What are utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign, utm_term, utm_content

What are utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign, utm_term, utm_content

UTM tags are variables added to a URL as GET parameters. They allow web analysts to obtain extra information about where users found the link. These tags help gather detailed information on traffic sources and draw conclusions, for example about the effectiveness of a banner, an email newsletter (a detailed example is examined below), or the number of clicks coming from documents on your site (presentations, price lists, tutorials, product catalogs, etc.).

Main UTM tags for identifying traffic sources

  • utm_source – specific name of the traffic source (yahoo, newsletter #1, etc.). Example: utm_source=join_us_email;
  • utm_medium – type of traffic source (cpc, banner, newsletter). Example: utm_medium=email;
  • utm_campaign – name of the advertising campaign (product, promo code, slogan). Example: utm_campaign=promo_30;

Additional UTM tags

  • utm_term – denotes a specific keyword (for AdWords) or the date when email was sent with a promotional link. Example: utm_term=bookmark+application or utm_term=September_15;
  • utm_content – distinguishes different versions of an ad (for example two different links in the same promotional email). Example: utm_content=join_us_link or utm_content=see_all_items_button;

UTM tags are appended one after another at the end of a page URL and are separated by the & character. For convenience you can use Google’s URL builder.

Example: tracking clicks from an email newsletter

Suppose our email contains a "Read more" button that leads to https://www.site.com/all-info-about-product and we want to know how many people click it. Let's open the URL builder (link provided above) and start constructing a tracking link (all fields marked with * are required, others are optional):

  1. Website URL * – the landing page in our case:

    https://www.site.com/all-info-about-product

  2. Campaign Source * (Source of the campaign):

    utm_source=product_email

  3. Campaign Medium * (Medium of the campaign):

    utm_medium=email

  4. Campaign Term (Keyword in the campaign):

    utm_term=September_15

  5. Campaign Content (Content of the campaign):

    utm_content=button_Read_more

  6. Campaign Name * (Name of the campaign):

    utm_campaign=promo_20

Load all these values into the URL builder (only the values, without the utm_...= part), press the "Submit" button, and you receive the final version of the link:

https://www.site.com/all-info-about-product?utm_source=product_email&utm_medium=email&utm_term=September_15&utm_content=button_Read_more&utm_campaign=promo_20