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What is a UTM Parameter?

UTM (Urchin Tracking Module) Parameters are typically included as part of a query string in a URL. They consist of 5 URL parameter keys used in marketing to track the effectiveness of online marketing campaigns across different traffic sources and media.

The name Urchin is from Urchin Software Corporation. UTM Parameters being part of a discontinued program that was acquired by Google in April 2005, which became Google Analytics.

Most popularly used by Google Analytics to determine traffic sources, mediums, campaigns, terms and content, UTM parameters are widely supported by analytics tools as generally universal accepted metrics to evaluate effectiveness of marketing and advertising.

Today, many Marketing platforms support UTM parameters, including Pardot’s Google Analytics Connector.

UTM parameters

There are 5 different UTM parameters, which may be used in any order:

ParameterPurposeExample
utm_sourceIdentifies which site sent the traffic, and is a required parameter.utm_source=google
utm_mediumIdentifies what type of link was used, such as cost per click or email.utm_medium=cpc
utm_campaignIdentifies a specific product promotion or strategic campaign.utm_campaign=spring_sale
utm_termIdentifies search terms.utm_term=running+shoes
utm_contentIdentifies what specifically was clicked to bring the user to the site, such as a banner ad or a text link. It is often used for A/B testing and content-targeted ads.utm_content=logolink or utm_content=textlink
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UTM_parameters

Key Terms:

· URL = Universal Resource Locator. This is the unique address of something on the internet. For example:
https://cypresslearning.com

· Query String. This is defined the after “?” in the URL. It’s a key-value Pair that can be used to pass through additional parameters in the URL. For example:
https://cypresslearning.com?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email

· UTM = Urchin Tracking Module . These are snippets of text added to the end of a URL to help you track where website traffic comes from if users click a link to this URL.