In this article, we're going to show you how to add UTM parameters to your email campaigns to measure their effectiveness and track your performance in analytics platforms like Google Analytics.
What are UTM Parameters?
UTM parameters (or "tags") are simple snippets of text added to the end of a URL. They help you track where your website traffic comes from.
When a user clicks a link with these parameters, the tags are sent to your analytics tool (like Google Analytics), allowing you to see which campaigns, sources, and mediums are driving the most engagement.
This feature helps you measure the effectiveness of your campaigns by automatically adding five standard UTM parameters to every link in your email:
- utm_source: The source of your traffic (e.g., monday_campaigns).
- utm_medium: The marketing medium (e.g., email).
- utm_campaign: The name of your specific campaign (e.g., july-newsletter).
- utm_content: Used to differentiate links or A/B tests (e.g., header-link or blue-button).
- utm_term: Used to identify paid keywords (less common for emails).
How to Set Up UTM Tracking
You can enable and configure UTM tracking for each campaign variant. To set it up:
1 Navigate to your campaign and click on the three dot menu next to the specific email variant you want to track
2 Click on Edit and then scroll down to the UTM Tracking section
3 Click on the arrow to open up the settings and then click the toggle on to enable UTM tracking
Next, you'll need to fill in the fields to customize the UTM tracking you need for your campaign.
Here is a breakdown of each field:
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Campaign Source (utm_source): This is where the traffic is coming from. We recommend setting this to a consistent value, such as monday_campaigns or newsletter.
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Campaign Medium (utm_medium): This is how the traffic is coming. For this feature, it's recommended to set this to email.
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Campaign Name (utm_campaign): This is the name of your campaign (e.g., july-newsletter).
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Campaign Content (utm_content): This is used to track different links within the same email. For example, if you are A/B testing a blue button vs. a red button, you could set this to blue-button or red-button for each variant.
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Campaign Term (utm_term): This is typically used for paid search campaigns to track keywords. You can leave this blank for most email campaigns.
Once enabled, these parameters will be automatically added to all links in your email when it is sent.
When you have finished filling in all of the fields, click on Save.
Best Practices
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Be Consistent: Always use the same naming conventions. For example, use email every time, not Email or e-mail. This keeps your analytics data clean and easy to read.
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Use utm_content for A/B Tests: This is the perfect way to track which variant in an A/B test is performing better. For "Variant A," you could set utm_content=variant-A, and for "Variant B," set utm_content=variant-B.
- Keep it Simple: Use clear, human-readable names for your campaigns and sources (e.g., spring-promo instead of promo_v3_final_02).
A Note on Manual UTM Links
If you have already built your own UTM parameters and manually added them to the links in your email (e.g., mylink.com?utm_source=manual), we recommend disabling this feature for that campaign.
Enabling automatic tracking on an email that already contains manual tags might not work correctly and could cause conflicts with your existing tags. For the most accurate tracking, please use either the automatic UTM feature or your own manual links, but not both in the same campaign.
Troubleshooting
How do I check if it's working?
Send a test email to yourself. Once you receive it, click any link in the email. Look at the URL in your browser's address bar. You should see the utm_ parameters you defined appended to the end of the link.
I enabled UTM tracking, but I don't see any data in Google Analytics.
Remember, you must have Google Analytics (or a similar tool) set up and configured correctly on your website to capture this data.
Data in Google Analytics is also not always real-time; it can sometimes take time to appear in your reports. Ensure your Google Analytics account is set up to track "Campaigns."
If you have any questions, please reach out to our team right here. We’re available 24/7 and happy to help.