What is UTM Term and how do I use it?
UTM Term is a small bit of code appended to the end of marketing links, designed to track what paid search terms, phrases or categories users clicked on and share it with Google Analytics / Ads. UTM stands for Urchin Tracking Module, Urchin was acquired by Google in 2005. Query String Parameters (like utm_term) are added to the end of marketing URLs help track conversions and calculate marketing ROI (Return on Investment).
Who uses UTM Term?
Marketeers and advertisers who want to understand which Paid Search terms, phrases or categories - bring engaged, converting audiences to their website. By understanding what marketing converts and what doesn’t, they can adjust their marketing spend and strategy to get the best ROI. Although utm_term was designed to be used with Google platforms, it can also be read and used by other marketing platforms. You don’t have to use Google Analytics or run Google Ads to use UTMs.
How to use UTM Term?
The best way to understand UTM Term is to click on a paid search link in a search engine like Google or Bing. The landing page with UTMs will often be structured like below: www.cutedogs.com?utm_source=google&utm_medium=paid_search&utm_term=dogs
By creating separate links for different terms, analytics platforms know what users clicked on and can categorise engagement and conversions into those keywords or categories in analytics platforms.
After your landing page URL, add a question mark to indicate you are appending query string parameters. Then the parameter name and parameter value, separated by an equal sign. You can add multiple query string parameters by adding ampersands in between.
We recommend using a UTM builder like Uplifter to create uniform, error-free links quickly.
Once your links are applied to your paid search ads, you can login to Google Analytics and segment your marketing activity by the campaign dimension.
Examples of UTM Term naming
Some companies have unique utm_terms for each keyword they are bidding on, others may use utm_term to tag groups of keywords (phrases) or list keyword categories such as generic or branded.
Generic keywords refer to products or questions, examples: dog+food, best+dog+food
Branded keywords examples: pedigree+dog+food, pedigree
How granular you track depends on the about of time you have to create and apply unique tracking links.
Different types of UTMs
Most campaign links have more than one query string parameter. utm_term is one of five common Google query string parameters, along with utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign and utm_content. Each parameter is a different way to categorise, filter and report on your marketing activity. We recommend using at least four parameters for paid search: Source, Medium, Campaign and Term.
UTM parameterDefinitionExampleutm_sourceWhere the user came from. This is often a publisher, social network, partner or email.google, facebook, newsletter, tradeshowutm_mediumHow the user got to your website. What type of marketing did they click on to get to your website?paid search, display, email, cpc, posterutm_campaignIdentifies a specific product promotion or strategic campaign.spring_sale, blackfriday, dog_foodutm_term (optional)Used for paid search. Use utm_term to note the keywords, phrases or type of PPC for this ad.dog+food, brandtermsutm_content (optional)Used for A/B testing and content-targeted ads. Use utm_content to differentiate ads or links that point to the same URL.logolink, textlink, imagelink
UTM Term best practice
Follow best practice to make sure your UTM tracking works and future colleagues can understand reports:
Name terms clearly. Your names should be simple and use recognisable terms, matching the keywords and keyword rules you are bidding on. Avoid acronyms, this enables users to understand what data they are looking at without having to use a lookup table to decipher meaning.
Always use lower case letters. This will make your reports easier to read, UTMs are case sensitive.
Spaces in a code should be replaced by underscores _ or pipe symbols |. Otherwise, spaces could either break the code or represented as a messy %20.
No long parameter names. Keep any names under 40 characters, some MarTech Platforms have character limits.
Don't use inappropriate or discriminatory language. End users can see utm_term in their browser.
Be careful if your landing page has redirects. If your landing page has a redirect, you need to implement campaign links on both the original landing page and the redirect page. Otherwise, the original landing page could be picked up as the referrer of traffic.
Don't use utm_term on links between internal website pages. If you do, your campaign data will be overwritten, and you will lose the original tracking source. You can use internal promotion code parameters for tracking internal links.
