Using UTM tags helps you gain deeper insights into your traffic sources. For instance, you can determine which social media post performs best or how well a call to action works on your landing page.
Discover how to create UTM tags, why you need them, and how to start tracking the effectiveness of online marketing campaigns to reach desired conversions.
Discover how to create UTM tags, why you need them, and how to start tracking the effectiveness of online marketing campaigns to reach desired conversions.
How To Create a UTM-Tagged Link
There are tools that allow you to input parameters and get a custom link generated for you.
- A tool for creating UTM tags with your own and preset values for Google Ads and Facebook
- A tool to generate campaign URLs by Google
- The Chrome browser extension
Simply enter the page URL, choose the traffic source, fill in the required UTM parameters (and optional ones if needed), and the service will generate the link for you.
Tilda Campaign URL Builder https://tilda.cc/utm/
What Are UTM Tags
UTM tags are snippets of code appended to URLs that collect detailed information about each traffic source.
By using UTM tags, you can assess the efficiency of an ad campaign or gather insights into other sources of traffic. Many marketers use UTM tags specifically to monitor the performance of advertisements, sales efforts, and various website content pieces.
UTM stands for "Urchin Tracking Module." It was created by Urchin Software company that was acquired by Google in 2005.
UTM stands for "Urchin Tracking Module." It was created by Urchin Software company that was acquired by Google in 2005.
How To Analyze Website Performance
To track UTM parameters using Google Analytics, log in to your GA4 property and navigate to the "Reports" section. Within the "Acquisition" reports, you can view both "Traffic Acquisition" and "User Acquisition" data, which provide insights into how users are finding your site. By adding UTM parameters as secondary dimensions in these reports, such as "Session campaign," (utm_campaign) "Session source," (utm_source) or "Session medium," (utm_medium) you can get a detailed breakdown of the traffic generated from different campaigns.
If you want to track parameters such as utm_term and utm_content , you need to create custom dimensions. To access it, go to "Admin" → "Custom Definitions" → "Create custom dimension."
Here, you can specify the event parameter. For example, to track utm_content parameter, input dimension name "UTM Content," select "Event" under "Scope," and specify the event parameter "utm_content."
Here, you can specify the event parameter. For example, to track utm_content parameter, input dimension name "UTM Content," select "Event" under "Scope," and specify the event parameter "utm_content."
What A UTM Tag Consists Of
Each UTM tag should include a parameter and its corresponding value that you want to track.
The parameters and values have standard names that allow analytics system to understand the information correctly.
These parameters are crucial for identifying where traffic originates (source), how it's delivered (medium), which campaign it's associated with (campaign), specific keywords (term), and the specific content variant (content). While the first three are required for basic tracking, the other two are optional and used to provide additional context, such as keyword specifics and content variations in marketing efforts.
These parameters are crucial for identifying where traffic originates (source), how it's delivered (medium), which campaign it's associated with (campaign), specific keywords (term), and the specific content variant (content). While the first three are required for basic tracking, the other two are optional and used to provide additional context, such as keyword specifics and content variations in marketing efforts.
Required UTM Parameters
utm_source—name of an advertising source
What it is used for:
To indicate the traffic source name, such as google, facebook, etc.
To indicate the traffic source name, such as google, facebook, etc.
utm_medium—marketing or advertising channel
It's recommended to use standard values in this parameter, such as cpc (cost per click)—search engine ads, display—CPM (cost per mille) ads, social_cpc—cpc social media ads.
What it is used for:
To define the campaign or ad type
Examples:
utm_medium=cpc — search ads
utm_medium=email — newsletter
What it is used for:
To define the campaign or ad type
Examples:
utm_medium=cpc — search ads
utm_medium=email — newsletter
What other values utm_medium can have:
| Traffic channel | Values |
|---|---|
| Free search | organic |
| Websites | referral |
| Paid search ads | cpc | ppc (pay per click) | paidsearch |
| Social media | social | social-network | social-media | sm | social network social media |
| Display ads | display | cpm (cost per mile) | banner |
| Other ads | cpv (cost per visitor) | cpa (cost per action) | cpp (cost per point) | content-text |
utm_campaign—campaign name
This required parameter can be specified freely.
What it is used for:
It allows you to distinguish between different ad campaigns in your statistics.
What it is used for:
It allows you to distinguish between different ad campaigns in your statistics.
Optional UTM Parameters
utm_term—used to identify the keywords associated with a paid search campaign that drove traffic to your website.
When you include this parameter, the statistics will collect data on keywords and you can use it for targeting the ad campaign.
What it is used for:
When you see the list of search queries that led users to the website, you can check whether the search query is relevant to the keyword and find the queries that do not drive sales.
What it is used for:
When you see the list of search queries that led users to the website, you can check whether the search query is relevant to the keyword and find the queries that do not drive sales.
utm_content—additional information that you can check if other parameters match.
What it is used for:
It's often used as a label for an ad in an ad campaign. The name can be specified freely, it is most convenient to label the ad by its important features—product or service subcategory, ad type, etc.
Examples:
utm_content=zero_block240×60—banner ad 240 x 60 pixels about Zero Block on Tilda
utm_content=zero_block_text—text ad about Zero Block
It's often used as a label for an ad in an ad campaign. The name can be specified freely, it is most convenient to label the ad by its important features—product or service subcategory, ad type, etc.
Examples:
utm_content=zero_block240×60—banner ad 240 x 60 pixels about Zero Block on Tilda
utm_content=zero_block_text—text ad about Zero Block
What Is Important To Remember When Creating UTM Tags
1
Make sure to fill all the required parameters for comprehensive tracking.
2
UTM parameters are case-sensitive. Stick to a consistent case (e.g., all lowercase) to avoid splitting data into separate entries.
3
Use underscores (_) or hyphens (-) instead of spaces in UTM parameter values to avoid issues with URL encoding.
4
If a website uses an encoding different from UTF-8, UTM tags may not work correctly.
Assisted conversion
Assisted conversion counts combined conversions from ad channels before the target action is completed. It allows you to understand if the channels are efficient even if they do not bring direct conversions.
When Should You Use UTM Tags?
1
You're running an advertising campaign on Google or social media and want to learn where your visitors come from.
2
You're using other ways to attract visitors and potential clients and want to learn more about where they come to your website from.
3
You're sending a newsletter to your subscribers using email marketing services and want to learn how effective a certain newsletter is.
What Are Dynamic Variables And How To Use Them
Dynamic variables allow you to include additional information in search ads—such as to learn what device was used for a click—mobile or desktop.
They are called dynamic as they can change their value. For example, if you use the utm_term={keyword} tag, Google Ads will automatically replace the {keyword} value for the keyword that led to the click or display.
Dynamic variables are most often used in the utm_content parameter, but they can be configured for other tags as well.
Here are some of the parameters for dynamic variables used in Google Ads:
Dynamic variables are most often used in the utm_content parameter, but they can be configured for other tags as well.
Here are some of the parameters for dynamic variables used in Google Ads:
| Parameter | Parameter values |
|---|---|
| {keyword} | The keyword relevant to the search query that led to the ad display |
| {creative} | An ad ID |
| {network} | Where the click came from: Google search, search partner, or the Display Network (letters g, s, and d are used) |
| {matchtype} | The match type of the keyword: exact, phrase, or broad (letters e, p, and b are used) |
| {adposition} | The position of your ad on the page—with a value like "1t2" it says that the ad is on the first page, position of 2 at the top (t=top) |
| {device} | The device that the click came from: mobile, tablet, computer (letters m, t, and c) |
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