Tracking is an essential module in every digital campaign. It helps you measure the impact of your digital marketing campaigns whiles keeping you on track with your goals.
Say you want to know how many people used a link from your social media post to purchase a product or how many subscribers read your latest newsletter. It will be impossible to monitor all these goals without setting up tracking URLs.
Meanwhile, with all the advantages it comes with, not all marketers track their campaigns.
According to a2015 report from Forbes, only 22% of marketers have data-driven initiatives for achieving significant results.
As if that is not enough, another study byITSMA and Vision Edge Marketingfound 74% of marketers can’t measure or report how their marketing efforts impacted their businesses.
This shows that tracking campaigns for your business makes you one of the few marketers who are able to achieve this feat.
In this article, we will be looking at what tracking URLs are, how to set them up, and how you can use them to measure campaign performance.
What are Tracking URLs
A tracking URL is any link that contains UTM parameters for tracking and analytics purposes.
UTM (Urchin tracking module) tags in URLs identify marketing campaigns & and help marketers identify traffic sources. It can be used to measure how visitors are coming to your site and how they interact on your webpage.
Adding UTM tags to your landing pages, ebooks, and social media links allows you to track valuable data like clicks, conversions, average time spent on a page, etc., in analytics software like Google Analytics. It helps you understand what content your visitors appreciate.
What Metrics can you track with a URL tracking link?
Inserting UTM tags in tracking URLs allows you to monitor and track important metrics for your campaigns. Here are some metrics that can be tracked with UTM tags.
- Impressions
- Page views
- Clicks
- Average time spent on page
- Tech and demographics of Visitors
- Click through rates for your campaigns
- Conversions
What are some UTM Tags used in Tracking URLs
The table below explains what UTM Tags are; and how they are used to build campaigns.
| Tag | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Campaign ID | NO | used to identify campaigns |
| Campaign Source | YES | shows where visitors are coming from |
| Campaign Medium | YES | shows which channels are bringing visitors to your landing page |
| Campaign Name | NO | It’s used to identify which campaign the promotion is associated with |
| Campaign Term | NO | Used to identify paid keywords you’re targeting with your campaign |
| Campaign Content | NO | Used to track elements on your ad or promotion that was clicked. |
What does a campaign tracking URL look like?
A simple URL tracking link can look like this;
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This campaign is built to track visitors who purchase an eBook from Facebook using our special Facebook 2023 promo.
How to create a Tracking URL for your campaigns
Creating Tracking URLs for your campaigns is very easy. You can do this by using this free tool called Google Analytics Campaign URL Builder.
- Visit GA Campaign Builder
- On the left menu, select Campaign URL Builder
- Paste the link to the landing page you want to direct traffic to
- Choose your Campaign ID
- Complete the source, medium, name, term, and content fields.
NB:- Not all fields are required.
- Once you confirm all the parameters, the campaign builder will generate a campaign URL for you at the bottom of the page. Copy this tracking address and use it for all your campaigns.
Tracking URLs best practices
- Use link shortening tools to trim your URL links because using the default campaign URL generated will be very lengthy.
- Use only the campaign parameters you need at the moment. You don’t have to always use all the variables when building a link. For example, you may use “campaign term” when tracking paid search Keywords, or “campaign content” when you are tracking only one call to action.
- Don’t send any personally identifiable information (PII) such as names, email addresses, or social security numbers as it’s against Google Analytics terms of service.
How to track campaign results in Google Analytics
Once your tracking URL has been generated and installed in most of your campaigns, It is time to monitor the results in Google Analytics. Here is how to use Google Analytics to track campaign results.
- Login to your Google Analytics account and select Acquisition reports.
- Tap on All Traffic >> Source/Medium
NB:- You can use a secondary dimension to track visitors’ other metrics.
Final Thoughts
URL tracking is the process of adding identifiable parameters to links to help you identify the impact of your marketing campaigns.
Doing this will keep you informed about marketing decisions and will generally impact how you plan your digital marketing campaigns.
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