Intrigued about UTM Parameters, UTM Codes, UTM Tags, UTM Links…

What are they? 

Are they useful in your Social Media Marketing or business? 

Most brands want to improve their marketing strategies and performance.

This calls for constant testing and optimization, a little more than the regular social media analytics. 

My advice?

 You need to leverage UTM links, Parameters, or Codes for tracking.

 

What are UTM Codes?

UTM stands for “Urchin tracking module.” 

UTM links are bits of text you add to a link that gives Google Analytics some extra information about it.

Here is an example–http://www.sample.com/holding-page?utm_source=google&utm_campaignJune2020

To get a better knowledge about UTM codes and how it works, you need to understand what UTM parameters are.

UTM parameters, codes, links, or tags are five variants of a URL used by brands and marketers to track the effectiveness of online marketing campaigns across traffic sources and publishing media.

 

Creating UTM Codes Using Campaign URL Builder

 

What do these UTM Tags mean?

 

1. Source
In this parameter, you can use the name of the social platform of which you are sharing the link to (e.g., Twitter, Facebook ) as the “source” UTM tag.

The source identifies which site is sending the traffic and its parameters. It answers the question, ‘where is my traffic coming from?’

2. Medium
Consider setting ‘social’ as your medium tag for all links shared on social media. 
The parameter “medium” is all about answering the question, “the traffic you are getting.” 
It identifies the link source, such as cost per click or email, and so on.

3. Campaign
The most common UTM parameter that brands can use in their UTM tags is the campaign. As the name suggests, it refers to the campaign launched on social media. It identifies the specific product you are promoting. 
For example Utm_campaign=summer_sale

4. Term
The fourth UTM parameter is ‘term.’ It identifies the search terms in social media.

Example  utm_term=jogging+pants

5. Content
The last UTM parameter is Content. It tells you which of your links brings the most users to the site, such as a banner ad or a text link. 

Most brands use it for A/B testing and content-targeted ads.
It looks like utm_content=logolink or utm_content=textlink

So what other parameters should you know about?

The first three are the most common parameters as they offer the most critical information you need to track in a campaign.

There are other tools which allow you to add custom parameters and dynamic parameters. This option lets the tool change the UTM links automatically, based on where you are sharing them.

 

Creating UTM Codes from the dashboard of a social media management tool

 

Why are UTM Parameters important?

Most people and brands (am sure you too) publish hundreds of links on social media. It can either be UTM links to your:

• Blog Posts
• Landing Pages
• Webinar Registration
• Lead Magnets
• Contest, etc

How do you track who is clicking on these links and their demographics?

I know what your next question will be, or what you have in mind.

Why should I bother about knowing who is clicking on these links?

Let me give you a classic example. 

Mary visits your website after clicking on a link you shared on social media. The issue is, you are active on five social media platforms.

How do you understand which of your campaigns is generating more leads or traffic to your site so you can optimize it?

 

Advantages of UTM Tags

UTM links help you track the performance of each link so you can monitor in details your social media success.

They provide variables within the UTM link for tracking information like how much traffic you are getting from social media.

They provide the best info about incoming traffic than any conventional analytics tool.

Most analytic tools, unlike UTM codes. They offer basic information like the number of clicks per social media update or how much traffic each social network is sending to your website.

UTM tracking links can tell about:
• Which social media groups drive the most traffic
• Which comments on your ads generate the most sales
• Which social profiles bring in the most conversions
• What types of updates perform best regarding traffic/management
Whenever it comes to social media testing, you get countless possibilities.Pretty much anything you want to test and UTM links can help you a lot.

 

How to create UTM tracking links to track your URLs

There are two options available if you want to build your URL:

First, type in your custom URL for your campaign tracking.

Second, use Google’s UTM code generator called ‘Campaign URL Builder’ and fill in the relevant fields. 

• Website URL- what is the site, page, or landing page you want your visitors to visit?
• Campaign source- what is the source of your traffic, e.g., Google, twitter.com, or other referrals?
• Campaign medium- what is the medium of the origin of traffic?
• Campaign name- if you are doing a strategic product promotion or campaign, what would you call it, e.g., 40 percent off winter sale?

A third option is to use the free UTM chrome extension which would allow auto-populate the URL and save you time.

 

How do you track your UTM links?

Once you have been tagging and tracking your links with UTMs, you can get a good feel for where your traffic is coming from by hopping into Google Analytics.

Google Analytics makes it smooth for brands to analyze their UTM links. 

It gives you a clear picture of the three critical parameters of a UTM
Source, 
Medium and
The campaign, all from the same Google Analytics dashboard. 

How can you get access to it?
• Go to Acquisition > campaigns > All Campaign
• Click to view the Primary Dimension of Campaign, Source, or Medium.
Track your conversions for each link/campaign, but for this, you need to create conversion goals in Google Analytics.

Remarks

Using UTM tags can be an excellent asset for any business or brand who wants to know where the best-converting traffic is coming from.

Does your social media agency make use of this? If not, get started with UTM tagging by getting in touch and let’s have it set up for you.

I bet you’ll get the best results and of course, you won’t regret it.. 

 

I am a Certified Digital Marketing Strategist, and I help entrepreneurs like you create profitable inbound marketing strategies (using social media) that attract, nurture and convert leads into sales in record time.

 Are you ready to win in a competitive market?

Feel free to get in touch and let’s discuss your options.