Introduction
A UTM builder is helpful in building these marketing URLs because it adds parameters that tell you where the website traffic originated. The UTM parameters help in identifying the source, medium, and campaign name. With this information, compatible analytics tools track the website visits and report.
You could use a generator instead of building the links manually. With Toolibex, you can easily access online tools for website management-related tasks. In addition, with a UTM link builder, you can organize your marketing campaigns, edit links, and carry out other related tasks.
About
A UTM link builder helps you build trackable URLs by adding parameters to a website URL. UTM stands for Urchin Tracking Module, an application programming interface (API) belonging to a website analytics tool called Urchin.
The tool usually follows this format.
https://example.com/products?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=spring_saleFor instance, in the above link, the web address directs users to products. The parameters inform you and any compatible tool about the newsletter as the traffic source, email as the medium, and spring sale as the campaign name.
A UTM maker can be useful to:
- A digital marketer that wishes to monitor their marketing efforts;
- A small-scale business promoting its products and services;
- An organization that utilizes affiliate marketers and wishes to track yields;
- An individual utilizing social media influence to sell products and services;
- An agency that provides marketing services to other organizations;
- A website owner that uses Google Analytics to monitor the performance of their website;
A UTM link generator can help you construct a trackable URL. However, it is not guaranteed that the tool will collect data and track the source of website visitors. Whether the task will be done depends on the tool chosen and the settings of the destination webpage, location tracking method, reporting tool, and consent settings.
Details
UTM parameters identify values in a URL query. A query is a part of a website address that usually comes after the question mark. The query contains information that is used by applications programming interfaces (API), such as Google Analytics, to sort and report website analytics based on the parameters.
UTM parameters include the following:
- UTM source (utm_source): This parameter is used to identify the source of website traffic. For example, if a user lands on your webpage through an influencer or website, you can record it using a UTM source parameter.
- UTM medium (utm_medium): This parameter is used to record the marketing medium of website traffic. The details could include an email address, social media networks, and cost per click (CPC).
- UTM campaign (utm_campaign): This parameter is used to sort out website traffic based on the campaign. For instance, UTM campaign parameters could help sort out newsletter subscribers from social media followers.
- UTM term (utm_term): This parameter usually records the keywords used in pay-per-click advertising. UTM term is used to provide additional information.
- UTM content (utm_content): This parameter helps sort out the different variations of a marketing campaign. For instance, with the UTM content parameter, you can segment the traffic from the header banner in an email and the body text.
From the above parameters, it is evident that a UTM campaign URL builder will help you track your marketing efforts efficiently. The first three parameters – UTM source, medium, and campaign are ideal for most marketers. However, you can also use the term and content parameters.
A UTM link builder usually works by combining a link and the parameters. Depending on the tool, you may need to carry out the steps discussed below when using a URL campaign generator for the first time.
How to use the UTM link generator tool:
- Enter the address: In this step, you should enter the webpage or link that you want the UTM tool to combine. In a nutshell, you must enter the link that you want people to follow for the intended campaign.
- Enter the source: You should enter a brief and concise name of the UTM source.
- Enter the medium: At this point, you must enter a short and precise name of the campaign medium. Some of the most common mediums in use today include email (used in email campaigns), social (used in social media campaigns), and cpc (used in cost per click ad).
- Enter the campaign name: Enter a brief description of the campaign that you want to build a trackable URL for. In this case, avoid using ambiguous names for your marketing campaigns.
From this point, you can continue to the optional step of adding your term, content, and other details (for those tools that allow it). The additional parameters will further help categorize the source of your campaign and the medium of the campaign.
When you are done, click the button that will combine the address, parameters, and create a URL campaign for you. It is advisable to review, before publishing or posting, the built URL to ensure there are no spelling mistakes and that the tool has combined the appropriate parameters for it.
URL Breakdown
A UTM built URL usually looks like the link below.
https://example.com/offer?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=summer_saleThe example above can help illustrate the basics of a UTM link builder procedure. The domain name is example.com, and the web address directs users to an offer page. UTM source, medium, and campaign parameters are additional data about the UTM source, medium, and campaign.
If the link above already has other parameters, an additional parameter or the tool will identify how the user arrived at the page.
When using the question mark (?), make sure to include the UTM tag values correctly. The URL may already have the (?) query string, so you will need to edit it to include the UTM tags.
Note that UTM values are usually case-sensitive; therefore, it is recommended to use lowercase alphabet letters. Also, remember that the contents of these addresses or URLs are not private; thus, avoid including passwords, private data about your company, and personal information of other people.
Examples
Below are a few examples of UTM builder:
1. Example 1: Building an email marketing campaign.
Company A utilizes a Google newsletter to inform customers about a new product. The company could build a trackable URL for a new-product page with the following UTM parameters:
https://example.com/new-product?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=new_product_launchIn this case, the marketing team could use a UTM tracking tool to examine any marketing campaign that has the UTM links of the company.
1. Example 2: Social media promotion.
A certain company is marketing a seasonal discount on products promoted using the social media network Instagram with the following UTM campaign link:
https://example.com/sale?utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=summer_saleThe marketer will be capable of separating social media traffic to view data related to the summer sale promotion.
1. Example 3: Google Ads campaign.
A company invests in Google Ads (a search engine advertising service) to advertise a range of running shoes with the help of a running shoes UTM link. For instance, in this case, the marketer could utilize the following UTM link:
https://example.com/running-shoes?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=running_shoesIn this example, they have identified the source (Google) and medium (CPC). It is important to note that in the case of Google Ads, you will have to consider how auto-tagging in Google Analytics and the UTM tagging work together for proper UTM campaign management.
