What Are UTM Codes and How Do I Use Them? A Guide to Understanding and Using UTMs for Your Marketing Efforts

Google Analytics is a powerful tool for tracking the success of your website. But did you know that you can use it to track the success of your marketing campaigns, too? By using UTM codes, you can add parameters to your links that will allow Google Analytics to track where traffic is coming from and what that traffic does once it lands on your website.

In this blog post, we discuss what UTMs are and how to use them in your marketing efforts.

What are UTM codes and what do they do?

UTM stands for Urchin Tracking Module. A UTM is a simple piece of code that you can attach to a custom URL in order to track a campaign. Google Analytics uses the information collected by the UTM code to give you data about your marketing campaigns. 

A UTM is a simple piece of code that you can attach to a custom URL in order to track a campaign. Google Analytics uses the information collected by the UTM code to give you data about your marketing campaigns. Click To Tweet

You can use UTMs to track almost anything – the most popular options are to track traffic sources (like Google or Facebook), campaign names (like spring sale), or specific content pieces (like blog posts). You can also use UTMs to track secondary actions, like newsletter sign-ups or PDF downloads. 

There are five different UTMs that you can use:

1. Source: This parameter tracks the source of the traffic, such as Google, Facebook, or email marketing.
2. Medium: This parameter tracks the medium of the traffic, such as organic search, paid search, or social media.
3. Campaign: This parameter tracks the specific campaign that is driving traffic to your website. This could be a sale, a promotion, or just general awareness.
4. Term: This parameter tracks the keywords that are being used to drive traffic to your website.
5. Content: This parameter tracks the specific content that is driving traffic to your website. This could be a blog post, an ebook, or a landing page.

How to use UTM links in your marketing?

There are a few different ways that you can create UTM codes. The easiest way is to use Google’s URL Builder tool. With this tool, all you need to do is enter the URL that you want to track, as well as the UTM parameters that you want to use. The tool will then generate a unique URL for you that you can use in your campaigns. 

For example, say you want to promote a new blog post on your website. You could share the link on social media, in an email newsletter, and on your website itself. By adding UTMs to each of those links, you can see exactly how much traffic each promotion drove to your website. You can also see what people did once they got to your site (e.g whether they signed up for your newsletter or not). 

This information is incredibly valuable as it allows you to see which marketing efforts are working and which ones aren’t. It also allows you to fine-tune your marketing strategy so that you’re getting the most bang for your buck.

4 Ways to use UTMs across your digital marketing strategy

UTMs provide valuable insights into the customer journey and can help you optimize your digital marketing strategy for maximum ROI. Here are four ways you can use UTM’s in your digital marketing efforts:

4 Ways to use UTMs across your digital marketing strategy Click To Tweet

• Include Them in Your Email Signature
  
  Adding UTMs to your email signature is a great way to track the ROI of your email activity. Each time you send an email, your recipients will see your UTM-coded signature and be able to click through to your website. Over time, you’ll be able to see how many users clicked on your link and what pages they visited once they arrived on your site.
  
  Top tip – Ask your team to include the same UTM code on their email signatures and you will be able to determine how much new traffic is coming from this activity. 

• Use Them in Your Social Media 
  
  If you’re using social media to drive traffic to your website, it’s important to include UTMs in your links. That way, you’ll be able to track which social platform is generating the most leads and adjust your content strategy accordingly. For example, if you find that more users are clicking through from Twitter than from Facebook, you may want to focus on tweeting more often or creating more shareable content.

• Share Them in Blog Posts
  
  UTMs are also valuable for tracking the success of individual blog posts. If you share each blog post with a UTM-coded link, you’ll be able to see which posts are generating the most traffic and engagement. You can then use this data to inform future content decisions and ensure that you’re creating content that resonates with your audience.

• Promote Them in Paid Ads
  
  Finally, don’t forget to use UTMs when promoting your website with paid ads. By tagging each ad campaign with its own unique UTM code, you’ll be able to track which ads are performing well and adjust your budget accordingly. You can also use this data to evaluate which ad platforms are worth investing in and which ones aren’t generate results for your business. 

UTM codes are an essential tool for measuring marketing success.

If you’re not already using them, we recommend getting started as soon as possible. They’re easy to set up and they can provide you with a wealth of valuable data.

Implementing UTM codes can help you understand which marketing channels are most effective at driving traffic and conversions, and ultimately help you grow your business.

If you’re not sure where to start, Google Analytics has a guide on how to set up UTMs.

September 20, 2022