.medium)?DisplayedasapostontheFacebookpageWheredowesendtheuser?UsersenttoablogpostWhatdoestaggingthisaccomplish?KnowwhatpercentageofFacebooktrafficcamefromclickingthelinkaboutthenewadmindashboardlaunchversusFacebooktrafficingeneralTheUTMtaggedURLtellsastoryandcaninformfuturemarketingstrategy.3.Don’tusespacesAvoidusingspaceswhendealingwithUTMparametersbecausetheymessupyourparameterformatting,makingithardtotracklinksinyourcampaign.IfyourUTMparameterscontainspacesbetweenwords,thespaceswillbecomepercentagesignsintheURLbydefault,whichwillleadtocomplicationsintrackingandinconsistenciesinyourcampaignresults.It’sbesttoavoidspacesaltogether.Whenitcomestowhetheryoushouldusedashesorunderscoresinsteadofspacestoseparatewords,thereisn’taclearanswer.Somesourcessuggestunderscoreswhileothersrecommenddashes,arguingthatsearchenginespidersdon’tcrawlUTMparameters.It’suptoyouwhichwayyougo,butsticktoonetostayconsistentoritcouldcauseissueslaterdowntheline.IfoneyearyoutrackaFacebookcampaignandnameit“google_xmas_campaign_2021”andthenextyearit’snamed“google-xmas-campaign-2022”,historicalcomparisonswillbemuchharder.4.KeepaneyeoutforduplicatecontentPut“inurl:utm_source”intoGoogleandyou’llgetover325,000,000results(URLswith“utm_source”inthem).WhatthismeansisthereareinstanceswhereGoogleindexesUTMparameters.AndifthathappenstoyourURLs,there’sachance,ironically,thatyou’llbepenalizedforcreatingduplicatecontent.Googlemaytreatthetwolinksbelowasidenticalpiecesofcontentandmarkthemasduplicates.https://ortto.com/blog/growth-hacking-strategies/ https://ortto.com/blog/growth-hacking-strategies/?utm_source=twitterAsolutiontoduplicationistousecanonicaltagsonaffectedpages.IfyouwanttocheckforaduplicationintheGoogleindex,youcansearchfor:site:(yoursite)inurl(source,campaign,term,content,medium)Thatway,you’llknowifanyofyourUTMtagsarebeingindexedbyGoogle.Theyshouldn’tbe,butiftheyare,itwouldbesmarttoputacanonicaltaginplace.Whatisacanonicaltag?AcanonicaltagisawayoftellingsearchenginesthataspecificURLrepresentsthemastercopyofapage.Usingthecanonicaltagpreventscontentduplication.5.Don’tuseeveryparameterineveryURLYoudon’thavetouseeveryparameterjustbecauseit’savailabletoyou.Ifyou’regoingtotagyourURLs,you’rerequiredtoinclude“utm_source”butalltheothersareoptional.Unlessyou’rerunningapaidsearchad,it’sbestnottousethe“utm_term”tag.Inthiscase,itdoesn’ttellusanythingelseaboutthetrafficcomingthroughthisemailthatthe“utm_campaign”parameterdoesn’t. 6.NeveruseUTMparametersoninternallinksOnceyoustartusingUTMparameters,you’llwanttousethemeverywhere.Butdon’tgettag-happy,especiallyoninternallinks.Here’swhy:Let’ssayyoupublishedanewblogpost,AnAwesomeWaytodoSomethingAwesome.YoushareditonTwitter.Oneofyourfollowersclicksonthelinkandarrivesatwww.yoursite.com/blog/awesome-post.Whentheyaredonereading,theywanttogotoyourhomepage.Theyclickonalinkthattakesthemtohttp://www.yoursite.com/?utm_source=blog.YoujustlosttheinformationthattheusercamefromTwitter.YouranalyticsreportwillsaythatthevisitorcamefromblogandnotfromTwitter.OnlyuseUTMparameterswithoutboundcontent–thesocialposts,emails,andpaidsearchadsyoupushouttothemasses.Otherwise,thetrackerinyouranalyticssoftwarewillcompletelyresetwhenavisitorclicksonataggedinternallink.Andyou’llgetacompletelyfalsereportofwhereyourtrafficisactuallycomingfrom.7.AlwaysuselowercaseUTMparametersThereasonforthisoneissimple.Iftheutm_sourceforthisemailis“Webinar”buttheparametersusedare“utm_source=webinar”and“utm_source=Webinar”,thetagswillberegisteredasuniquetagsinGoogleAnalytics.Furthermore,ifyou’retaggingeveryotherlinkusingacapital“W”you’llnoticeinyourreportsthathalfyourtrafficiscomingfromthesource“Webinar”andtheotherhalfiscomingfrom“webinar”.It’sbestnottoaddanyconfusiontothemix.Sticktousinglowercaselettersinalltagsifyouwanttoensureaccuracyandminimizeconfusion.ToolsforUTMparametergenerationWhenitcomestogeneratingUTMparameters,therearelotsofsolutionsoutthere.Belowaresometoolsyoucanusetocreateyourown.UTMbuilderspreadsheettemplateOneofthesimplestwaystogenerateandkeeptrackofUTMsiswithasharablespreadsheet.Tohelpyouout,we'vebuiltaUTMbuildertemplatethatcanbecopiedforyouruse.Onthefirsttab,you'llseenamingconventionsandexamplesofthedifferentparametertypesforyourreference.UsethesecondtabtobuildoutyourUTMswithplatforms,urls,andcampaigntypes.We'veprovidedanexampletogetyoustarted.AtOrtto,wehavecopiedthissecondtabinthespreadsheettogiveeachdepartment(content,performanceetc.)theirowntabtoworkin.Afteryou'vemadeacopyofthedocument,youcansimplyduplicatethetabasmanytimesasyouneed,andnamethetabaftertheteam.Simpleasthat.GoogleCampaignURLBuilderTheCampaignURLBuilderfromGoogleisaniftytoolyoucansimplypluginallthedetailsofyourcampaignwithoutworryingstringingacoherentUTMparameter:Onceyou’rethrough,thebuilderwillspitoutyourfullURL,completewithUTMcodes:Fromthereyoucansimplyclickthe“CopyURL”button(andeven“ConvertURLtoShortLink”beforethattoshortenyourlongURL),andplugitintowhatevertoolyou’reusingtopromoteyourURL.Google’sauto-taggingfeatureTaggingallyourURLsmanuallyisatiresometask.Ifyou’reattemptingtotrackAdWordstraffic,Google’sauto-taggingfeaturemakesthewholeprocessmoreefficient,anditevenoffersafewadditionalbenefits:EliminateerrorsthatmaycomewithmanualtaggingImportantanalyticsgoalsandtransactionsintoAdWordsconversiontrackingGetmoredetaileddata,likeplacementorhourofdayAuto-taggingisturnedoffbydefault,sototurnitonyou’llneedtonavigatetothetrackingtabofyourGoogleAnalyticsaccount.Keepinmindthatthefeaturedoesn’tworkwithasmallpercentageofwebsites.Ifyou’rehavingtroubleusingit,thiscouldbewhy.OrttoOrttoautomaticallyputsUTMsinURLsacrossyouremailandSMSmarketingwhichyoucantrackincustomreportsanddashboards.Forexample,whenbuildinganemailnewsletter,wheneveryouaddalinktoyourwebsite,Orttowillautomaticallyaddtherelevanttags,streamliningtheprocessandensuringyougetthemostoutofyourcampaign. DomorewithUTMtagsusingOrttoWithOrtto,youcannotonlytrackUTMdata,butcreatehighlypersonalizedcustomerjourneyswiththem.ThiscanbedonebycreatingasmartsegmentandaddingaconditionchecktofilterleadswhohavevisitedpageswithspecificUTMparameters.Forexample,youcancreateasmartsegmentcomprisinguserswhohaveaccessed(andcompleted)your“requestademo”formviaaFacebookretargetingad.Youcanengageleadswithtargetingmessagingbasedonwhatevercriteriayoulike,includingthoseleadsthat:ArrivedonyourpageasaresultofsearchingspecifickeywordsRespondedtoaone-offcampaignLandedonyourpageviaaparticularsourcesuchasYouTubeBelow,seehowOrttouserscanfilterbasedonUTMcontenttags.Thosecommunicationsdon’thavetobelimitedtoemaileither.WithOrtto,youcanutilizeSMSaswellasin-appmessaging.Youcanalsoautomatethenotificationofsignupstoyourteam,particularlythesalesteamwhowanttoreachoutswiftlytoanyhigh-valueleads.ManyofourcustomersalsouseUTMparameterstoextractmoredatafromexistingcustomers,ortomanageevents.ThefollowingaretwoexamplesoffrequentlyusedUTMbasedtemplates.1.DataenrichmentforpersonalizationThisdataenrichmentjourneyistheperfectwaytocollectinformationthatyoucouldbemissingfromyourcontacts.Bygivingthemanumberofclickableopinions,youcanaskthemanything,fromwhattheirfavoriteholidaydestinationis,throughtothenumberofcontactstheyhave.Whentheyclick,youcantracktheirselection,andsendthemonapersonalizednurturejourneyspecificallydesignedaroundtheiranswer.2.ManagingwebinarattendeesAfteryou’vehostedawebinar,you’vegothighlyvaluablecontactsthatarealreadyengagedwithyou.You’venowgottheperfectopportunitytokeepintouchwiththemandmakesurethey’reontherighttrackwithyourproduct.Withthisjourney,youcanuseZapiertoconfirmthecontactsthatactuallyattendedyourwebinar,andreachouttothem.Asmalldataenrichmentemailcanthenbeusedtogaugetheirexperience,andsendthemafollowupspecifictotheirresponse.FinalwordTheabilitytoaccuratelyattributevaluetodifferentchannelsiskeytounderstandingandmaximizingmarketingROI.UTMparameterscantellyoualotabouttheperformanceofeachchannelandcanshedlightonthebehaviorofnewleadsandexistingcustomersalike.WhenusedincombinationwithOrtto,businessescanapplythedatatodecisionsaroundallocationofmarketingspendandresources,andalsoimprovetheeffectivenessoftheircommunicationsthroughautomated,personalizedmessagingbasedonthecriticalinsightscaptured.Sharethisarticle:CopiedYoumayalsolikeThemostboringgrowthstrategyeverandwhyyoushoulddoitByMikeSharkey-3minsB2C...SaaSMarketingThoughtLeadershipB2BConversionrateoptimizationstrategiesBySidneyO'Connell-12minsB2C...CustomerExperienceB2BExplainerSaaSecommerce10zapierautomationexamplesByEllieWiseman-9minsCustomerDataPlatform...B2BLeadGenerationSaaSMarketingEmailmarketingSaaSReady,set,grow.NocreditcardrequiredSignupforfreeSubscribetostayintouchEmailaddress*reCaptchaisrequired*Thanksforsubscribing!Keepaneyeonyourinboxandclickthelinkinouremailtoconfirmyoursubscription.FollowusonFeaturesCustomerdataplatformAudiencesegmentationIntegrationsWebsitetrackingSecurityandprivacyCustomerjourneysPlaybooksMarketingautomationSMSmarketingSurveysA/BtestingLeadgenerationLeadmanagementLeadscoringEmailmarketingSaaSmarket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