Back

Urchin Tracking Module

The Urchin Tracking Module (UTM) is a set of five URL parameters used in digital marketing to track the efficacy of online marketing campaigns and content across traffic sources. When appended to a URL, these tags relay critical source information to analytics platforms like Google Analytics.


The five primary parameters are:

  1. utm_source: Identifies the specific source of traffic (e.g., google, newsletter).
  2. utm_medium: Specifies the marketing channel (e.g., cpc, email, social).
  3. utm_campaign: Names the specific product or strategic campaign (e.g., spring_sale, brand_awareness).
  4. utm_term (Optional): Notes the paid search keyword for advertising.
  5. utm_content (Optional): Differentiates between similar content or links within the same ad or email.

This systematic tagging allows for granular segmentation and attribution, enabling marketers to precisely measure Return on Investment (ROI) by correlating user engagement and conversions with the originating campaign asset.



Use Case

A software company, TechSolutions, is running an A/B test on two different call-to-action (CTA) buttons in a single email marketing blast promoting a new whitepaper. The goal is to determine which CTA drives a higher click-through rate and subsequent whitepaper download.


Shared Parameters (Consistent):

utm_source: mailchimp (The ESP)

utm_medium: email (The channel)

utm_campaign: q4_whitepaper_promo (The specific campaign)


Differentiating Parameters (utm_content):

CTA Link A (Button: "Download Now"):

URL includes: &utm_content=cta_download_now_btn

CTA Link B (Button: "Learn More"):

URL includes: &utm_content=cta_learn_more_btn


By analyzing the data under Acquisition > Campaigns > All Campaigns for q4_whitepaper_promo, the marketing team can now segment the results by utm_content. This reveals:

  1. The number of sessions, bounce rate, and conversion rate (Goal: Whitepaper Download) specifically driven by the "Download Now" CTA.
  2. The same metrics for the "Learn More" CTA.

Outcome: If the segment for cta_download_now_btn shows a 15% higher Goal Conversion Rate than cta_learn_more_btn, TechSolutions has data-backed proof that "Download Now" is the more effective CTA for future campaigns.

Share:
Contents Use Case