Urchin Tracking Module (UTM)

UTM is made up of tags, which you add to the end of a link in order to analyze the traffic sources of the URL. With every click on the link, Google Analytics receives some parameters that enable you to see where your visitors come from.

UTM parameters are the codes that you add to a link to make its tracking easier. These parameters were introduced by Urchin Software Corporation, which Google bought in 2005. The acquisition led to the creation of Google Analytics. 

There are five UTM parameters required by Google Analytics:

Adding source, medium and campaign is mandatory, while content and term are optional. To make a simple example:

As more businesses demand their marketing teams to be more data-driven, UTM can empower marketers to have full control over their campaigns. UTM enables marketing teams to track the performance of every single newsletter, blog post, ebook, email, etc.

The ability to track the impact of the campaigns means that marketing teams can invest their budgets on the channels that bring them the highest traffic — and sales conversions, rather than dividing their money randomly between all the available channels. 

UTM is also a great tool if you want to have a better understanding of the customers’ behaviors, tailoring promotions to their very specific needs and expectations. You can also use UTMs to compare the number of new visitors with the recurring ones or analyze the bounce rate of your campaigns. 

UTM parameters are tags added to your URLs, allowing you to track the effectiveness of your digital marketing campaigns. They provide insights into user behavior, traffic sources, and campaign performance, empowering you to make data-driven decisions and optimize your marketing strategies.