What is UTM, and how is it useful for DIGITAL MARKETING?

UTM is a tool that helps measure marketing results by examining which platforms or advertisements people who visit our website come from. It allows us to measure the effectiveness of marketing campaigns and choose the appropriate platforms and media formats to improve our online marketing plan.

The COVID-19 outbreak helped stimulate the digital world and caused significant growth. People are now spending much more time online. In 2021, Thais were online for an average of 9.6 hours a day and each used around 7.6 social media platforms. But how do we know which platforms work best for our brands, and where should we put our focus? For any campaign that attracts a target audience, UTM Tracking is the answer. Today, we will share with you what UTM is and how it can be used to your advantage.

UTM คืออะไร

What is UTM?

UTM is also known as UTM Links, UTM Tracking, or UTM Tags, but what are all these terms? And how is it useful for online marketers? Let’s find out. 

UTM, short for Urchin Tracking Modules, is one of the tools used to measure marketing performance. It allows us to know where the traffic to our website is coming from. The medium, channel and campaign data are all collected and processed in Google Analytics. UTM helps measure marketing results and select the best website or platforms to advertise your brand. This will help you plan and distribute your budget more efficiently.

The UTM looks like a landing page link, but it’s slightly different. For example:

A non-UTM link: www.primal.co.th/seo/

A UTM link: www.primal.co.th/seo/?utm_campaign=what-is-seo &utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter

It can be done by using a link attached to UTM tracking instead of a regular link, and that’s about it.

You can use a website that provides a UTM link building service for you if you don’t want the hassle of doing it yourself. Many websites offer services, including Google; by simply filling in the Source, Medium and Campaign name, you can then copy and paste the link to use it. Or, if you want to shorten it, you can use a service that shortens URLs.

UTM Parameters มีอะไรบ้าง

UTM Parameters มีอะไรบ้าง

There are five UTM parameters, but basically, only three are used: utm _source, utm_medium, and utm_campaign. The remaining two are utm _content and utm_term.

  1. Source will tell you where the traffic comes from, be it a website, email, or platform that led people to visit your website.
  2. Medium – Media or things that drive people to us, such as banners, links, videos, or other mediums linked to our website.
  3. Campaign – The name of the campaign we use in marketing, such as ‘Songkran’ or ‘Mid Year Sale’.
  4. Content –  Content that is broken down within campaigns, for example, if you have multiple images in one campaign, content parameters will measure which images are clicked most by people.
  5. Term is a parameter used with keyword-based Google Ads to tell you which keywords people are coming through from.

What are the benefits of UTM?

Many people may think that UTM tracking is a difficult task, but the reality is that UTM is more useful than we think.

  1. It allows you to measure and analyse online marketing campaigns more accurately to choose the most profitable channels for your business.
  2. It enables you to choose media formats and channels that appeal to your target audience; for example, if there are a lot of clicks from emails, it shows that email marketing is effective for your business.
  3. It reduces unnecessary expense as you do not have to exist on every platform, so if any channel doesn’t work, you can remove it.
  4. It works as a guideline for future marketing planning to be more efficient.
  5. It improves your position on search engines and your SEO.

Lastly, let’s talk about REDIRECT with 301 and 302

For anyone creating a new website for whatever reason, and not wanting to let go of their previous search engine ranking, we recommended using Redirect 301 techniques for permanent website changes and Redirect 302 for temporary ones. 

UTM Tracking is essential for online marketers to measure marketing activities like Google Ads across platforms, using a simple but effective tool. It is also completely free and yet another tool Primal would recommend to any marketer.