Creation of utm tags. The UTM tag generator of your dreams
In this article I will tell you everything I know about UTM tags. How to use them, create, monitor, configure their parameters and, most importantly, how to do everything correctly so that there are no problems with the analytics systems and website operation.
Let's start with the question - why do you need UTM tags? Most often you can get by automatic marking of targets URLs that provide contextual advertising systems. If you have already figured this out and realized that you still need manual marking, then let’s deal withUTM tags.
What are UTM tags and what are they for?
These are variables that we manually add to the URL. They are needed in order to separate traffic from Yandex Direct or Google Adwords from other traffic sources.
Example: site.com/?utm_source=yandex&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=kampaniya
Basic information aboutUTM tags
Now that you've seen the example UTM tags You probably have a lot of questions about the symbols used (&,?) and parameters (values).
A question mark in an address is separator, and indicates to the analytics system where the label begins. Next come the parameters, they can also be called variables. The ampersand (&) is used to separate various parameters in the UTM tag.
Let’s repeat: the question mark comes immediately after the address of your landing page, and then, separated by an ampersand, are the tracking variables.
Tip: if the target URL already contains a question mark (?), you need to use an ampersand (&) separator mark instead, otherwise distorted data will be sent to analytics.
Example URL with a question mark: site.com/?parameter=1
At the output we get: site.com/?parameter=1&utm_source=yandex….
Depending on the engine on which the site runs, you need to understand whether it is necessary to put a slash before the beginning of the UTM tag or not. Most sites have two options. This is easy to check: take the site URL with and without a UTM tag and a slash, and enter two options into the address bar; if there are no errors, then you can use two options.
Also I don't recommend it put spaces insideUTM tags, some engines will read them as: %20 or %2B, others will display them as a simple space, and others will replace them with a “+” sign. Spaces can break the address, and if the page does not display a “404 Error,” then there will be interruptions in the analytics systems. So the space is we don't use in UTM tags.
UTM tag parameters
You can find all the parameters at official resources Yandex Direct and Google Adwords, We will discuss only the main ones:
Let's take a closer look at each UTM tag:
- utm_source– everything is simple here, you need to indicate the source where the traffic comes from.
- utm_medium– This is the part where it is advisable to use creativity to a minimum, in order to avoid poor-quality reports in analytics.
For contextual advertising - cpc (cost per click)
For media - banner
For email newsletter - email
For affiliate programs - affiliate
- utm_campaign– in this tag you should put information about your advertising campaign in Google Adwords or Yandex Direct.
Tip: do not forget that the values for labels must be in the same register for everyone (google or GOOGLE), otherwise the traffic will be confused in the analytics.
Although at the beginning of the article we talked about automatic tagging, this does not mean that you cannot use two methods at once (UTM + automatic)! They don't conflict with each other, so use them together!
UTM tag builders
In order not to get confused at the initial stages, I suggest using linkers! Everything is very simple, you specify the required values, and the system does the rest for you. There are several basic tools:
– Online: I recommend the standard builder from Google
You can check how the UTM tag works in Google Analytics in the report:
Real time -> Traffic sources
Everything is simple here, given that there are explanations. But what if you need to add UTM tags to many target addresses at once? More on this below.
Mass placementUTM tags
This can be done either in Excel - we use either CONCATENATE or ampersand (&), or in the editors of contextual advertising systems - Direct Commander and Adwords Editor: we use append to the end of the URL.
UTM tags andSEO
There is a possibility that pages with tags will be included in the search engine index, thereby creating duplicates (copies) of pages, and this can harm SEO promotion.
There are several options to solve the problem:
That's all what I wanted to tell you about UTM tags! Now I advise you to start practicing in order to assimilate the acquired knowledge! Well, from you - likes and shares :)
P.S – link to the article “UTM tags: guidelines for use” in PDF format, save and keep at hand :)
How to set up tracking of transitions to the necessary links so that you don’t get lost in Google Analytics later? Do I need to fill in all the fields in the UTM tag builder, or are the basic ones sufficient? And which ones are basic? WordFactory asked these questions to Anton Astakhov (Head of Mello Internet Advertising Department and Web Analyst for the PixelBuddha Project).
UTM tag (Urchin Tracking Module) is a variable that is added to the page URL and allows the web analytics system to obtain Additional information about following the link.
You've probably already used UTM tags, but you might find a few lifehacks in this article.
In what cases and why are UTM tags used?
