Being a marketer, having the correct information for creating success is essential. Having a strategy and tools that set a marketer apart from others with similar experience is essential.
Understanding a website’s traffic is essential for assessing business growth. More traffic increases the chances of converting visits into sales for e-commerce sites. Understanding the sources of traffic helps marketers assess the effectiveness of ads or organic posts.
This is where knowing about utm comes in hand when ready reports!
UTM codes are specific keywords that can be added manually or automatically to links. They are compatible with analytical platforms like Google Analytics, Facebook, and Matomo (formerly Piwik).
Utm can mean different things, but I prefer “Universal Tracking Module” because it’s concise and easy to remember.
A website’s URL with Utm code added will be like this:
myexamplesite.com/?utm_source=email
The UTM parameters follow the question mark (“?”). This code can be added anywhere to track traffic sources, like in the example where the traffic comes from an email sent to users.
Besides utm_source, other utms can be added as well, either replacing utm_source or adding after utm_source=email.
Another example with the most extended module would be this one:
myexamplesiteofstickers.com/sticker/animal/common/diecut
Utm_source, Utm_medium, Utm_campaign, Utm_id, Utm_term, Utm_content.
Each will be explained below for more information:
Utm_source: In this example, the source indicates that the individual arrived at the site through a button click. Other examples could be links and third-party side like google.
Utm_medium: The medium is helpful to know by knowing which language or type of traffic is coming from. In advertising, CPC is commonly used to show visitors come from paid click ads.
Utm_campaign: Stickers indicate that someone is coming from a sticker product. Other models are like different social networks as well, but utm_source would be better for social networks.
Utm_id collects detailed information about campaigns based on utm_campaigns, such as whether an animal sticker was clicked instead of a creative or another type of sticker.
Utm_term: This section mainly focuses on keywords to describe the types of stickers, such as rare or limited.
Utm_content is often utilized for A/B testing specific advertisements. Let’s say a company wants customers to go between two ads with different content. A/B testing will include utm_content:ada and utm_content:adb.
How to add or create utms?
The website describes each utm or parameter on how they can be helpful.
It’s time for the truth!
In order to read Utm, a person needs to have access to analytical software. As mentioned earlier, google analytics is a popular choice because it is well known. It connects to advertising software such as Google ads, which gives more information on ads and utm. Matamo is a lesser-known, free, and privacy-friendly option that provides more information.
Reading UTMs on Google can vary significantly.
One method will be acquired on the left side, overview, all traffic, and source/medium.
Another method is going to acquisition, campaigns, and all campaigns to see custom campaign names.
There is always more to learn about utms, so keep researching to find more information!