How to use UTM parameters for Google Analytics

What is a UTM parameter

UTM parameters, also called UTM tags or codes, are customizable pieces of text that allow analytics software (like Google Analytics) to track campaign traffic.  Attaching them to a URL can help you gauge the effectiveness of your campaigns and identify the best ways to drive more visitors to your website.

You can add up to 5 parameters to a URL to capture reporting data about a referring campaign:
  • utm_source: Identify the advertiser, site, publication, etc. that is sending traffic to your property, for example: Google, newsletter4, billboard.
  • utm_medium: The advertising or marketing medium, for example: CPC, banner, email newsletter.
  • utm_campaign: The individual campaign name, slogan, promo code, etc. for a product.
  • utm_term: Identify paid search keywords. If you're manually tagging paid keyword campaigns, you should also use utm_term to specify the keyword.
  • utm_content: Used to differentiate similar content or links within the same ad. For example, if you have two call-to-action links within the same email message, you can use utm_content and set different values for each so you can tell which version is more effective.
Each parameter must be paired with a value that you assign. Each parameter-value pair then contains campaign-related information. For example, you might use the following parameter-value pairs for your Summer Sale campaign:
  • utm_source=summer-mailer to identify traffic that results from your Summer Sale email campaign
  • utm_medium=email to identify traffic from the email campaign vs. the in-app campaignutm_campaign = summer-sale to identify the overall campaign

Correctly setting UTM Parameters when linking to an Experience

To display a single Experience we use a hash symbol ( #id=) in the URL to identify which experience to load. 

https://www.your-website.com/book-online#id=<experience_slug>

Standard implementations, guides & online tools put the UTM parameters at the end of a URL. This will not work because Google will ignore any parameters in a URL after a hash sign (#).

To properly setup UTM parameters when a hash sign is present in the URL, you need to put the UTM parameters before the hash sign.

Will not work:

https://www.your-website.com/book-online #id=my-tour?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email

Will work:

https://www.your-website.com/book-online ?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#id=my-tour

Did this answer your question? Thanks for the feedback There was a problem submitting your feedback. Please try again later.

Still need help? Contact Us Contact Us

Related Articles