— UTM tags should be used when you place information with a link to your website on various resources, advertising platforms/systems/social networks/letters/qr codes and plan to analyze all this. It is at least possible to identify most transitions from sites/advertising systems without UTM. A UTM tag is needed if you want to not only identify this site, but also receive additional data. For example, you are not only interested in the fact that the user came from VKontakte, you want to clearly know which post/group he came from.
How to create a UTM tag correctly? Step by step. What, why and in what column should it be?
— Before describing the process of link formation, I would like to note that advertising campaigns can be carried out on the Internet (hereinafter referred to as online) and on various printed media - media, handouts (hereinafter referred to as offline). To create a proper tag link, you will need a URL Builder.
Stage 1. Enter the URL of your site or the address of the page you plan to go to. For example: http://www.example.com/zagruzka.html.
Stage 2. Enter unique data for the UTM tag.
Including:
1. Campaign source (utm_source)— the source from which the transition will be made. For online advertising: domain without domain zone site (or site address to the point) on which the link will be placed. For example:
2. Campaign channel (utm_medium). Imagine that you are watching TV, you have sports, news, entertainment and other channels. UTM tags also have a specific list of generally accepted channels.
3. Keyword in campaign (utm_term) and campaign content (utm_content)— optional fields. But, if you, say, mark an advertising campaign in Direct, then it would be stupid not to pass the keyword (utm_term). If the required fields are missing, you can use these two fields to add additional information (banner size used in the ad, its version, etc.).
4. Campaign name (utm_campaign) used to indicate an advertisement for a specific product or strategic campaign. For example:
After filling in the required fields, click the “Submit” button. A final link will be formed below the button, which can be selected and copied.
How to automate the process of creating UTM parameters if you need hundreds of tags?
- Can be used free services, available on the Internet (for example, from Semantica). Unlike the standard Google builder, they provide various nice features: tagging a list of links, advertising platform parameters that can be passed to a UTM tag, and others. But I don’t use such services in my work. If you need to tag hundreds of links, then, in my opinion, there is nothing better than Excel :). You can always create a database very quickly by adding additional information as columns that you will not insert into the label (the cost of placing this link, the date of publication, and so on). In addition, Excel gives you freedom of action. You can always turn an ordinary Excel file into a tool that solves a specific problem.
Recently, Maxim Uvarov, in his Excel course, gave a great idea that you can use smart tables to create a UTM generator in Excel.
“Tell me who your friend is, and I’ll tell you who you are.” For UTM tags, this can be rephrased like this: tell me what information you entered into the tag, and I’ll tell you what you can see. If tagging is done correctly, using the capabilities of advertising platforms (for example, Yandex.Direct provides an excellent list of parameters to transfer to the tag), then the possibilities are endless. And in combination with the bi.owox.com cost upload service and calculated indicators in Google Analytics, you can upload cost data from various services/platforms, calculating the cost of conversion. Using this data, you can create the following customized report in Google Analytics:
Why (and is it necessary) to shorten UTM tags?
— Some people think that the more complex/longer the tag, the longer the page loading speed. This is a myth because a UTM tag does not affect loading speed. It can affect the display of the site, but this point is easily tested in practice. In the last three years, I've only seen two sites where UTM caused display problems, but they were both developed a long time ago and were generally problematic.
If you want your link to look short, punchy, and memorable, you can use a link shortening service like bitly. You paste the UTM link into the service, and as a result you get a short version. And if you pay extra, you will get the opportunity to style the short link for yourself/the company’s brand. Short links are usually needed if they are used on business cards, outdoor advertising, presentations, stands and other sources where the user has the opportunity to see it.
What could be the negative effects of using UTM tags from an SEO point of view? How to avoid them?
- From an SEO point of view, these are duplicate pages with all the ensuing consequences - for example, sanctions from search engines. Therefore, just close the UTM tags in the robots.txt file using the clean-param directive (how to do this is described) - and everything will be OK.
Only the lazy have not heard that it would be nice to mark all traffic sources with UTM tags. This is where most people's knowledge ends. Someone manages to call them “referral tails”... strangely, not horse or dog tails. And for some reason, someone firmly believes that these UTM tags themselves replace the title in the landing page and make sure that the keyword itself is sent to the email in the application.
In some ways they are right, this can be done, and not without the help of UTM tags. But…
A UTM tag is just a regular link
To be precise, from 3 to 5 parameters that are added to the link.
Http://site/? utm_source =vk &utm_medium =cpc &utm_campaign =retarget
Parameter = meaning. The meaning can be anything as long as you understand it. I recommend using translit where you set values manually.
