HubSpot UTM parameters are a powerful tool for tracking and optimizing your marketing campaigns. They allow you to attribute specific actions to your marketing efforts, giving you a clear picture of what's working and what's not.
By using UTM parameters, you can track the performance of individual campaigns, ad groups, and even specific ads. This level of granularity is crucial for making data-driven decisions and optimizing your marketing strategy.
To get started with HubSpot UTM parameters, you'll need to create a tracking URL that includes the relevant parameters. This can be done using HubSpot's built-in URL builder tool.
What Are UTM Parameters?
UTM parameters are five tags you can add to the end of the URLs of your marketing or promotional efforts.
These tags allow analytics software to track information, such as how visitors are coming to your site and if they're interacting with any content associated with a campaign.
UTM parameters are simple code snippets added to the end of a URL, specifically designed to track the performance of online marketing campaigns across traffic sources and publishing media.
They help marketers identify which campaigns are most effective in driving visitors to their desired destination, be it a website, a landing page, or a product page.
UTM parameters don't change the content of the post, but rather allow for analytics to interpret the origin and basic engagement information about the visitor.
You can add three of the possible five tags to a URL: utm_content, utm_medium, and utm_source.
Setting Up and Creating Links
To set up and create links with UTM parameters in HubSpot, you'll need to create a tracking URL. This can be done by navigating to Reports > Analytics Tools > Tracking URL Builder. From there, click on "Create tracking URL" and fill in the required fields, including utm_source, utm_medium, and utm_campaign.
You can also use a spreadsheet as a central hub to help everyone stay aligned and avoid mistakes. For example, you can use a spreadsheet to create a naming convention across your business to ensure you can track campaigns accurately and consistently.
To ensure consistency across various campaigns, it's essential to regulate and oversee UTM parameters. This can be done by reviewing and organizing tracking URLs in Settings > Tracking & Analytics. Additionally, ensure consistency in UTM parameter use across all marketing materials.
The five core components of UTM parameters are:
- utm_source: Identifies the source of traffic, such as a search engine or a newsletter.
- utm_medium: Specifies the medium through which the traffic is coming, for example, email or CPC.
- utm_campaign: Describes the specific campaign or promotion that’s driving traffic.
- utm_term: Notes the keywords for paid search campaigns.
- utm_content: Helps differentiate similar content, or links within the same ad.
These parameters are appended to URLs to accurately track the effectiveness of various marketing strategies and campaigns.
Understanding and Managing Parameters
Understanding and managing UTM parameters is crucial for marketers looking to track the effectiveness of online campaigns. They ensure that every click provides valuable data about the traffic sources which help in making informed decisions.
UTM codes have four key elements: source, medium, campaign, and content. You don't need to be a coder to create them, as there are tools that generate the codes for you.
To manage UTM settings centrally in HubSpot, go to Settings > Tracking & Analytics > Tracking URLs. This is where you can review and organize tracking URLs, ensuring consistency in UTM parameter use across all marketing materials.
Here are some key steps to manage UTM settings effectively in HubSpot:
- Review and organize tracking URLs in Settings > Tracking & Analytics.
- Ensure consistency in UTM parameter use across all marketing materials.
- Utilize HubSpot’s capability to tag marketing assets with UTM parameters directly.
What Is Code?
UTM codes are a way of inserting tags into a link to track where this link was clicked.
They allow us to track specific marketing or sales campaigns and differentiate between a link clicked within a marketing email or on a social media platform.
UTMs are useful because standard tracking softwares are not always accurate in terms of origin.
UTM codes only apply to outbound marketing campaigns, for example email marketing, social media, paid ads etc.
They cannot be applied to direct or organic traffic, except for Google My Business.
Understanding
UTM codes identify where traffic originates from in terms of interaction with your campaign. They use parameters specified in the code, which can be filtered by a specific parameter in Google Analytics or other software to easily analyze performance.
There are four key parts to a UTM code that you need to be aware of. Don't worry, there are tools that generate the codes for you, so you don't need to be a coder to create them.
UTM parameters are critical for marketers looking to track the effectiveness of online campaigns. They ensure that every click provides valuable data about the traffic sources which help in making informed decisions.
A well-structured UTM parameter for a HubSpot tracking URL might look like this: utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=spring_sale&utm_content=ad_variant_1, which details the source, medium, campaign name, and content variant.
UTM codes only apply to outbound marketing campaigns, such as email marketing, social media, and paid ads.
