{"id":37151,"date":"2019-10-02T11:52:49","date_gmt":"2019-10-02T16:52:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/getflywheel.com\/layout\/?p=37151"},"modified":"2023-05-01T16:53:54","modified_gmt":"2023-05-01T21:53:54","slug":"how-to-create-utm-tags-free-builder","status":"publish","type":"resource","link":"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/case-studies\/resources\/how-to-create-utm-tags-free-builder\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Create UTM Tags"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>In today\u2019s marketing landscape, tracking how various initiatives across multiple channels perform is not only a nice to have, but a need to have. This is an extensive, yet necessary task because there are so many ways to accomplish this, and it can seem a bit overwhelming at first. But, don\u2019t fret! One of my favorite ways to solve this problem is by using UTM parameters on any link we create.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Whether you\u2019re a UTM tagging expert or the concept is entirely new for you, in this article I\u2019ll be tackling the following topics for deeper understanding: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"#whatUTMsare\">A walk-through of what UTM tags are<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#howtobuildthem\">How to build them<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#UTMtagger\">A free tool to build UTM parameters as a team<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#reporting\">How to navigate the reporting side of UTM tags<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What are UTM Tags?&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>According to <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/neilpatel.com\/blog\/the-ultimate-guide-to-using-utm-parameters\/\" target=\"_blank\">Neil Patel<\/a>, UTM stands for Urchin Tracking Module \u2013 a web analytics software that serves as the base for Google Analytics. Fun fact: anything succeeded with \u2018?\u2019 within a URL is a parameter. This parameter serves as a tag on a URL which, once clicked, sends data back to Google Analytics, allowing you to track which elements of your online marketing strategy were most effective in a campaign. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tracking also allows Google Analytics to decide where traffic is coming from as well as what campaign directed a user to your site. When UTM tags are correct, this tracking speeds up your process for knowing what\u2019s working and what\u2019s not. It neatly organizes campaign traffic together, allowing you to have quick glances, but also in-depth analysis when needed.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">UTM Parameters&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The meat of UTM tags (the structure of parameters) contain five elements for tracking. The first three are required parameters and the last two are optional:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Campaigns<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Medium<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Source<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Content<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Term<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Campaigns<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>utm_campaign=&nbsp; <\/em>The name does most of the explanation here \u2013 this parameter is to identify which campaign this link rolls into, such as a promotion or specific webinar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Medium<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>utm_medium=&nbsp; <\/em>This parameter allows you to package up where your traffic is coming from in a zoomed out lens, such as email or social. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>utm_source=<\/em><em>&nbsp; <\/em>A more detailed look into where your traffic is coming from. This could include all the different types of social media platforms.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Content<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>utm_content=<\/em><em>&nbsp; <\/em>Not a required piece, this one is a variable to let you identify more about which specific link was clicked on. (For example, you could use this to distinguish different copy or creative variations associated with a link).&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Term<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>utm_term=<\/em><em>&nbsp; <\/em>This one is less often used and not required. It\u2019s primarily for PPC campaigns to see which keyword brought in the session.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to Build a UTM Tag<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>There are SO many ways to build a UTM tag, and there\u2019s no definitive right or wrong way to do so (with the exception of a few different formatting rules). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Start with Strategy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>First and foremost, before rolling up your sleeves and whipping up tags for all of your links, take a step back and ask yourself a few questions to begin framing your strategy. These questions will help you to think critically about what you need in the end result so you can make the decision later on how to strategically use parameter elements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Where\u2019s the traffic coming from?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How is it coming to me?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Why is it coming?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Define your Parameters&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>There are numerous ways to use UTM tags, and you have to decide what will work for you and your business. We asked ourselves these same questions to decide our strategy. I\u2019ll share examples of what we use throughout these points to help visualize it a bit further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Campaigns<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Think about the main things you want to track as one big picture when deciding what your campaigns are. This can seem a little intimidating at first, because there are so many different ways it could be organized. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Mediums<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When deciding what your medium names are, think of how you\u2019d sort all of the different traffic sources into a higher category. We like to look at medium as almost a sub folder under a major folder (campaign) for all sources to roll up to \u2013 a macro look at where your traffic is coming from. Here are a few examples!