February 1, 2021
For a long time, tracking your efforts on social media was a crapshoot or a severe effort in futility. After all, how is it possible to really track where everyone comes and goes, shares, and does on the internet?
One way that is a step in the right direction is using something called a UTM code.
A UTM stands for “urchin tracking module” and is used to ensure all of your digital marketing campaigns are directing traffic as they should. These codes are added to the end of a regular URL and collect additional information about who is clicking what, on which campaign.
These codes are a form of URL tagging and ensure your destination URLs are labeled with certain campaign names when reported to Google Analytics. This allows a business to break down traffic that’s usually only reported by its source.
The traffic can then be attributed to paid search campaigns or individual email campaigns that are running in real-time.
A URL that doesn’t have a UTM will typically look something like this:
https://linkhawwk.com/blog/how-to-use-a-UTM/
If you tag a URL with a UTM code, it will look something like this:
https://linkhawwk.com/blog/how-to-use-a-UTM/?utm_source=ReviveOldPost&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ReviveOldPost
Everything after the question mark are tracking modules. There are three in the URL above, but there are five total categories you can use. They are:
The first three are compulsory and the last two are optional.
Setting up a UTM tag is simple. If it’s just a single campaign or a one-off, using an automatic tool like Google URL Builder will work just fine.
Generally, there are two ways to create a UTM code. Manually or through auto tools.
Although a lot of platforms offer automatic tagging for URLs, there are times when a UTM should be created organically. Instances include:
This doesn’t mean you have to craft every UTM tag by hand, as this can be done with a UTM generator. There’s a wide range of tools available. Here are a few to get started:
Google’s URL Builder is the perfect tool to generate URLs that are tagged with UTM codes for individual campaigns. However, it is not suitable for creating UTM tags in bulk. It’s also not great for keeping track of naming conventions.
The most common way to create a UTM code is through whatever software program you are using for digital marketing. Many third-party tools give a business the option to tag URLs using UTM variables. Programs that offer this functionality (typically through a paid subscription) include brands like:
Google Ads users should also know that Google offers a free, auto-tagging tool within the platform that utilizes UTM variables. This is selected by default in all Google Ads accounts. If you want to check it out, simply navigate to “Settings>Account Settings” in the left menu of your Google Ads account.
UTMs aren’t as complicated as you think because there are hundreds of tools on the market to help you. In many cases, the UTMs are converted automatically. In some cases, you will not have the option to create and track UTMs in bulk.
In this instance, a simple spreadsheet in Excel will help you keep track of everything created. The more organized you are with UTM codes, the easier it will be to decipher exactly where revenue is coming from.
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