Why should you use UTM parameters, and how do you set them up?

As an online marketer or website owner, you've probably heard of the term ‘UTM parameters’. But what exactly are UTM parameters, and why are they important for your marketing strategy? In this blog post, we'll explain it to you step by step.

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UTM-parameters zijn tags die je aan een URL kunt toevoegen om bij te houden waar je verkeer vandaan komt op je website.

UTM parameters are small pieces of text that you add to the end of a URL. UTM stands for Urchin Tracking Module, a system originally developed by Urchin Software Corporation, which was later acquired by Google. These parameters help you measure the effectiveness of your online marketing campaigns in Google Analytics (GA4).

When a visitor comes to your site from a specific platform, for example from facebook.com to your own domain, ensure that your tracking setup can see where that visitor came from. It is important to know where all your visitors come from, as this helps you to better understand which marketing channels are effective. For example, if you see that many visitors are coming to your site via Facebook, you can invest more money and time in advertisements or organic content on that platform. Adapting your marketing strategy to your collected data will ensure that you attract more visitors and achieve more conversions in the long term.

Your own domain's tracking setup is (partially) blind to what a visitor did before they appeared on your site, especially if you Server-Side Tagging used and marketing and analytical platforms no longer have a third-party connection on your domain. If that visitor already carries some extra information with them when they arrive, in the form of URL queries, your tracking setup can automatically see where they came from.

When we compare this to physical visitors in a physical shop, it's similar to wearing a name badge. The shop's camera can then accurately read the reason that visitor entered and what that visitor is doing. This allows you to create a good overview afterwards of all your visitors and the ways they came to visit the shop. So that you can clearly see which marketing messages and campaigns have generated the most and most valuable visitors.

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Why do you use UTM parameters?

Imagine you're using various marketing channels to drive traffic to your website: social media, email campaigns, paid ads, and so on. How do you know which channel is the most effective? This is where UTM parameters come in. By adding UTM parameters to your URLs, you can see exactly where your visitors are coming from and through which campaigns.

In addition to having a good overview of the number of visitors who have come to your site via all the different sources, marketing mediums, and campaigns, you also have a good overview of which sources, marketing mediums, and campaigns have led to the most successful visitors. This helps you to use your marketing budget efficiently and to adjust your strategies for better results. For example, if you see in your Meta Ads that you are achieving good results, but in your GA4 you see that the conversion rate from paid Meta campaigns is much lower than paid TikTok campaigns, it would be wise to increase your budget for TikTok Ads and decrease your budget for Meta Ads.

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How do you set up UTM parameters?

Setting up UTM parameters is simple and can be done in a few steps.

1. Select your destination URL. For example, your homepage or a specific landing page. This is the page you want to send visitors to with your campaign or your organic social media post.

2. Add UTM parameters to the URL. There are three different UTM parameters that you must/can add to your URL:

utm_source: the source of your traffic (e.g. Facebook, Google, Mailchimp).

utm_mediumthe medium of your campaign (e.g. paid_social, cpc, email).

utm_campaignYour campaign name (e.g. June-2024, lead-campaign, newsletter).

3. Combine these UTM parameters and append them to your URL using the “?” and “&” symbols. For example:

‍https://www.jouwdomein.nl?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=paid_social&utm_campaign=juni-2024.

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You can also perform the above steps online using a tool; we recommend the Campaign URL Builder Google Analytics URL builders. If you fill in your URL, source, medium and campaign name in the input fields there, your URL with UTM parameters will be generated automatically.

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UTM-parameters worden gebruikt om de effectiviteit van marketingcampagnes te meten. Je plaatst ze doorgaans in de URL's van links die je deelt in je marketinguitingen, zoals: * **E-mailmarketing:** In links binnen e-mailnieuwsbrieven of promotionele e-mails. * **Sociale media:** In posts op platforms zoals Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. * **Advertenties:** In zowel online advertenties (bijv. Google Ads, Facebook Ads) als eventueel in offline advertenties (door gebruik te maken van QR-codes die naar een UTM-gecodeerde URL leiden). * **Gastenblogs/Publicaties:** In links die je plaatst op externe websites waar je content publiceert. * **Partner- en affiliate marketing:** Om bij te houden welke partners verkeer doorverwijzen. * **Webinars en evenementen:** In links die je deelt met deelnemers. Door UTM-parameters toe te voegen aan deze URL's, kun je in webanalyse-tools (zoals Google Analytics) precies zien welk verkeer van welke specifieke bron, medium en campagne afkomstig is. Dit helpt je om je marketinginspanningen te optimaliseren en te bepalen welke kanalen het meest succesvol zijn.

You will place UTM parameters in the URLs of your marketing communications, such as:

Organic social media posts: Add UTM parameters to the links you share on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Then fill in “organic” as the medium.

Email campaignsAdd UTM parameters to the links in your newsletters and other emails from your campaigns. Use the name of your email platform as the source, and use “email” as the medium.

Paid search adsUse UTM parameters in your search engine ads like Google Ads or Bing Ads. For the source, enter the name of the platform, and for the medium, enter “cpc”.

Paid social adsUse UTM parameters in your campaigns on Facebook, TikTok, Pinterest, Snapchat, etc. For the source, enter the name of the platform, and for the medium, enter “paid_social”.

You can place these URLs with UTM parameters as you normally would in the input field of your Destination URL or (shortened) as a link in your organic social media post.

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Exception for Meta Ads

In Meta Ads, you can add UTM parameters in the wrong place; there are actually two different places in a Meta Ads campaign where you can add UTM parameters. This can be directly in the destination URL or in the tracking settings. Experience shows that if you add UTM parameters in the tracking settings (the red arrow in the screenshot below), they will not be recognised. When you add the UTM parameters directly to the destination URL, this is not the case.

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Footnote

It's important to know that UTM parameters don't always give you a perfect picture of all traffic from your different platforms. Imagine a visitor comes to your website via four different platforms and only converts on the fourth visit. In GA4, you'll then only see this conversion as coming from the fourth source/medium, while the previous three sessions and their associated sources/mediums also played a role in achieving the conversion. This can mean that you don't always have a completely accurate picture of which marketing channels contributed to the final conversion. For a deeper insight into how conversion attribution works and why it's not possible to get this perfectly in one overview within GA4, you can check out our other Blog article on conversion attribution read.

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Conclusion

UTM parameters are an important tool for tracking and analysing the effectiveness of different marketing campaigns and platforms. When you do not use these parameters (correctly), you will not get accurate insights into where your traffic is coming from and which campaigns are performing best. Therefore, use UTM parameters to optimise your marketing efforts and use your budget efficiently.

Not yet using UTM parameters because you're still using third-party pixels like Meta or TikTok? In that case, ensure you switch to Server-Side Tagging so you can have accurate measurements again and your website functions GDPR-compliantly. Looking for more information on what Server-Side Tagging can mean for your situation? Then schedule an introductory meeting with our tracking specialists via the button below.