UTM Tracking in Partner Marketing – What You Need To Know?

UTM tracking is a powerful tool for tracking partner marketing campaigns’ effectiveness and identifying improvement opportunities. UTM tracking, or Urchin Tracking Module tracking, is a method of tracking the effectiveness of online marketing campaigns by attaching unique URL parameters to the links in a campaign. 

These parameters, known as “query strings”, consist of key-value pairs that specify the information being tracked, such as the source of the traffic, the medium through which the traffic was generated, and the name of the campaign. 

When a user clicks on a UTM-tracked link, their web browser sends this information to the website’s server, which can then be recorded and analyzed using tools like Google Analytics. This allows marketers to see how many clicks each link in a campaign is generating, as well as other important metrics such as the bounce rate and conversion rate. 

UTM tracking is an efficient method for measuring the efficacy of internet marketing initiatives and assisting marketers in making informed decisions about where to direct their resources.

How does UTM tracking work?

UTM tracking works by attaching a unique URL parameter to the links in a marketing campaign. This parameter is appended to the end of the URL and consists of a set of key-value pairs that specify the information being tracked.

For example, a UTM-tracked link might look like this:

www.scaleo.io?utm_source=google&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=summer_sale

In this example, the utm_source parameter specifies that the traffic is coming from Google, the utm_medium parameter specifies that the traffic is coming through email, and the utm_campaign parameter specifies the name of the campaign.

When a user clicks on a UTM-tracked link, their web browser sends this information to the website’s server, which can then be recorded and analyzed using tools like Google Analytics. This allows marketers to see how many clicks each link in a campaign is generating, as well as other important metrics such as the bounce rate and conversion rate.

How can UTM Parameters be useful in partner marketing?

UTM parameters can be useful in affiliate marketing in a number of ways. Some of the best uses of UTM parameters in affiliate marketing include:

1. Tracking the performance of specific affiliates or marketing channels: By attaching unique UTM parameters to the links shared with affiliates, you can track which affiliates or marketing channels are generating the most clicks and conversions. This can help you identify the most effective affiliates and allocate your resources accordingly.
2. Identifying the effectiveness of specific campaigns: By using UTM parameters to track the performance of specific campaigns, you can see which campaigns are generating the most clicks and conversions and make adjustments to improve their performance.
3. A/B testing different versions of a campaign: By using the utm_content parameter to specify different campaign variations, you can A/B test different versions of your campaigns and see which ones are the most effective.
4. Tracking the performance of specific keywords or ad copy: By using the utm_term parameter to track specific keywords or ad copy, you can see which ones are the most effective at driving clicks and conversions.

Overall, UTM parameters can be a powerful tool for tracking the performance of your affiliate marketing campaigns and identifying opportunities for improvement.

What information can be passed with UTM tracking parameters?

There are five main UTM tracking parameters that you can use to pass information about a marketing campaign. Here is an example of a typical URL with UTM parameters:

http://www.scaleo.io?utm_source=google&utm_medium=paid_search&utm_campaign=spring_sale&utm_term=women's_shoes&utm_content=banner_ad

In this example we can see:

1. utm_source: This parameter specifies the traffic source, such as Google, Facebook, or an email newsletter.
2. utm_medium: This parameter specifies the medium through which the traffic was generated, such as email, social media, or paid search.
3. utm_campaign: This parameter allows you to specify the name of the campaign. This can be useful for organizing and grouping your data into analytics tools like Google Analytics.
4. utm_term: This parameter allows you to specify the keywords or terms associated with the campaign. This can be useful for tracking the effectiveness of specific keywords in paid search campaigns.
5. utm_content: This parameter allows you to specify the specific content or variation of the campaign, such as a particular ad or landing page. This can be useful for A/B testing different variations of a campaign.

It’s important to note that these parameters are optional, and you can choose to use as few or as many as you need depending on your goals and tracking needs. It’s also a good idea to establish a naming convention for your campaigns to make it easier to organize and analyze your data.

When a user clicks on this UTM-tracked link, their web browser sends this information to the website’s server, which can then be recorded and analyzed using tools like Google Analytics. 

