What is a UTM Code and How Does it Help Marketing Campaigns?

Getting traffic to your website is essential. But if you don’t know where it’s coming from, how helpful is it, really?

This is where a simple URL-tracking device comes in handy: the UTM code. For nearly 20 years, these little codes have effectively pinpointed traffic sources — giving essential information about how your marketing is performing.

So what are UTM codes, and how do you create and track them? Here at Zoe Marketing & Communications, I’ve helped hundreds of businesses tap into their UTMs and identify their top traffic sources. In this guide, I’ll cover the essentials, including: 

1. What is a UTM code?
2. How to set up a UTM code
3. Where to use a UTM code
4. Accessing UTM code results in GA4
5. Troubleshooting UTM codes

You’ll walk away with a sound understanding of how UTMs work, and you can plan your next steps for managing these essential codes in your marketing.

1. What is a UTM code?

UTM codes, aka UTM parameters are strings of text added to any clickable link to your website from somewhere else. Once a link with a UTM code attached to it is clicked, tools like Google Analytics (aka GA4) process that code and help you ID key traffic sources.

Quick factoid: UTM stands for “urchin tracking module.” This “urchin” isn’t a spiny sea creature, but rather, the software company Google bought out in 2005 that launched Google Analytics.

Why are UTM parameters so important? They help you see where traffic to your website is coming from. You likely encounter UTM codes all the time. For instance, if you click a link in an email, the end of that URL has a question mark, followed by text.

Here is an example, for this very blog page:

Let’s take a closer look at the five white “utm_” snippets, also known as UTM parameters:

1. Source 

This is the source responsible for the click. It’s often an ad network, social media platform, webpage or publisher. In our sample, it’s our Zoe website. Common sources include your own website, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Google (for ads), etc.

2. Medium

This explains the type of content that earned the click. Samples can include SEM (search engine marketing) ads, emails, videos, paid or organic social media posts and more.

3. Campaign

This is the campaign name for the product or promo you’re pushing. Examples could include “summer sale” or “10 percent off code.”

4. Term

This optional field tracks keywords in paid campaigns. It tends to be the least used, since Google’s keyword ad campaigns track these details and integrate them with GA4.

5. Content

This field is also optional but helpful if you have, say, three pieces of content promoting that summer sale. Apply a content parameter to each one to track which performs best. (So if you’re running ads with three different images, you could name them “beach,” “picnic” and “hike.”)

Consistency is the key to naming all these parameters so you can easily track them later. There’s no set way to name your codes, so long as it makes sense to you and your team.

2. How to set up a UTM code

Don’t worry: You don’t have to type out all that UTM code yourself. It’s much easier — and safer — to use a code generator. Google’s Campaign URL Builder is the ideal tool to use.

A few tips: Fill out only the fields you want, and make sure your website URL (the top field) starts with an “https://” or “https://www.” Then, scroll down below the fields to find the UTM and click the copy button. It even changes all the spaces to underscores for you.

That ushers in several tips to avoid UTM headaches down the road:

• Again, always copy and paste your URL from a generator. Don’t try to type it out manually. It’s more prone to errors, and URLs are notoriously finicky.
• UTM codes are case-sensitive. Keep it simple and keep everything lowercase.
• Simplicity is best. Stick to shorter words that are clear.
• Log your commonly used UTM codes in a shared spreadsheet, and ensure everyone on your team can access them. Consistency is key.

3. Where to use a UTM code

Use UTM codes with any URLs that link to your website from an outside source. These include:

• Emails (apply codes to every link that “clicks out” of the email to your site, whether you’re sending emails directly to customers or to prospects via a marketing agency)
• Search engine marketing (SEM) such as Google Ads
• Social media ads
• Social media organic posts

Here’s an example of a report I created for one of Zoe’s clients through our sister company, Metro Parent, through Google’s Looker Studio. In the second column, you’ll see nine different sources feeding this client’s results. Our team created UTMs for every source.

And, in about three seconds, this report quickly pulled in UTM data:

Knowing where your best traffic comes from helps you make better marketing decisions. UTMs are a powerful way to track paid or free links to your website.

4. Accessing UTM code results in GA4

The good news: All you need to do in advance is ensure Google Analytics (GA4) is installed on your website. Google Analytics picks up the coding from there.

Finding UTM code data

GA4 lets you track UTMs for various data points. A basic place to start, though, is the number of people you’ve reached.

First, be sure to log into your GA4 and select the right property (i.e., your website). Then, from the left column:

1. Click the “Reports” button (second one down)
2. Under “Life cycle,” click “Acquisition”
3. Click “User acquisition”
4. Under the search bar, click the “+” button

Then, you can type in whichever UTM parameter you’re analyzing. Or, for a broad view:

1. Click “Traffic source”
2. Under “User-scoped,” click “Cross-traffic”
3. Click “First user source / medium”

From here, GA4 will show you your primary traffic sources for various data. You can also create custom reports to pull the specific UTM data you want to review.

Checking in on UTM data

Always check your UTM data at the start of your campaign. You want to ensure your codes are triggering results in GA4. From there, check in at least monthly. If it’s a promotion that only lasts two weeks, of course, look sooner. Focus on what matters most for your business goals.

Looking at your overall UTM results lets you know which campaigns are working the best and are worth investing more money or time in.

5. Troubleshooting UTM codes

Issues with UTM codes are rare. That said, there are three pesky problems to watch for:

1. Typos in your UTM codes. Again, if you use a generator, you’ll avoid this. Avoid manually typing your UTMs.
2. A little Google lag time. Google might take a few minutes to register a new UTM out the gate. But this isn’t common and typically corrects quickly.
3. Site speed. Sometimes, a person will click on the UTM link — which registers as a “page hit” on Google. But, if the page takes too long to load, the person may abandon it, and the “UTM hit” won’t register because the page must first fully load. The best way to avoid this is to watch your site speed health; aim for 3-5 seconds of load time, max.

Next steps in tracking your marketing campaigns

Small UTM codes play a significant role in measuring your marketing efforts. You now know how these strings of texts can track who’s visiting your website, savvy places to use them and more.

Looking for some support in applying UTM codes and managing your marketing? Talk to us. We’ll put our 15+ years of marketing experience to drive and track traffic to your website.

And to continue growing your marketing insights, learn about the:

• Top marketing campaign metrics to track
• Basic tips on setting up your GA4 account