The Google Analytics URL Builder above generates Google Analytics Tracking Codes that work with Google Analytics, Mixpanel, Kissmetrics and other common analytics platforms. The URL Builder should work for any of the mentioned systems. The goal behind UTMs is to enable URLs to carry additional information with inbound traffic. Inbound traffic usually has a referrer, but using UTMs gives marketers the flexibility be much more specific and truly understand what is driving engagement.
What is a UTM?
If you’re just getting started, you might want to check out this blog post, A Beginner’s Guide to Campaign Tracking with UTM Parameters. A UTM (Urchin Tracking Module) is essentially a series of parameters that are appended to the end of a URL. When UTMs are available, certain analytics systems store additional information about a visit which enables you to measure where traffic is coming from. Without UTMs analytics systems usually still identify the referrer, but this is simply another website or application that users are visiting from. If you’re interested knowing anything more specific like the medium, source, tweet, page or even version of an image or button, you’re out of luck with just a referrer.
Let’s take a closer look at how a UTM tagged URL is setup.
Here is a link to our home page:
https://campaigntracker.io
Here is the same link with UTM tags:
https://campaigntracker.io?utm_campaign=fallpromotion&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_term=pumpkins&utm_content=blue
Now, let’s dig into all the possible components of UTMs: URL, campaign name, campaign source, campaign medium, campaign term and campaign content. (Note: using all of the parameters isn’t required – though the general rule of thumb is that you should use a campaign source at a minimum)
- URL: https://campaigntracker.io
- Campaign Name: fallpromotion
This is generally used to identify a marketing campaign or offering. You can think of it as a group name for a set of tagged URLs and more broadly as a traditional marketing campaign marker. - Campaign Source: google
This is the name of the referrer, like Google, Facebook or another website or service. Usually, this is the platform or service that was used to create the medium. - Campaign Medium: cpc
This is the marketing medium that was presented to the visitor and referred the traffic. In a way it’s more specific than the source, tracking the type of creative such as a banner ad, email, or social media post. - Campaign Term: pumpkins
The campaign term is so specific that it is less commonly used. A couple examples of how a campaign term might be used would be paid keywords or the keyword of a link in a blog post. You can get creative about how to use the term parameter, though it’s generally thought of as a keyword. - Campaign Content: blue
The campaign content is the most specific of all of the parameters and thus used the least. It enables you to differentiate between ads or links exposed on the same channel, this can be very useful if you’re A/B testing images or ad copy.