Related terms

• Customer journey
• Attribution Models
• Remarketing

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UTM (Urchin Tracking Module)

Parameters for Tracking and Measuring Online Marketing Actions. Encoded URLs with UTM can include Campaign, Source, and Medium information to determine the origin of traffic. This data is displayed in web analytics systems like Google Analytics.

Why tagging links is important

Adding parameters or tagging URLs is a quick way to identify the sources of website visits. The ability to track the traffic generated by each campaign is a way to measure it, and it is one of the benefits of using UTM in links.

This method allows you to determine how many visits are provided by content shared on different social media platforms, advertisements on portals or search engines like AdWords, and also those included in newsletters. This measurement is particularly valuable for paid traffic but is also useful when studying the conversion of a product page on an online store or a landing page because it helps analyse which source has been the most profitable.

Another use that demonstrates the insights gained from tagging links is looking at internal links, not just those bringing traffic from outside the website. This way, it is possible to know, for example, which parts of the menu receive more clicks or which options in the footer attract more user attention.

How to create URLs with UTM

The simplest way is to use the Google Analytics URL builder. Whether using it or adding the codes manually, there are three minimum parameters to generate UTM tags for a link:

• Campaign name (utm_campaign): While not obligatory, it is relevant to identify each promotion specifically. For example: "sales" or "blackfriday." It is not necessary to use format references like "newsletter-christmas" or "ad-valentines" if the same campaign is displayed across various channels.
• Source (utm_source): Following the previous example, this could be the name of the newsletter or Google since they would be the reference pages for the traffic.
• Medium (utm_medium): This depends on the source, for example, CPC for AdWords ads or email for newsletters, but it can also be banner or social.

Additionally, two more parameters can be added for more specific tracking: terms (utm_term) or words used to reach your website, and content (utm_content) to provide a bit more description of the campaign.

An example of tagging this page when sharing it on Twitter would be: https://www.acrelianews.com/en/glossary/utm-urchin-tracking-module/?utm_campaign=glossary&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_term=UTM