This allows marketers to see how many clicks each link in a campaign is generating, as well as other important metrics such as the bounce rate and conversion rate.

How does UTM compare to Google Click Identifier (GCLID)?

Google Click Identifier (GCLID) is a unique tracking parameter that Google generates and appends to the ad’s destination URL when clicked. Like UTM tracking, GCLID allows marketers to see which ads are generating the most clicks and conversions.

One key difference between UTM tracking and GCLID is that UTM tracking is manually implemented by the marketer, while Google automatically generates GCLID. This means that UTM tracking requires more setup and maintenance on the part of the marketer but also allows for more flexibility and customization in terms of the parameters being tracked.

As for whether you should use UTM tracking with Google Analytics, it depends on your specific needs and goals. UTM tracking can be a useful supplement to Google Analytics, as it allows you to track the effectiveness of specific campaigns and links in more detail. 

However, if you are primarily interested in tracking overall traffic and user behavior on your website, Google Analytics may be sufficient on its own.

Ultimately, whether you choose to use UTM tracking or GCLID (or both) will depend on your specific needs and goals as a marketer, as well as the resources you have available for tracking and analysis.

How to use Use UTM with Scaleo affiliate marketing software?

To use UTM tracking with Scaleo affiliate marketing software, you will need to follow these steps:

1. Define the UTM parameters that you want to track for your campaigns. This will typically include the utm_source, utm_medium, and utm_campaign parameters at a minimum.
2. Generate the UTM-tracked links for your campaigns. You can use a tool like Google Analytics URL Builder to generate the UTM-tracked links for your campaigns. Simply enter the desired values for each parameter, and the tool will generate a complete UTM-tracked link for you.
3. Share the UTM-tracked links with your affiliates. You can do this by providing the links to your affiliates directly or by integrating the links into your affiliate marketing software.
4. Track the results of your campaigns using the data collected by Scaleo and your analytics tools. You can use this data to see which campaigns are performing well and which are not and make adjustments to your marketing strategy accordingly.

It’s important to note that you will need to have Google Analytics or a similar analytics tool set up on your website in order to track the results of your UTM-tracked campaigns. 

You may also need to adjust your analytics settings to ensure that the data from your UTM-tracked campaigns are being properly recorded and analyzed.

Why Use Scaleo to Track Your Campaigns?

Are you tired of struggling to track the effectiveness of your partner marketing campaigns? Look no further than Scaleo, a comprehensive partner marketing software that offers advanced tracking capabilities, including integration with UTM tracking.

With Scaleo, you can easily track the performance of your partner marketing campaigns using UTM parameters. Simply attach unique UTM parameters to the links shared with your partners, and Scaleo will automatically track and record the results. This allows you to see which partners are generating the most clicks and conversions, and make adjustments to your marketing strategy accordingly.

But that’s not all – Scaleo also offers a range of other advanced tracking features, including the ability to track the performance of specific campaigns, keywords, and ad copy. You can even use Scaleo to A/B test different variations of your campaigns and see which ones perform the best.

Try Scaleo free for 14 days and see the difference for yourself!

Conclusion

UTM tracking is a method of tracking the effectiveness of online marketing campaigns by attaching a unique URL parameter to the links in a campaign. This allows marketers to see how much traffic is coming from specific campaigns and which links within a campaign are generating the most clicks.

To implement UTM tracking, marketers must first define the parameters they want to track, such as the source of the traffic (e.g. Google, Facebook), the medium (e.g. email, social media), and the specific campaign name. These parameters are then added to the end of a URL as a query string, with each parameter preceded by “utm_”.

When a user clicks on a link with UTM tracking, their web browser will send this information to the website’s server, which can then be recorded and analyzed using tools like Google Analytics. This allows marketers to see how many clicks each link in a campaign is generating, as well as other important metrics such as the bounce rate and conversion rate.

UTM tracking is a useful tool for measuring the effectiveness of online marketing campaigns and can help marketers make informed decisions about where to allocate their resources.

Last Updated on January 17, 2024