What are UTM Parameters?
UTM Parameters are additional information that can be appended to the URL of a website.
They are used by Web Analytics Tools such as Google Analytics or Matomo to track and analyze traffic on a website as part of a marketing campaign.
The GA4 manual reports provide detailed insights into the performance of manually tagged campaigns.
UTM Parameter Composition
UTM Parameters consist of five different variables:
- utm_source
This variable indicates the source from which the traffic came to the website, e.g. from a specific website or newsletter.
- utm_medium
This variable describes the medium that brought the traffic to the website, such as eMail, banner ad or Social Media post.
- utm_campaign
This variable indicates which specific marketing campaign drove traffic to the website, e.g. a Christmas campaign or a special offer.
- utm_term
This variable is mainly used for paid search engine ads and indicates the keyword that the user clicked on.
- utm_content
This variable is used to differentiate between different versions of the same content, e.g. different ads within the same campaign.
As a rule, not all UTM Parameters need to be used.
utm_source and utm_medium are the two most important parameters, as they indicate where the traffic comes from and how it was generated.
utm_campaign is also important to distinguish which specific marketing campaign generated the traffic.
utm_term and utm_content are rather optional and are mainly used for specific applications, such as tracking paid search ads or different versions of the same content.
By using UTM Parameters, companies can accurately track and analyze the performance of their marketing activities. This helps marketers make informed decisions about how to optimize their campaigns to generate more traffic and sales.
UTM Parameter example
Suppose a company is running an email marketing campaign to draw customers' attention to a new product line. The URL included in the eMail could look like this:
https://www.example.com/neue-produkte?utm_source=email&utm_medium=marketing&utm_campaign=produktlinie-lancierung
In this example, three UTM Parameters have been used:
1. utm_source = eMail indicates that the traffic originated from an eMail campaign.
2. utm_medium = marketing indicates that it is a marketing eMail.
3. utm_campaign = product-line-launch indicates that the eMail campaign relates to the launch of a new product line.
When a user clicks on this link and goes to the landing page, the company can use analytics tools such as Google Analytics to measure and analyze the success of the marketing campaign by filtering traffic by source, medium and campaign.