Being a modern marketer one understands the fact that marketing and measurement go hand in hand. We all know marketing is about driving traffic and generating sales but how to show the real data i.e the content and channel that has driven revenue? This is where UTM tracking comes into the picture. One cannot deny the role of UTM in marketing and analysis regardless of the industry. These are the special codes that are appended at the end of the URL to track clicks and the performance of marketing activities.
What is UTM Tracking?
UTM stands for Urchin Traffic Monitor created by the company Urchin which was later acquired by Google in 2007 and became Google Analytics as we know it now.
Not all work is finished by setting up GA, you need to make sure google gets all its data to measure the performance of your campaigns. So it’s important to understand how to set up UTM codes and how they work.
UTM tracking allows analytics tools to see where website visitors are coming from. This information provides crucial insights into what your user value and what content compels them to visit your site. These customized URLs can tell you which marketing campaign is successful.
Insights you get from UTM links are:
- Where your customers are coming from
- Who are those customers ( like gender, age, location)
- How many customers are coming from which marketing strategy
- ROI of each strategy
And many more…
Benefits of UTM Tracking
Flexible: It can be applied to any URL that is driving traffic to your site like campaigns, different channels, different content types, etc.
Universal: They are a universal method of tracking marketing activities. They can be used in GA and other similar marketing tools.
Precise: You don’t have to doubt its accuracy as the exact same URL is used with UTM codes which are driving traffic and conversions.
What is a UTM Code :
A UTM code is a string of characters that are added at the end of a URL and begins with a question mark to track its performance.
Image Ref: https://www.utmlinkmanager.com/
For example:
yourwebsite.com/landingpage/?key=value&key2=value2
UTM Tracking Values:
- Campaign Source
This parameter is used to identify the source of your traffic. It could be a search engine name, a website name, a newsletter, or a social network. For example utm_source=twitter.
- Campaign Medium
This parameter is used to identify the medium used to access and share the link. Like email, social, CPC, etc. Example utm_medium=cpc
- Campaign Name
This parameter asks for the name of your campaign. This could be a product name, backlinking for SEO, sales promotion, etc. For example utm_campaign=free+video+course.
- Campaign Term
Use this parameter for paid search campaigns to track relevant ad-based keywords. It helps identify which keyword resulted in a site visit. Example utm_term=accounting+software.
- Campaign Content
This part refers to the campaign content which determines what someone clicked on to land on your landing page when there are multiple links pointing to the same URL such as an email or a webpage with multiple CTA’s. It is commonly used for A/B testing and content-targeted ads. For example utm_content=cta+bottom.
These are the 5 UTM tracking values. In an analytics tool once you enter the established values the tool will generate a customized URL with that parameter.
An example URL with the above-specified tracking values would look like this:
http://www.website.com/landingpage?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=accounting+software&utm_content=cta+bottom&utm_campaign=free+video+course
How to Generate your own UTM :
I would suggest you use Google’s Campaign URL builder.
This tool is very easy to use. On filing out the required values it creates your URL’s with the UTM’s.
Where to Track your UTM data :
Let’s consider you are using Google Analytics for tracking your campaigns.
Under Acquistions> All Traffic > Source Medium
You will be able to see the source/medium generated by google and your own UTM’s
Under Acquistions> Campaigns > All Campaigns
This view allows you to compare all campaigns that you are running. These include paid google campaigns and the campaigns you have listed using UTM’s.
How should I use the data from UTM Tracking :
UTM tracking and effectively using its data is an important part of your SEO regime. Not always do you have to struggle with analysis on your own, you can always reach out to an SEO agency to pump up your game. UTM tracking can help you analyze your brand’s success in a few ways :
- Measure ROI: You have a fair idea of how much you have spent on paid marketing campaigns. With UTM you will have a fair idea of who clicks through the link on your ad and if they have purchased your product or services measuring ROI.
- Refine your KPIs: With UTM-provided data you can define KPIs to reflect your business goals better to align with your results.
- Track Influencer Marketing Campaigns: Hiring an influencer to promote your brand is a reliable source to increase new visitors and customers. With UTM, you can give your influencer a customized URL and keep track of the people who click through from their posts.
- Conduct A/B Tests: In order to be sure which call to action will be most effective or which banner slogan would appeal most you can conduct A/B tests. This test compares two posts with different UTM content to see which one attracts the most customers.
