How does UTM tracking work in Usermaven?

UTM tracking helps you understand the effectiveness of your digital marketing campaigns by providing detailed insights into traffic sources and user behavior. This guide will help you implement and manage UTM tracking in Usermaven.

What is a UTM code?

A UTM (Urchin Tracking Module) code is a set of parameters added to URLs to track marketing campaign performance. These parameters help identify:

• Where your traffic comes from source
• How users reach your site medium
• Which specific campaign brought them campaign name
• What specific content they clicked content
• Which keywords were targeted term

However, these can be overwhelming at first sight. Here’s what a URL with its own UTM code can mean:

https://usermaven.com/blog/analyzing-feature-usage?utm_campaign=blog_post&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook (opens in a new tab)

Let’s break this down:

• https://usermaven.com/blog/analyzing-feature-usage (opens in a new tab): This is the base URL of the page.

• ?: This signals to your analytics software that a string of UTM parameters will follow.

• utm_campaign=blog_post: This is the first UTM parameter, specifically for the campaign the visitor engaged with (in this case, a blog post campaign).

• &: This denotes that another UTM parameter will follow.

• utm_medium=social: This is the second parameter, specifically for the channel the visitor came from (in this case, social).

• &: This denotes that another UTM parameter will follow.

• utm_source=facebook: This is the last parameter, specifically for the specific website the visitor came from (in this case, Facebook).

Thus, this particular example means that once traffic comes in from the people who click on the link, the traffic should be attributed to Facebook. The "medium" is social media, while the "source" is Facebook.

Benefits of UTM tracking

UTM tracking can serve as a very beneficial tool. Here’s how they can help you:

• Better Tracking: See exactly where your website visitors come from and which marketing campaigns brought them there.
• Data-Driven Decisions: Identify what works and what doesn't in your marketing efforts, helping you spend resources wisely.
• Audience Insights: Learn which campaigns work best with different audience groups.
• Track Customer Journey: Understand how different marketing channels work together to convert visitors into customers.

How to setup UTM tracking in Usermaven?

Here’s how you can build a UTM code and use it in Usermaven:

1. To build a UTM link, refer to Replug’s Free UTM Builder. (opens in a new tab)

2. Fill in each attribute in the given form:

3. In case the link is too long, you can shorten it using https://replug.io/ (opens in a new tab)

4. Once you've created your UTM link, integrate it into your marketing campaign materials.

5. Usermaven will automatically begin tracking traffic attributed to the specific UTM parameters. This data will be readily available under the UTM traffic section of your Usermaven web analytics dashboard.

By effectively implementing UTM tracking in Usermaven, you can gain valuable insights into your marketing campaign performance, optimize your strategies, and ultimately achieve your goals.

Setting up UTM parameters in major advertising platforms

• Google Ads

To set up UTM parameters for Google Ads:

1. Sign in to your Google Ads account.
2. From the left sidebar, go to "Campaigns" and select your desired campaign.
3. Click the "Settings" tab and then "Additional settings"
4. Under "Tracking," find "Campaign URL options".
5. Click "Customize URL tracking".
6. Add your UTM parameters.

{lpurl}?utm_source=google&campaign_id={campaignid}&ad_id={creative}&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign={campaign.name}&utm_content={adgroupid}&utm_term={placement}&gclid={gclid}

For Google Ads, we recommend:

• utm_source = google
• utm_medium = paid_search or cpc
• utm_campaign = your campaign name
• utm_content = ad group name or ad text
• utm_term = keyword

7. Save your changes. Google Ads will automatically append these parameters to your destination URLs.

To bulk edit UTMs for all your Google ads:

1. Sign in to your Google Ads account.
2. From the left sidebar, navigate to Campaigns > Settings.
3. At the campaign level, select the checkbox for "All campaigns"
4. Click the "Edit" dropdown menu and choose "Change tracking templates"
5. In the "New tracking template" field, paste your Usermaven UTM template.
6. Click Save to save your changes.

• Facebook ads

To set up UTM parameters for Facebook Ads:

1. Sign in to your Facebook Ads Manager.

2. Create a new ad or select an existing one to edit.

3. Navigate to Campaigns > Ad Groups > Ads.

4. In the ad creation/editing interface, scroll to the "Website URL" section

5. Click on "Build URL Parameters" underneath the URL field and paste the following:

utm_source=facebook&campaign_id={campaign.id}&ad_id={ad.id}&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign={campaign.name}&utm_term={adset.name}&utm_content={ad.name}&adset_id={adset.id}  

For optimal tracking, we recommend these UTM parameters:

• utm_source = facebook
• utm_medium = paid_social or cpc
• utm_campaign = your campaign name
• utm_content = ad name

6. Click "Save" to save your UTM parameters.

7. Click Publish to save your changes.

Note: Adding UTM tags may trigger a review process for your ads.

Universal tracking parameters

For platforms not directly integrated with Usermaven, use the following universal UTM structure:

utm_source=[source]&utm_medium=[medium]&utm_campaign=[campaign_name]&ad_id=[unique_ad_identifier]&campaign_id=[unique_campaign_identifier]

Replace the bracketed values with your specific information.

Verifying UTM setup in Usermaven

To ensure your UTMs are being tracked correctly, log in to your Usermaven account and scroll down to the UTM Traffic tab. Your data will be readily available

If you don't see your UTM data, double-check your implementation and ensure that the Usermaven tracking script is properly installed on your website.

Troubleshooting common issues

• Missing data: Ensure UTM parameters are correctly formatted and appended.

• Attribution discrepancies: Review your UTM naming conventions for consistency.

• Updating UTMs without losing social proof: Follow protocol to retain previous engagement metrics when modifying UTM parameters.

• Using UTMs for email campaigns: Append UTM parameters to links in emails to track click-through rates and conversions.

• Custom parameters for specific needs: Develop additional custom parameters to fit your unique tracking requirements.

Conclusion

Effectively tracking UTM parameters in Usermaven allows you to optimize your marketing strategies based on data-driven insights. By understanding and implementing best practices, you’ll gain a comprehensive view of your campaigns’ performance, leading to better marketing decisions.