Tracking Campaign Performance
To track campaign performance with UTM parameters in HubSpot, one can create a tracking URL with distinct UTM codes for each campaign element. HubSpot tracks these URLs when they are used, allowing users to monitor how visitors engage with their marketing efforts.
HubSpot recommends a consistent naming convention for UTM parameters to ensure accurate reporting. Parameters should be clear and descriptive, and avoid spaces and special characters; instead, use underscores or hyphens to separate words.
To analyze the data collected from UTM parameters in HubSpot's reporting tools, users can view campaign performance data based on different UTM parameters in the Reports dashboard. This allows for filtering and drilling down into specific campaigns to gain insights into the traffic and conversions each campaign generates.
UTM parameters serve as essential tools for tracking the performance of online campaigns across various channels, capturing critical data concerning the source, medium, and campaign specifics. This enables a precise analysis of traffic and engagement.
To set up a UTM campaign within HubSpot, one must first create custom UTM parameters, then add these to the tracking URLs. Next, the tracking URLs are used in campaigns, and finally, ensure the HubSpot tracking code is installed on the website to collect data.
Marketing and Automation
UTM parameters play a pivotal role in marketing analytics, allowing marketers to measure the success of campaigns and understand how different channels contribute to their goals.
By analyzing the data collected through UTM parameters, marketers can determine return on investment (ROI) and adjust campaigns for better performance. UTM parameters like utm_source and utm_medium offer insights into the path users take to reach website content.
In HubSpot, the Traffic Analytics Tool has a built-in UTM report which combines both web and marketing automation data. This report automatically populates when UTMs are included in website links, as long as the HubSpot tracking code is present on the landing page.
Pardot can also automatically track UTM parameters through the Google Analytics Connector, adding five custom Prospect fields that store the UTM campaign, source, content, medium, and term.
Marketing Automation
Marketing automation tools like HubSpot and Pardot can automatically track UTM parameters through connectors like the Google Analytics Connector.
UTM parameters like utm_campaign, utm_source, utm_medium, utm_term, and utm_content can be used to track and analyze marketing campaigns, providing valuable insights into which channels and content are driving the most traffic and conversions.
To track campaign performance using UTM parameters in HubSpot, you can create a tracking URL with distinct UTM codes for each campaign element. HubSpot tracks these URLs when they are used, allowing users to monitor how visitors engage with their marketing efforts.
Reporting on UTMs in the MAP or CRM involves more complexity than in GA, but tools like HubSpot's Traffic Analytics Tool can help simplify the process.
Here are some common UTM parameters and their meanings:
- cpc – paid traffic from platforms like Google Ads and Bing Ads
- organic – non-paid traffic via a result from a search engine like Google or Bing
- social – non-paid traffic from social platforms like Facebook or YouTube
- paidsocial – paid traffic from social platforms like Facebook or Twitter
- email – traffic via links in your emails
- referral – non-paid traffic from any external website that isn’t a social media platform
- video – traffic via links in videos except from YouTube advertising
- document – traffic via links on offline documents like PDFs or PowerPoint presentations
- Offline – traffic that isn’t coming from an online source
- (none) – traffic with no referring medium
Analyzing UTM parameter data in HubSpot is done via the Reports dashboard, where one can view campaign performance data based on different UTM parameters.
Forms
Forms play a crucial role in capturing valuable data from potential customers. You can automatically complete hidden fields with UTM data, making it easier to track the effectiveness of your marketing channels and campaigns.
Attributer captures UTM parameters and stores them in a cookie in the visitor's browser. This information is then written into the hidden field when the visitor completes a form.
UTM parameters can include details like Channel, Channel Drilldown 1, and Channel Drilldown 2. For example, if someone clicked on a paid search ad on Google, the UTM parameter for Channel would be "Paid Search", Channel Drilldown 1 would be "Google", and Channel Drilldown 2 would be the value of the utm_campaign parameter.
Here's an example of what UTM parameters might look like in a hidden field:
- Channel = Paid Search
- Channel Drilldown 1 = Google
- Channel Drilldown 2 = Brand Campaign
- Channel Drilldown 3 = Hubspot
HubSpot Forms also allow you to collect UTM parameters, which can be stored in custom properties and added to forms as hidden fields. This integration helps you collect critical data without compromising user experience.
Best Practices and Optimization
To achieve accurate and useful data for analysis, it's essential to apply certain best practices to UTM parameters. This includes utilizing them to track marketing campaigns.
Testing and optimizing campaigns is crucial to ensure UTM parameters record the desired information. This involves testing before launch and conducting an analysis post-launch using HubSpot's analytics.
