UTM Codes: What They Are and How to Create Them

UTM codes act as trackers, revealing to website owners where their visitors come from and what actions they take on the site. With their help, you can learn, for example, that a person came from an email, browsed several pages on the site, and possibly made a purchase. Below, we'll take a closer look at what UTM codes are and how they work.

UTM generator — tilda.cc

These tags are special text fragments added to the end of a link after the question mark.

Example of a link with UTM tags:

UTM tags provide valuable insights into the following metrics:

Traffic source. UTM tags reveal where your website visitors are coming from, whether it's search engines, social media, or paid advertising. You can identify specific ads or posts that are generating the most clicks.

User behavior. UTM tags track how visitors interact with your website. You can monitor how much time they spend on your site, which pages they view, and what actions they take. This information can help you improve navigation, increase conversions, and optimize the user experience.

Profitability. Track which campaigns lead to the most conversions and sales. This allows you to optimize your advertising spend and boost your return on investment (ROI).

How UTM Tags Aid in Marketing

A skilled marketer is distinguished by their ability to measure the effectiveness of their work. It doesn't matter which metrics you use, the key is to convey to management that your efforts are paying off, you deserve the allocated budget, and possibly even an increase.

The best way to prove this is to create a UTM tag to track campaign performance. Analytics tools with basic source and channel segmentation won't give you enough data. UTM tags provide more detailed information about visitors.

UTM tags show:

1. Where traffic comes from. You can identify the specific website or other source that people are coming from. For example:

Social networks (Pinterest, LinkedIn).
Search engines (Google, Bing, Yandex, and others).
Paid advertising (sponsored ads, etc.).
Other websites (yours, competitors', publishers').

2. Which channel drove traffic. It's important to understand the overall category of the source. For instance, is it generally effective to invest in social media? Channels can include organic search, CPC, and email marketing.

3. Which area attracts the most clicks. Images, sidebar, or menu links? UTM tags reveal this. They'll suggest whether you need to add more images or improve the structure of sidebar links if no one clicks on them.

4. What keywords were used for the transition. UTM links identify the search queries that bring users to a specific page. This way, you can determine the most effective keywords and understand what needs more attention.

UTM Tag Structure with Examples

A UTM code is added to a link in the form of special parameters. There are five in total, the first three of which are mandatory:

utm_source: where the visitor came from. For example, if someone clicked on a link on the Pinterest page: utm_source=pin.
utm_medium: this tag type tells you about the channel where your link is placed. For example, using the utm_medium=email code, you track all traffic coming from emails (as opposed to other channels like social media).
utm_campaign: the name of the advertising campaign or content source (article, post). Example: utm_campaign=christmas.

The remaining two parameters are optional:

utm_content: this type of UTM tag tracks which specific elements lead to one page (for example, a link in the sidebar or header). Often used for identical links on one page. Example: utm_content=footer (here the person clicked on the link in the footer).
utm_term: this code shows which keywords users used to get to your site, especially when it comes to pay-per-click advertising. For example, if you launched a promotion for the query "CDP platform", then add utm_term=cdp+platform to the link.

How to Create UTM Tags

The creation of UTM tags depends on your needs and the number of links.

For a small number of links, you can add your tags mannually. It is quite simple: you need to add ? to your link and then add each UTM parameter, separating them with &.

For example, this is how a link with a UTM tag would look like, indicating the source — Pinterest, the channel — social networks, the campaign — a post dated January 13th:

https://your-website.com/?utm_source=pinterest&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=post13jan

However, the manual method of creating UTM tags has its drawbacks. Firstly, it is a rather time-consuming process, especially if you need to generate a large number of links. Secondly, there is a high probability of making mistakes when adding parameters, which will lead to incorrect analytics results and useless data.

There are special tools for those who often work with UTM tags. A UTM tag generator greatly simplifies the process of creating links. Just enter the website name and indicate the appropriate parameters, and your link will be generated automatically. Some popular tools include UTM Builder and Tilda.

This is how you can generate links with UTM Builder

Advantages of using UTM tag generation services:

It's quick and easy. You can generate multiple UTM tags in a matter of minutes.
Reduced risk of errors due to process automation.
They shorten long links, offer ready-made tags, and suggest which dynamic variables to use for contextual advertising.

UTM Usage Tips

A UTM tag is a powerful tool, but to achieve maximum effectiveness, it is important to use it correctly. Here are some recommendations:

1. Maintain Consistent Formatting

Links with UTM tags should be consistent, clear, and easy to read. Develop a standard for tagging links and a brief guide for your team. This ensures consistency across all platforms and campaigns.

For example, Pinterest posts use utm_medium=social and utm_source=pin. Similarly, paid advertising uses utm_medium=cpc and utm_source=google.

Using consistent parameters for similar campaigns guarantees accuracy when calculating ROI and generating marketing reports. This helps identify the most effective campaigns.

2. Mind the Case

UTM tags are case-sensitive, so use either lowercase or uppercase consistently across all parameters. Lowercase is the standard practice. Standardized formatting simplifies marketing campaign evaluation. You will improve the performance tracking of all campaigns and avoid confusion in website analytics, as inconsistent capitalization often leads to duplicate entries.

3. Use Short but Informative Names

Well-crafted UTM codes are concise. They're easier to read, remember, and incorporate into content. The main benefit is avoiding confusion between similar campaigns. With clear and concise UTM tags, you can easily distinguish them, especially when managing a large number of projects.

4. Create a Link Inventory

Compile a list of your UTM-tagged links in an easily accessible location, such as a Google Sheet, and organize them by campaign or platform. This ensures that everyone on the team knows which links are available and eliminates confusion or duplicates. The list also simplifies finding specific links and managing UTM codes when campaigns are modified or completed.

5. Integrate UTM Tags with CRM

Connect UTM tags to your CRM system or marketing tools. This enhances customer journey understanding, accurate sales and conversion attribution, and data-driven decision-making. By identifying which campaigns and channels drive the most traffic, you can focus on the most effective ones and optimize your marketing efforts.

Conclusion

UTM tags are a simple yet incredibly valuable tool for marketers. They enable you to not only track traffic sources and analyze campaign performance but also gain deeper insights into user behavior on your website.

By effectively utilizing UTM tags, you can make informed decisions based on accurate data, optimize your marketing efforts, and ultimately achieve better results.