Aug 2, 2024
5 mins read
Urchin Tracking Modules, or UTMs for short, are super important for anyone doing marketing. They’re these bits of info you tack onto the end of website links to see where visitors come from and how well your ads and stuff are working. But even though they’re handy, it’s easy to mess up with UTM tracking. Knowing what mistakes to avoid can really make a difference. By getting it right, you’ll get valuable data that helps your marketing efforts big time by showing you exactly how traffic gets to your site and which campaigns hit the mark.
At Usermaven, we’ve seen firsthand how common UTM mistakes can impact marketing analytics. That’s why we’ve developed our robust UTM Builder to help marketers avoid these pitfalls. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore ten critical UTM parameter mistakes and show you how to sidestep them.
UTM parameters are super important for figuring out where all the visitors to a website come from and how well different marketing efforts are doing. When marketers use UTM tracking, they can really see which ways of advertising, like social media or email campaigns, bring in the most people and lead to actions like sales.
Without these codes, it’s tough to know exactly which ad or email made someone visit your site. By putting UTM tracking into action, marketers get their hands on useful info that helps them tweak their ads better so they can make more money from what they spend.
In essence:
One of the most dangerous UTM mistakes is using tracking codes where they’re not needed or even counterproductive. This often happens when marketers add UTM parameters to internal links on their websites.
Example: A visitor comes to your blog from Twitter. They read your article and click on an internal link to a product page. If that internal link has UTM parameters, you’ll lose the valuable information that the visitor originally came from Twitter.
How to avoid it: Reserve UTM tracking for external links, such as:
Usermaven’s UTM Builder helps you focus on creating UTM codes for the right scenarios, ensuring you’re not overcomplicating your internal tracking.
UTM parameters can make your URLs long and unwieldy. This isn’t just an aesthetic issue; it can actually impact your marketing effectiveness.
Example of a messy URL:
https://www.yourwebsite.com/landing-page/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=summer_sale_2024&utm_content=hero_image&utm_term=discount_shoes
How to fix it:
This is where Replug’s link shortener comes to the rescue. It allows you to create clean, branded short URLs that are both user-friendly and trackable.
Shortened version:
https://repl.ug/summer24
Using Replug’s link shortener with Usermaven’s UTM Builder gives you the best of both worlds: comprehensive tracking and clean, professional-looking links.
Also read: Cracking Meta Threads analytics with UTM traffic tactics
The difference between utm_medium and utm_source is a common source of confusion for many marketers.
Mixing up these parameters leads to inaccurate data and makes it difficult to properly analyze your marketing efforts.
How to remember the difference:
Incorrect example:
utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=social
Correct example:
utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook
Also read: What is social traffic in digital analytics?
The utm_campaign parameter gives you the flexibility to analyze your marketing efforts by specific business objectives. However, many marketers use it ineffectively with generic or forgettable labels.
Ineffective examples:
utm_campaign=email_29 utm_campaign=social_post
Effective examples:
utm_campaign=summer2024_launch utm_campaign=weekly_newsletter_2024_06_15
UTM parameters are case-sensitive, and even slight variations can fragment your data.
Inconsistent examples:
utm_source=Email utm_source=email utm_source=E-mail
Consistent example:
utm_source=email
Also read: 10 must-have marketing attribution tools for 2024
Many marketers create new campaign names for each channel, missing the bigger picture of multi-channel campaigns.
Incorrect approach:
utm_campaign=twitter_summer_launch utm_campaign=facebook_summer_launch utm_campaign=email_summer_launch
Correct approach: Use a single campaign name across all channels:
utm_campaign=summer_launch_2024
Then use utm_source and utm_medium to differentiate channels:
utm_campaign=summer_launch_2024&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social
utm_campaign=summer_launch_2024&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social
utm_campaign=summer_launch_2024&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
Usermaven’s UTM Builder allows you to create campaign templates, making it easy to maintain consistency across multiple channels while still tracking individual sources and mediums.
It’s easy to overlook some links when tagging, especially in larger campaigns.
How to avoid it:
Also read: 9 powerful Google Analytics alternatives (GA4 alternatives)
Launching a campaign without testing your UTM tags can lead to data loss and wasted resources.
How to avoid it:
Special characters and spaces in UTM parameters can break your tracking or cause inconsistencies.
Incorrect examples:
utm_campaign=Summer Sale! utm_content=50% Off
Correct examples:
utm_campaign=summer_sale utm_content=50_percent_off
Usermaven’s UTM Builder automatically replaces spaces with underscores and removes special characters, ensuring your UTM parameters are always properly formatted.
Also read: 12 Strategies to increase your customer engagement
Marketing campaigns evolve, but UTM tags often don’t keep up.
How to avoid it:
Also read: Guide to tracking website visitors & top 6 tools for 2023
To track UTM traffic with Usermaven, follow these steps:
UTM tracking is a great way to make your analytics better, but it’s easy to mess up. Mistakes like using too many details or not keeping things consistent can mess with how accurate your data is. To keep track of everything correctly, you should be clear about where your traffic comes from and how it gets there, stick to the same way of labeling things, and try not to complicate your web addresses too much.
Checking on this regularly and using tools designed for UTM tracking, such as Usermaven, are important steps toward getting better at this. By steering clear of these common errors, you’ll improve how you analyze data and get valuable insights into what works in your campaigns.
Try Usermaven’s UTM Builder today and see the difference clear, consistent UTM tracking can make in your campaigns!
1. What are UTM parameters?
UTM parameters are tags added to the end of a URL to track the effectiveness of online marketing campaigns across different traffic sources.
2. What are the most common UTM mistakes marketers make?
The most common UTM mistakes include inconsistent naming conventions, using incorrect or incomplete parameters, not using UTM tracking at all, and failing to clean up old or irrelevant UTM codes. These errors can lead to inaccurate data and misleading analytics reports.
3. What is the best way to manage UTM parameters for accurate tracking?
The best way to manage UTM parameters is to establish a standardized naming convention, maintain a centralized document for all UTM tags, and regularly audit your links to ensure consistency.
4. How can I avoid UTM mistakes when creating new campaigns?
To avoid UTM mistakes, follow these best practices: establish clear naming conventions, use a UTM builder tool, regularly audit your UTM links, and educate your marketing team about proper UTM usage.
5. How often should I audit my UTM parameters for accuracy?
It’s recommended to audit your UTM parameters regularly, at least once a quarter, or whenever launching a new campaign.
6. What tools can help with managing and tracking UTM parameters?
Several tools can help manage and track UTM parameters. Use our free UTM builder tool to ensure accurate tracking.
Try for free
Simple & privacy-friendly analytics tool
Know what's happening at every touchpoint of your users’ journey with AI-powered analytics.
Looking for the right analytics tool? Maybe you’ve heard Mixpanel is great for behavior tracking (if you can handle the complex setup) or that FullStory offers session replay (for a premium price). But what if you could get better insights without the headaches? The truth is, you shouldn’t have to choose between: Let’s compare Mixpanel […]
Dec 6, 2024
When it comes to Heap pricing, the word custom is everywhere. Custom plans, custom features, custom pricing — it can start to feel like a lot of choices, but not in a good way. With all these custom options, you’re left trying to figure out what’s actually best for you, and chances are, you might […]
Nov 27, 2024
Analytics tools are crucial in helping businesses understand user behavior, optimize experiences, and achieve growth. Whether you’re a product team enhancing user engagement, a marketing agency tracking campaign performance, or a business improving customer retention, choosing the right analytics tool is crucial. Three leading tools in this space, Pendo, Fullstory, and Usermaven—serve distinct purposes. Pendo […]
Nov 25, 2024