1. Example 4: Two variations of an email campaign.
An email campaign has a couple of subscribers that are interested in a product offer. The marketing team has attached a banner that redirects users to the landing page but has utilized a separate text link that also leads to a landing page. For instance, the text link and banner each have the following UTM tags:
Banner:
https://example.com/offer?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=autumn_offer&utm_content=bannerText link:
https://example.com/offer?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=autumn_offer&utm_content=text_linkIn this case, the marketing team can utilize the UTM content parameter to compare the yield and impact of the two email versions.
Tips
Some of the most common UTM link builder tips include the following:
- Develop a consistent naming convention.
The most essential UTM parameter building task is to ensure that everyone agrees to and utilizes one set of standards for determining the values of sources, mediums, and UTM campaign.
Avoid using special characters when building UTM tracking parameters. From a security perspective, use lowercase letters unless there is a security issue concerning the data in URLs.
Give descriptive names to your campaigns. A good example is ‘new_product_launch’ compared to a name such ‘new’. Ensure that the names you utilize are not too long.
When you utilize UTM parameters, remember to tag every link according to the suggested guidelines. For instance, when it comes to mediums, ensure that everyone in your organization utilizes the same terms.
- Avoid tagging links to normal pages.
Links to ordinary or regular pages within your website will interfere with your UTM link builders, campaign parameters, and data analysis.
- Always test the website links you have built.
Once you have built a URL with the help of UTM building tool, you should click and test the link. At this point, make sure that it directs a user to the intended page. If it does not, there could be mistakes in the URL.
Moreover, ensure that it does not have extra parameters. In the event that it has extra parameters, you will have to re-examine the website link builder and determine which parameters have been included. Additionally, verify that the UTM values are lower cased.
- Ensure that you do not include any sensitive information in a UTM link or parameter.
UTM parameters or values are viewable; therefore, they are not secure. In addition, it is possible that the values are recorded or available on another website, in application program interfaces (API), and anywhere else accessible on the web. Avoid utilizing UTM parameters to pass private information about users and companies.
- Check that the appropriate website analytics is in use.
Ensure that every party involved utilizes appropriate tools for collecting website analytics. One example could include a situation where an application program interface (API) collects one set of data, whereas an application collects another set of information. In this scenario, you cannot be able to obtain accurate data.
- Double-check shortened UTM links.
Shortened links do work; however, it is crucial to ensure that they work correctly. If someone were to copy and paste or click on a shortened website address that has been built using a website URL builder, they should be redirected to a long address or link. At this point, it will work exactly like any other normally links.
- Always consider other factors besides traffic when examining a particular marketing effort. It is a common assumption that traffic equates to sales or yield. In the end, ensure you consider a variety of data before determining whether your marketing campaign, which consists of UTM tags, has yielded positive results compared to another marketing effort or strategy.
FAQs
1. What is a UTM builder?
The tool builds a link by adding parameters that you can use to track where your website traffic came from.
1. What does UTM stand for?
UTM stands for Urchin Tracking Module. UTM parameters are mostly used to provide additional website analytic data to an application programming interface (API).
1. What is a UTM generator used for?
The utility is mostly used for creating trackable links or URLs for emails, social media promotion, cost per click adverts, affiliate links, and other marketing activities. On the other hand, a general UTM maker helps you build a trackable link by combining your destination link or address with another set of parameters.
1. What is the Google campaign URL builder?
It is a Google utility for building campaign URLs with tracking parameters. Generally, a UTM generator is similar to the Google campaign URL Builder tool in multiple ways.
1. Which parameters should I use?
Mostly, use utm_source, utm_medium, and utm_campaign. In some scenarios, you can use utm_term and utm_content for indicating specific details of a medium or campaign.
1. Does a UTM link builder or creator automatically track a click?
No, it only builds a trackable URL. The next step is for an application programming interface or other tools that collect and analyze the data to work on the information.
1. Can I add UTM parameters to anyone using my URL?
The tool works with most of the website URLs. However, make sure that the appropriate settings are in place to track data, including location information.
1. Does adding UTM parameters help increase your search engine optimization (SEO) performance?
Adding UTM parameters is primarily for tracking purposes; therefore, they do not contribute directly to increasing SEO performance. Avoid utilizing a large number of tags on the same pages, particularly if they are not necessary. Additionally, in an SEO context, canonicalization is often the appropriate method of selecting a single URL as the main page, particularly when referring to a specific piece of content.
1. What should I consider regarding inconsistent value naming?
Inconsistent values result in scattered data within your reports, and therefore it might be necessary to rename any UTM parameters that are utilized inconsistently. For instance, email, Email, and e-mail are inconsistent UTM values for utm_medium.
1. Can I include any value in the UTM link?
Your UTM parameter value can be any value except for a password or user email address. That information tends to be private and is usually available in most of the digital data sources, including server log files, search marketing campaign reports, and even browser history files.
UTM builder concludes
A UTM tool generates a trackable link by combining your destination address with a few parameters that provide a brief description of the source, medium, and other details about a specific marketing effort or campaign. You can utilize UTM parameter tags because they are mostly compatible with most of the tools in the market. You can utilize the campaign URL to determine the effectiveness of your marketing. In addition to the use mentioned above, you can utilize UTM tools to help you measure and track the yield of your marketing campaign. Ensure that you utilize the UTM link builder and generate appropriate links. Also, make sure that you understand what the link entails. When you utilize UTM campaigns, always consider naming, destination address, and tools for website analysis. With these features in place, your UTM tracking will be easy to follow and understand.
