UTM

UTM tag (Urchin Tracking Module) is a piece of text added to a URL that allows marketers to track the effectiveness of various marketing campaigns. It helps understand where visitors are coming from, which campaigns drive more traffic, and which are more successful in terms of conversions.

UTM provides insights into user behavior and actions. Based on this data, you can see at what stage potential customers abandon a purchase and take action to address shortcomings. It also helps identify the most effective promotion channels, allowing you to focus resources on them.

Purpose of UTM Tags

Special tags added to the URL become a source of valuable information:

  • traffic volume;
  • traffic sources;
  • main user actions.

As a result, you can assess how effective a particular channel is. UTM tags also offer excellent opportunities for personalizing offers: analyzing the behavior of different audience segments allows you to make marketing messages more effective. This is relevant for email campaigns, social media posts, and ads.

Main Components of UTM Tags

There are five parameters that can be added to a URL, with the first three being mandatory:

  1. utm_source – the source, i.e., the channel from which the user arrived on the site (Google, Instagram, email newsletter).
  2. utm_medium – the type of traffic (e.g., cpc, email, social).
  3. utm_campaign – the name of the campaign, indicating the specific point of origin (e.g., summer_sale).
  4. utm_term – the keyword (relevant for paid online advertising where payment is based on clicks).
  5. utm_content – content description (used to differentiate ads or links).

For example, here’s how a UTM tag looks in a URL: https://example.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=summer_sale&utm_term=running_shoes&utm_content=ad1

Analytics systems, like Google Analytics, help compile all the data into a single report, providing detailed information for further analysis.

How to Create UTM Tags

To test this tool, you can manually add the necessary tags to a URL. Start with the main link, for example – https://example.com/, add a question mark “?” and sequentially add the tags, separating them with an “&”.

However, it’s much more convenient to use a UTM tag generator – a specialized service that automatically generates the necessary links. This offers several benefits:

  • minimizes the risk of errors or typos;
  • generating many links takes very little time;
  • the tags will work correctly.

There are many generators available, making it easy to choose a suitable service. Most of them also offer ready-made templates, making the process even easier.

Why Use UTM Tags

This tool is essential for placing links in external sources: email newsletters, social media posts, ads, and online platforms. UTM tags provide valuable information about user behavior, allowing you to optimize both your advertising strategy and website content.

There is no point in using UTM tags for internal linking since the system will misinterpret the visits, leading to inaccurate statistics and incorrect conclusions.

There are alternatives to this tool, but most are not as informative. When set up correctly, with link differentiation within a single campaign and consistent data analysis, the benefits of using UTM tags will be maximized. It’s a simple and rational solution that helps save your advertising budget while improving performance.

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