A guide to UTM Codes

UTM (Urchin Tracking Module) codes are essential for answering the question, where did my user come from?

In a nutshell, UTM codes are snippets of code appended to your URLs that allow you to track performance and generate Google Analytics data for digital campaigns.

A UTM link may look like this:
http://yourwebsite.com/your-post-title/?utm_source=google

Let’s break this down further…

A UTM consists of several different components: campaign name, traffic source, campaign medium, keyword term and content. The first 3 are by far the most used parameters as they’re required (Name, Source, Medium), but for additional insights you may also choose to track all 5.

1. Campaign Name (required):

The campaign name parameter allows you to track the performance of a specific campaign, product, or offering that you’re driving traffic to. This is used to differentiate traffic between different Facebook Ad campaigns or email campaigns. 

• Parameter added: utm_campaign
• Example: &utm_campaign=example-campaign

2. Traffic Source (required):

The source parameter allows you to track where the traffic originated from e.g Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Twitter etc.

• Parameter added: utm_source
• Example: &utm_source=twitter

3. Campaign Medium (required):

This is the marketing medium that referred the traffic. It tracks the type of traffic such as a banner ad, an email, or a Facebook post.

• Parameter added: utmmedium
• Example: &utm_medium=banner

4. Keyword Term (optional):

Creating a campaign term allows you to track the paid keyword term of an ad or keyword of the link in a blog post. This parameter is specifically used for paid search ads.

• Parameter added:  utm_term
• Example: &utm_term=growth+hacking+tactics

5. Content (optional):

Including this allows you to easily differentiate between ads on the same channel, which comes in handy when you’re A/B testing various images or ad copy (such as an email with two CTA buttons).

• Parameter added:  utm_content
• Example: &utm_content=navlink
  

Putting this into practice - how to create a UTM Code on your Zapnito Community:

Head to Settings > Authoring Settings and the following page will be displayed. 

Plug in the different parameters (remember the first 3 are required) and hit ‘Save’ to generate your link. We’ve included examples under each parameter in case you need a reminder!