To gauge campaign performance and inform decisions for future efforts, you can use data from testing and analysis.
Best Practices
To ensure accurate and useful data for analysis, it's essential to apply certain best practices when utilizing UTM parameters to track marketing campaigns.
Google Analytics is case sensitive, so all parameters should be lower-case to avoid separating data between Facebook and facebook, making analysis very difficult.
Avoid using spaces in UTM parameters, as they are not supported by browsers and will be replaced by %20 in the URL bar, which doesn't look great. Instead, use a hyphen (-) or an underscore (_) if necessary.
Special characters will also not be supported by browsers and can break the tracking, leaving you with inaccurate data. Stick to using letters from the English alphabet and numbers.
Consistency is key when using UTM parameters. Using the same parameters across long periods of time means you can analyze data more easily. Once a parameter has been chosen, don't change it to avoid losing the ability to analyze your data efficiently.
Here are the Golden Rules of UTM parameters to keep in mind:
Testing and Optimization
Testing and Optimization is crucial to the success of your marketing campaigns. It's imperative to test UTM parameters before launching a campaign to ensure they correctly record the desired information.
You should use HubSpot's analytics to conduct an analysis and gauge campaign performance post-launch. This data can inform decisions to optimize future efforts.
To track and analyze UTM parameters in HubSpot effectively, you could learn from A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating and Analyzing UTM Parameters in HubSpot.
Integrating and Analyzing Data
Integrating UTM parameters with HubSpot is a game-changer for marketers. By doing so, you can dissect campaign effectiveness and optimize lead conversion paths.
To integrate UTM parameters with HubSpot's rich features, you can use tools like HubSpot's tracking URL builder to generate links containing UTM parameters. This allows you to track marketing campaigns and analyze data in a more granular way.
HubSpot can integrate seamlessly with Google Analytics, allowing for UTM parameters to be tracked across both platforms. This integration provides a holistic view of campaign performance and visitor behavior. By leveraging this integration, you can gain insights into the performance of various traffic sources at a granular level.
Analyzing UTM parameter data in HubSpot is done via the Reports dashboard, where you can view campaign performance data based on different UTM parameters.
Reporting in Other Places
Reporting in other places, like a marketing automation platform (MAP) and CRM, can provide another layer of reporting. This can help you connect the dots when it comes to marketing attribution.
Using UTMs in a MAP and CRM, in addition to Google Analytics, can give you a more complete view of your marketing efforts. You can see the total number of sessions, unique sessions, page views, the average time on page, and the bounce rate for a particular utm_campaign.
With Ecommerce Tracking, you can attribute online purchases to utm sources or campaigns. This can help you understand which marketing efforts are driving sales.
By setting up Goals in Google Analytics, you can also include web engagement, like form submissions, in utm reports. This can give you a better understanding of how your website is performing.
Form submissions and revenue are often tracked within the marketing automation MAP and CRM. Leveraging UTMs in those platforms can help you connect the dots between marketing efforts and sales.
Analyzing Data in Reporting Tools
You can view campaign performance data based on different UTM parameters in HubSpot's Reports dashboard.
To analyze UTM parameter data in HubSpot, users can filter and drill down into specific campaigns to gain insights into the traffic and conversions each campaign generates. HubSpot allows users to view campaign performance data based on different UTM parameters.
By leveraging HubSpot's custom reports feature, users can create detailed analytics reflecting the performance of different UTM parameters. These reports enable marketers to dissect their traffic on a granular level, sorting by utm_source, utm_medium, or utm_campaign.
UTM parameters are pivotal in understanding the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, allowing HubSpot users to gather detailed data on source, medium, and campaign success. This data can be used to increase return on investment through strategic optimization.
Analyzing UTM parameter data in HubSpot's Traffic Analytics Tool can reveal the number of website visitors and contacts generated by a particular UTM campaign.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to see UTM parameters in HubSpot?
To view UTM parameters in HubSpot, create custom properties for each parameter and map them to your tracking URLs. This allows you to track and access UTM data directly within your HubSpot account.
What are the 5 UTM parameters?
The 5 UTM parameters are: campaign, source, medium, term, and content. These parameters are added to the end of a URL to track and measure online marketing efforts.
Sources
- https://blog.hubspot.com/customers/understanding-basics-utm-parameters
- https://www.innovationvisual.com/knowledge/utm-tracking-best-practices
- https://marketingtechstack.com/2022/04/29/utm-parameters-101/
- https://www.weberlo.com/guides/hubspot-utm-parameters
- https://attributer.io/blog/track-utm-parameters-in-hubspot-crm
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