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&nbsp;Social: This includes all organic social media channels. Sources that roll up to this medium would include Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and so on.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Paid: Any paid initiative would roll into this medium, from paid social posts to PPC ads.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Email: All emails we send from all of our various stages and products all get tagged with this medium.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sources<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The micro view of understanding where your traffic is coming from. This allows you to zoom in a level deeper to know more about the traffic. There can be quite a few different sources to choose from, so here\u2019s a couple to illustrate the idea:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Social media platforms: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or Linkedin.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Paid: Display, PPC, Sponsored Facebook posts, Sponsored Instagram posts, or Sponsored Twitter posts.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Content<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Think of something here that you\u2019d easily be able to identify if you wanted to see which email, ad, or social post drove a link click.&nbsp; For instance, if you\u2019re doing multiple variants in an advertising campaign, you might put copy1-image1 so you can quickly identify which creative and copy it was.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A screenshot of an example of these together:<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/getflywheel.com\/layout\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/UTM-parameters-784x90.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-37192\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Important tips: <\/strong>When writing all of these, there are three important tips to remember in order for your strategy and the function of UTM parameters to work properly:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Always use a \u2018-\u2019 as a space character. By hitting the spacebar in the builder, the code will be broken up.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Lowercase all letters within the parameter.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Consistency! The hardest part of UTM tags, in my opinion, is keeping all of the elements above consistent. While inconsistency won\u2019t technically break anything, it\u2019s better to keep everything as neat as possible in Google Analytics.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Find Your Favorite Tool&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Now that you have your strategy ready to rock and roll, the next part is the actual building stage! Good news \u2013 there are a couple of handy tools on the internet to help guide you.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"http:\/\/ga-dev-tools.appspot.com\/campaign-url-builder\/\" target=\"_blank\">Google Analytics Campaign URL Builder<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Coming from Google themselves, this tool makes building UTM tags a complete breeze. Simply just plug in your tags and they\u2019ll build the entire thing for you so you can easily copy and paste. You can even connect it to your <a href=\"https:\/\/bitly.com\/\">Bitly<\/a> account if you prefer shorter links!<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/getflywheel.com\/layout\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/GoogleAnalyticsCampaignURLbuilder-784x1043.png\" alt=\"Google Analytics Campaign URL builder\" class=\"wp-image-37176\" width=\"455\" height=\"604\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Reporting&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The reason why we use UTM tags \u2013 reporting! Now that you\u2019ve done all of your hard work deciding on a strategy and building tags, let\u2019s walk through the data section of how your links are doing in Google Analytics.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once you\u2019re in your Google Analytics dashboard, there are two different places to find your tracking.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>1. Acquisition &gt; All Traffic &gt; Source\/Medium<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Want to know which traffic sources are bringing in the most site visits? Or possibly, at a high level, which channel is converting the highest? This view is the perfect solution!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/getflywheel.com\/layout\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Google_Analytics-784x310.jpg\" alt=\"Google Analytics Sources and Mediums\" class=\"wp-image-37185\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>2. Acquisition &gt; Campaigns &gt; All Campaigns&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re looking into campaign performance for further insights, this view is the way to go. It\u2019s sorted by campaign first, and then you can deep dive into medium, source, and content to get a further look in.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/getflywheel.com\/layout\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Google-Analytics-Campaigns-784x379.jpg\" alt=\"Google Analytics full screenview \" class=\"wp-image-37186\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Conclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Being able to quantify marketing efforts is so helpful to constantly keep improving, and UTM tags are a great tool to add to your trusty toolkit. Now you\u2019re equipped and well on your way to becoming a UTM tagging master!<br><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In today\u2019s marketing landscape, tracking how various initiatives across multiple channels perform is not only a nice to have, but a need to have. This is an extensive, yet necessary task because there are so many ways to accomplish this, and it can seem a bit overwhelming at first. But, don\u2019t fret! One of my<span class=\"tile__ellipses\">&hellip;<\/span><span class=\"tile__ellipses--animated\"><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"template":"","resource-topic":[904,910],"resource-role":[895,903],"resource-type":[916],"class_list":["post-37151","resource","type-resource","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How to Create UTM Tags<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Whether you\u2019re a UTM tagging expert or the concept is entirely new for you, in this article I\u2019ll be tackling topics for deeper understanding:\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Create UTM Tags\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Whether you\u2019re a UTM 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