Let's dig deeper
There are only 5 parameters. 3 of them are mandatory. They were made mandatory by the Urchin company, which, in fact, came up with this markup system (Google bought them in 2005).
From main to secondary:
- utm_source— traffic source ( google, yandex, vk, …)
- utm_medium— type of traffic ( cpc(pay per click), email, banner, …)
- utm_campaign- the name of your advertising campaign ( potolki_search)
- utm_creative- Title Ad ( banner-300×250)
- utm_term- keyword ( stretch ceilings+minsk)
These 5 parameters are understood by most web analytics systems by default.
Where can I see the results?
For example, in the report on traffic sources in Google Analytics. Or in the report on UTM tags in Yandex.Metrica.
How long does it take to make 1000 links to a campaign?
And good. So you are a normal, sensible person.
Google AdWords and Yandex.Direct have long come up with macros, instead of which, when you click on a link, the desired value is substituted.
Let's take for example the macro (keyword)(it is available in both Google and Yandex).
(keyword)
But when the ad appears for the keyword " adwords settings” and a person clicks on it, he will go to another link:
Website/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=search&utm_term= settings+adwords
Are there more macros?
Let's call them not macros, but “dynamic insert parameters”. Sorry for the pedantry, but it will be somehow more correct :).
Of course there are, and here they are:
Basic parameters of Google AdWords dynamic insertion
| Parameter | What will be substituted for (parameter) |
| (keyword) | keyword for which the ad was shown |
| (placement) | domain of the site from which the ad was clicked (only for Display Network). |
| (creative) | Ad ID. |
| (network) | where the click came from: from Google Search, from a search partner or from the display network (letters g, s and d respectively). |
| (matchtype) | keyword match type: exact, phrase or broad (letters e, p and b respectively). |
| (adposition) | Your ad's page position, designated as 1t2, indicates that the ad is in position 2 at the top of page 1. |
| (device) | What device did the click come from: from mobile phone, tablet PC or desktop/laptop computer. (letters m, t and c respectively). |
| (devicemodel) | brand and model of the device (for example, Apple+iPhone), if the click was from a phone or tablet (only in Display Network) |
| (target) | the category to which the placement in the CMS belongs (for example, travel or sports). |
Basic parameters of Yandex.Direct dynamic insertion
| Parameter | Parameter values |
|---|---|
| (keyword) | Key phrase for which the ad was shown Text of the key phrase without negative keywords |
| (source_type) | Type of platform where the ad was shown
|
| (source) | YAN site domain |
| (position_type) | Block type, if the display occurred on a page with Yandex search results
|
| (position) | The exact position of the ad in the block
|
| (addphrases) | Click from "additional relevant phrases"? (“yes” or “no”) |
| (campaign_id) | Advertising campaign number (ID) |
| (ad_id) or (banner_id) | Ad number (ID) |
| (phrase_id) | Key phrase number (ID) |
| (retargeting_id) | Number (ID) of the retargeting condition |
| (gbid) | Group ID |
Are there any link generators with UTM tags?
Of course, I wrote one of them personally. And I sincerely consider it the most convenient UTM tag generator I have ever encountered.
The main goal of any Internet resource is to attract an audience and perform a targeted action (purchase a product, order a service, follow a link, etc.).
There are many advertising tools with which you can get the desired result.
But how do you know exactly where your traffic is coming from and how effective each source is?
This problem can be solved by using UTM tags.
What are UTM tags?
UTM tags are special tags that fit into a link, allowing analytics tools to collect information about the source of traffic. Translated, UTM means “Urchin Tracking Module”.
Why are UTM tags needed?
UTM tags are intended for:
- transmission of channel and traffic source analytics to the system
- transfer of data about an ad, campaign, keyword or other values
These tags are used if the advertiser needs to optimize advertising costs, improve content and/or simply evaluate the effectiveness of each traffic source - advertising platform. However, traffic data is not automatically transferred to the analytics system.
For example, use utm tags to transfer information about traffic from Yandex Direct to Google Analytics.
What does a UTM tag consist of?
UTM tags consist of two parts:
- UTM values- for example, “cpc” - advertising with per-click payment; “referral” - referral from a social network or website, etc.
- parameter- there are 3 mandatory and 2 optional - optional parameters
Parameters and values are connected by the “=” sign, and such constructions (labels) are separated by the “&” sign.
For example
The required parameters of any label include:
- utm_source
- utm_medium,
- utm_campaign.
Optional are utm_term and utm_content. Let's look at them in more detail.
