A good digital marketing strategy requires accurate information gathering to assess where exactly your visitors are coming from . Those who invest in Google Ads , Facebook Ads or other paid marketing channels need to know which campaign generates the most sales. This is especially important in today’s multi-channel and multi-platform advertising environment.
An effective solution to accurately identify traffic sources are UTM tracking parameters . You have probably noticed the presence, on some links, of special characters that make the URL long and complex, such as “?”, “%20” and “&”. These are UTM tags, which allow you to analyze traffic to distinguish between organic traffic from search engines, social media, email marketing activities and even offline activities .
UTM parameters, created using tools such as Google’s UTM builder, send relevant data to Google Analytics 4, making it easier to evaluate the performance of marketing activities. In this way, it is possible to understand which investments really work and optimize digital marketing strategies. But how do UTM parameters work and how are they created?
What are UTM parameters and what are they used for?
UTM parameters , acronym for “Urchin Tracking Module”, are elements that, when added to the end of a URL, allow you to surgically identify the source of traffic , transmitting precise information to Google Analytics about the origin of visitors.
In practice, UTMs are codes that enrich the URLs of advertising campaigns to ensure that Google Analytics can track details such as the source of the traffic, the medium used, the name of the campaign and other relevant information .
But shouldn’t Google Analytics be able to do this without any additional parameters?
In a way, yes. Google Analytics can easily track visitors’ origins on its own, but in some specific cases it struggles to correctly distinguish the different sources, thus ending up classifying traffic in generic channels as “unassigned”. And not only that.
Google Analytics correctly recognizes traffic coming from other websites by classifying it as “referral” or “organic” when it comes from searches on well-known search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing. Likewise, it has no problem in evaluating the origin of “Paid Search” or “Display” traffic generated by Google campaigns, just to name a few examples, thanks to the connection with the Google Ads account.
Despite this, however, there are some situations that are decidedly more complex to evaluate. For example, Analytics could confuse traffic from a Facebook campaign with organic traffic generated by the platform, as well as incorrectly classify clicks on links inserted in a newsletter as “Direct” traffic.
This is where UTM parameters become crucial, offering greater transparency and precision in digital marketing activities. Without UTM parameters , as we have seen, you risk obtaining inaccurate data that would compromise the analysis of campaign performance .
UTM parameter structure
When to use UTMs
If you have Google Analytics installed on your site, UTMs will quickly become your best ally. These parameters help Google Analytics to classify the traffic that arrives on the website in a precise way, dividing visitors into groups and subgroups.
The use of UTMs is useful in several contexts:
Social Campaigns : UTMs can be used to track the performance of links shared on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and other platforms. This way you can understand which social network brings more traffic and conversions .
Email marketing : in DEM (Direct Email Marketing), UTM parameters help to understand which communication, or even which link within the various communications, brought the most traffic to the website.
Banner Ads : UTMs embedded in banner ad links on other sites make it possible to monitor the effectiveness of each banner and understand which creatives and placements work best.
Documents, whitepapers and other downloadable files : UTMs can also be used in links to PDFs or other downloadable files, making it easy to track and monitor the effectiveness of all the downloadable resources you make available to your users .
As we will see in this article, UTMs are a truly valuable element for obtaining a clear and detailed vision of marketing campaigns, but for this very reason they must be used strategically to ensure more effective analysis.
Behind the scenes of UTM parameters
To effectively monitor campaigns and get a detailed overview on Google Analytics, you can leverage five different UTM parameters . Among them, the most important are three: source, medium and campaign.
UTM_source
This required parameter identifies the source of traffic to the website . It is usually the name of the platform or site that is sending visitors. For example, if the traffic comes from Facebook, the parameter would be UTM_source=facebook , while if a newsletter was sent, the UTM parameter could be UTM_source=newsletter .
Using UTM_source , you can segment and analyze traffic from different sources such as Google, email campaigns, Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms. This allows you to better understand which sources generate more traffic and conversions . For example, you may find that visitors from newsletters convert more than those from Facebook.
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UTM_medium
The medium parameter indicates the type of channel through which traffic arrives to the site . Common terms include CPC (Cost per Click), CPM (Cost per thousand impressions), CPL (Cost per lead), and CPA (Cost per acquisition). For example, if you pay per Услуги по списку мобильных номеров на Ближнем Востоке click on an ad, the parameter might be UTM_medium=cpc . This required parameter helps you understand the type of traffic you receive by providing an additional level of detail about your traffic sources.
UTM_campaign
The campaign parameter represents the specific name of the campaign . It is important to choose a clear and descriptive name to facilitate analysis. For example, if a monthly newsletter is sent on September 16, 2024, the parameter could be UTM_campaign=20241116_monthly_newsletter . Thanks to this parameter, it will be easier to monitor and compare the performance of different campaigns.
Other useful (but optional) parameters
UTM_content : This parameter is useful for tracking specific elements within a campaign . For example, in a newsletter you can differentiate the links for the banner, the action button or a text link. This way, you can see which element generated more bab directory visits. It is also useful for distinguishing between different creative variations in all cases where it is necessary to rely on A/B testing.
UTM_term : This parameter is particularly interesting when it comes to tracking marketing activities on search engines, such as Google Ads or Bing Ads. In fact, it allows you to track which keywords brought visitors to the site and generated transactions or revenue.
The different UTM parameters to know
Tools for creating UTMs
To build UTMs, two main tools are often used: Google’s Campaign URL Builder and Facebook’s URL Builder. Both of these tools allow you to easily create trackable URLs for your marketing campaigns.
Google Campaign URL Builder
This tool from Google allows you to generate UTM parameters. To do so, simply enter the address of the landing page , or the one where you want users to land after clicking on the ad, and fill in the mandatory fields :
utm_source : The name of the traffic source, such as the site or platform from which the visitors came (e.g. Google, Facebook, Newsletter).
utm_medium : The medium through which traffic arrives to the site, such as CPC, email, banner.
utm_campaign : the name of the campaign, which helps identify and differentiate the various marketing initiatives (e.g. spring_sale, black_friday).
Google UTM Builder
Google Analytics: Where to Find Data Transmitted by UTM Parameters
As we have seen, UTM parameters allow you to track and analyze the traffic of marketing campaigns by sending the right information to Google Analytics. GA4 offers different ways to view and analyze this data , making it possible to monitor traffic sources and campaign performance in detail.
where to find UTM parameters on Google Analytics
Tips for good UTM management
Properly managing UTM parameters is essential to ensure accurate and useful data in Google Analytics. Here are some practical tips:
