Why use UTM parameters

1. utm_source: Identifies the source of the traffic (e.g., Google, newsletter, Facebook). This helps you know where the visitors are coming from.
2. utm_medium: Indicates the marketing medium used (e.g., email, CPC, social). This provides insight into the type of traffic and the effectiveness of different channels.
3. utm_campaign: Names the specific campaign or promotion (e.g., spring_sale, product_launch). This allows you to track the performance of individual campaigns.
4. utm_term: Used for paid search campaigns to identify keywords (e.g., shoes, summer sale). This helps in understanding which keywords are driving traffic.
5. utm_content: Distinguishes between different content or links within the same advertisement or newsletter (e.g., promotion, textlink, logo, button). This helps analyse which content is more effective in driving conversions.

How it works

1. One of your customers receives a promotional newsletter and clicks on a product link. The URL could look like this: https://www.example.com/spring-sale?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=spring_sale&utm_term=spring_collection&utm_content=product-x 
2. They proceed to the checkout page, which is one of the forms analysed in your Exatom setup, and complete their purchase
3. The Top sources section of the Form Engagement report will display metrics for each relevant UTM parameter
1. newsletter will be shown in the campaign section
2. email as medium
3. spring_sale as campaign
4. spring_collection as term
5. product-x as content

Good to know

1. We only take into account UTM parameters that have more than 10 sessions per day
2. It's okay to include just a few UTM parameters in the URL; you don’t need to use all five
3. If a visitor lands on your website multiple times within a session with different UTM parameters, all of them will be tracked and reported
   

Do's and Don'ts for UTM Parameters

Do's

1. Use consistent naming conventions:
1. Ensure consistency in parameter names (e.g., use utm_medium=email for all email campaigns
2. Avoid variations like utm_source=facebook and utm_source=fb
2. Keep parameter values simple and descriptive:
1. Use clear, readable, and relevant terms (e.g., utm_campaign=holiday_sale)
2. Prevent the use of special characters and spaces. Use lowercase a-z, 0-9, _ (underscore) or - (dash) characters
3. Use lowercase for uniformity:
1. Stick to lowercase for all UTM parameters to avoid discrepancies in data reporting (utm_source=facebook vs. utm_source=Facebook)
4. Test URLs before deployment:
1. Ensure that the UTM-tagged URLs work properly and lead to the correct destination
5. Document your UTM naming conventions:
1. Maintain a guide for your team to reference, ensuring consistency and avoiding confusion
2. An example for campaign names could be "campaign_type_topic_year" (e.g., utm_campaign=holiday_sale_2024)
6. Include UTM parameters in your full analytics setup:
1. To get the most out of your marketing campaigns make sure that your analytics setups are capturing them well

Don'ts

1. Don't use personal data in UTM parameters:
1. Avoid including sensitive information (e.g., utm_campaign=john_smith_special) for data privacy reasons
2. Don't overcomplicate parameter names:
1. Avoid long or complex terms (utm_campaign=summer_sale_2024_version_3_final); keep them concise
2. Keep naming human readable in favour of using IDs, makes analysis easier
3. Don’t leave out key parameters:
1. Make sure essential UTM parameters like utm_source, utm_medium, and utm_campaign are always included to avoid incomplete tracking.