Required UTM tag parameters
Such parameters are called mandatory because omission of at least one of them will lead to a failure of the UTM tag.
- utm_source(source): determines the source of traffic - the name of the advertising platform, for example, Facebook, Google, billboard, etc.
Examples: utm_source=facebook; utm_source= newsletter. - utm_medium(channel): marketing or advertising channel. It is recommended to use standard values: cpc - cost per click; display - banner type advertising with payment for impressions; social_cpc - advertising in in social networks with pay per click; e-mail newsletter, etc.
Examples: utm_medium=cpc; utm_medium=e-mail. - utm_campaign(campaign): company name, slogans, promotional codes, etc. Allows you to distinguish advertising companies in statistics; entered in English or transliterated.
Examples: utm_campaign=sport_product; utm_campaign=yellow_dress.
Optional (optional) UTM tag parameters
The absence of optional parameters will not affect the operation of the UTM tag in any way, but their use will provide important data on the performance of advertising campaigns.
- utm_term(keyword): key phrases that trigger advertising. Used to identify non-target requests.
Example: utm_term=klychevaya_fraza. - utm_content(Ad Content): Used to differentiate between similar content or links within the same ad. For example, if there are two calls to action in the same email text, you can use utm_content to determine which one is more effective by assigning different values to them.
Example: utm_content=zakazat or utm_content=kupit
How to create a UTM tag using the constructor?
You can create a UTM label either manually or using special constructors:
- UTM tag builder (you can select presets for main advertising activities)
Let's look at an example automatic creation tags using Google's link generator. Here you need to fill out the URL builder form to set the tags:
- indicate the URL (domain) of your site
- fill in the required fields “Campaign Source”, “Campaign Channel” and “Campaign Name”
- if necessary, enter additional information in the “Keyword in campaign” and “Campaign content” fields
- Next, click on “Create URL” and get a ready-made link with the desired tags. This link can be inserted into your ad.
The main disadvantage of this method is the limited list of variables.
Using the UTM tag builder, a large number of users make a number of mistakes:
- make spelling errors when filling out fields
- enter incorrect information (without understanding what the channel or source of the campaign is)
- ignore optional fields when there are a large number of ads, and then get confused in them
How to set up UTM tags in Google Adwords?
There are two ways to set up tags in Google Adwords: use “Automatic ad tagging” or manually.
The first option, although it allows you to obtain a wide amount of data about the campaign, but encrypts some information. The second method is quite simple to decipher, but requires a little more effort and attention.
To put a UTM tag manually, it is important to know the basic designations - symbols (they are relevant for both Google and Yandex):
More advanced use of labels involves the use of dynamic parameters. Having specified the necessary parameters in the template, the Adwords system independently changes the contents of the curly braces by entering certain values.
How to set up UTM tags in Yandex Direct?
There is a little advice: write UTM tags in such a way that you can easily understand the report.
You can add UTM tags to a Yandex Direct ad in 3 steps:
- create a label (determine what information needs to be tracked)
- add the UTM tag itself to the link to which the ad will lead, example:
https://site/? - utm_source=yandex&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=seo&utm_term=(keyword)
add a link to a Yandex Direct ad
After this setup, you will be able to track using the specified tags that the click on your ad was made from a Yandex Direct advertising campaign, an SEO campaign for a specific keyword.
To track UTM tags you need to have installed system Analytics Google Analytics or Yandex Metrica.
To view the results of the utm_source and utm_medium parameters in Analytics, you must:
- go to the “Traffic Sources” section
- click on the “All traffic” label
- go to “Source/channel”
To track the utm_campaign, utm_term and utm_content parameters you need to:
- visit the “Traffic Sources” section
- then go to “Campaigns”
- click on “All campaigns”
- find "Advanced Option", go to "Advertising" and then to "Keyword or Ad Content"
In Yandex Metrica, information about tags can be found using the following scheme: “Reports” - “Standard reports” - “Sources” - “UTM Tags”.
Using these tags, you can build reports on traffic sources, advertising channels, key phrases and other parameters. A large amount of data will be available for each of these parameters.
How can using tags harm a site?
There are 2 main problems that advertisers face when creating UTM tags:
- the occurrence of duplicate pages - can provoke a conflict during indexing, with possible sanctions from the search engine robot;
- A URL that is too long is also not attractive, especially when the entire link needs to be displayed.
You can solve the problem with duplicate pages in the following ways:
- The best option on a page with utm tags, in the section you must indicate canonical to the initial link that the search engine will use.
