Introduction

UTM parameters are customized tags that can be added to URLs. These parameters that do not change the content, but enable analyzing how the visitor got to the link. They can be used both in Google Analytics and Exponea. Exponea automatically recognizes some UTM parameters from links as well as adds some into all the emails sent.

How UTM parameters work in Exponea

Parsing UTM into session_start

When visitor comes to website with UTM parameters present in the URL, Exponea JS SDK automatically parses following into session_start event properties:

• utm_campaign
• utm_source
• utm_medium
• utm_content
• utm_term

Additionally these URL parameters are parsed:

• campaign_id
• gclid

Other URL parameters are not parsed, however you can add more event properties into session_start (maybe other UTM parameters) by following a part of tracking guide.

Automatic UTM in scenarios

When sending emails from Exponea scenario, following UTM parameters are added to hyperlinks in emails automatically:

• utm_campaign (value from email action node name)
• utm_medium (always "email")
• utm_source ("exponea" by default)

For example if you send an email with Email action node named "2016-10-27-newsletter" with a link to https://exponea.com/, final link will look like this:

https://exponea.com/?utm_campaign=2016-10-27-newsletter&utm_source=exponea&utm_medium=email

Changing default utm_source

You can set utm_source in Project settings > Emails > UTM Source

Overriding automatic UTM parameters

As you see Exponea adds UTM parameters automatically (utm_campaign, utm_source, utm_medium). If you want to override let's say utm_medium, you can do that by changing the link.

For an example https://exponea.com/?utm_medium=crm will create this final link:

https://exponea.com/?utm_medium=crm&utm_campaign=2016-10-27-newsletter&utm_source=exponea

Adding other UTM parameters

If you want to add other UTM parameters, which are not added by Exponea by default, you can do so by appending link in your email template. For example to add utm_id you can do:

https://exponea.com/?utm_id=442178

Best Practices

Using UTM parameters alone is not enough to be able to analyze them successfully. Here are few tips that can help you use them effectively:

Create a naming convention

• be consistent in naming (have a guideline to be shared within the team) - do not use different terms in different campaigns to prevent duplicates (e.g. fb, facebook, etc...)
• use dashes instead of underscores, percentage and plus scores - This helps different browser and search engines recognize the words
• use only lowercase - when analyzing, the terms are case-sensitive, and it prevents having different duplicates
• use simple, easy-to read naming - don't use internal numbering system or other terms that are not obvious
• each parameter should provide different, but useful information -e.g. when you already use NL03052017 as a campaign name, it is useless to put newsletter into source.

Choose the correct parameter:

• Campaign Source – The platform (or vendor) where the traffic originates, like Facebook, Google, etc..
• Campaign Medium – You can use this to identify the medium like Cost Per Click (CPC), social media, email, sms, affiliate or QR code. This can be used to e.g. differentiate links from paid traffic, profile info links, posts on wall, etc.
• Campaign Term – You’ll use this mainly for tracking your keywords during a paid AdWords campaign.
• Campaign Content – If you’re A/B testing ads, then this is a useful metric that passes details about your ad. You can also use it to differentiate links that point to the same URL, e.g. from a picture, from text link, from a button, etc. If there are multiple links with the same URL, they should each have a different UTM parameter.
• Campaign Name – This is just to identify your campaign. Like your website or a specific product promotion, or date of the newsletter, etc.

You can use this table as a guide when creating your own UTM tags.