- Example: Where
- http://site.com/stranica.html - page without tags.
- Block pages with utm tags from indexing via meta-robots. To do this, you must specify the line in the division:
- Block pages with utm tags from indexing via robots.txt. To do this, you need to add the following line to the robots.txt file:
Hello, dear friends. Happy New Year! I'm sure we met New Year, all without loss and now you can profitably spend the New Year holidays for your pleasure.
And I want to tell you about UTM tags. These are parameters that are added to the site address (link) and transmit statistical information from analytics services, such as Yandex.Metrica and Google Analytics.
Purpose of UTM tags
The main purpose of tags is to track and highlight transitions from various external sources. So, placing , contextual advertising, sending e-mail newsletters to the databases of different authors, and so on - it is very important to highlight the most effective sources of traffic. And get rid of sites that eat up your advertising budget.
In general, if you are going to engage in affiliate marketing or are already doing it, or are promoting your own product, then you simply must use utm tags.
Structure of UTM tags
As you probably already understood, utm tags are special code, added at the end of the URL link. And each label consists of a parameter and its value. And it looks like this:
To generate reports, the main parameters of utm tags are used. The first three of them are required; links can be used in any order.
- utm_source (referral source: yandex.direct, google, kadam, etc.);
- utm_medium (marketing tool: cpc - advertisements, cpm - banner, email - newsletter, social, social-network, social-media - social networks);
- utm_campaign (advertising campaign name);
- utm_content(ad specific);
- utm_term (keywords)
As an example, you can use this tag code:
Utm_source=name &utm_medium=type &utm_campaign=company_name &utm_term=key &utm_content=name
Just be sure to replace the name value with the source of your advertising campaign.
How to add utm tags to a link
You should also remember that in addition to manually adding tags, advertising tools have the ability to automatically fill in the values of the specified parameters.
Https://site/spic/index.html?utm_source=yandex.direct&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=spic&utm_content=offer
Note: the label parameters cannot be changed, but you specify their value yourself. It is possible arbitrarily, and it is better without Russian letters, although they are not prohibited. And be sure to check the links for functionality after adding tags.
It is also very important to pay attention to the formation of links on the site itself. If there is no slash (/) at the end of the url address, then you start adding tags immediately with a question mark:
Url-address?tags
And if there is a slash, then put marks after it:
Url/?tags
Now let's look at an example where you can add parameters for auto-filling values by the advertising system itself.
For Yandex.Direct
Https://site/spic/index.html?utm_source=yandex.direct&utm_medium=cpc &utm_campaign=spic&utm_content=offer &type=(source_type)&source=(source) &added=(addphrases)&block=(position_type) &position=(position)&keyword =(keyword)
(source_type) — type of site: search or display in YAN;
(source) – site address, only for YAN;
(addphrases) — whether the display was triggered by additional relevant phrases;
(position_type) – where it is shown: special placement or guarantee;
(position) — number of the ad position in the block;
(keyword) – keyword.
For Google.AdWords
Https://site/spic/index.html?utm_source=yandex.direct&utm_medium=cpc &utm_campaign=spic&utm_content=offer &network=(network)&placement=(placement) &position=(adposition)&adid=(creative) &match=(matchtype)&keyword =(keyword)
Where the values in curly brackets indicate:
(network) – site type: search or context;
(placement) – site address;
(adposition) – ad position;
(creative) – unique identification number of the ad;
(matchtype) – keyword matching;
(keyword) – keyword.
By the way, to create links with utm tags, Google has a special link builder. I advise you to look at it and try to create links.
Another autocomplete example for Kadam teaser network
https://site/spic/index.html?utm_source=kadam&utm_campaign=&utm_term=&utm_content=
— transfer of site id;
— transfer of banner id, teaser;
— transfer of campaign id.
And remember, if you don’t have Google Analytics on your landing page (the page to which the visitor is directed), then you don’t have to add tags. Since you won’t be able to get comprehensive statistics.
Now is the time to figure out how to make good use of the data received through utm tags.
How to collect statistics on utm tags
Again, I’ll show you using Metrics as an example.
Open the Yandex.Metrica service and select the previously created counter.
In chapter "Build report by" indicates utm parameters.
And press the button "Show report".
Well, you already understand how to use the data obtained.
A little about duplicate content
Friends, it is worth considering the fact that search engines, links with tags may be indexed and in this case problems with . Therefore, if you are promoting your resource or product, then make sure that the rel="canonical" tag is present on the main page and the page with tags.
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