Campaign Tracking in Google Analytics - Using UTM Parameters (Part 1 of 2)

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Күн бұрын

This is the first of a 2 part video series about campaign tracking in Google Analytics. Campaign traffic is traffic we can see in Google Analytics that has come from a link with UTM parameters appended. This first video explains how UTM work, recommends a browser extension for easy UTM management, and reviews where to see the resulting Campaign traffic data in Universal Analytics.
For the second video in the series exclusively about working with campaign reporting in GA4, please watch here: • Campaign Tracking GA4 ...
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📺 Campaign Tracking in GA4 to See UTM Tagged Traffic: • Campaign Tracking GA4 ...
📺 GA4 Conversion Tracking Compared to UA: • GA4 Conversion Trackin...
📺 Registering Custom Dimensions in GA4 Explained: • GA4 Custom Dimensions ... -
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Пікірлер: 68

@truegritcreativeco Жыл бұрын

This is such a great breakdown. Simple enough to understand but packed with helpful information. Thanks!

@rooted-digital Жыл бұрын

Thanks Rachel! Glad to hear it was helpful. : )

@ahmadjabbar8355 Жыл бұрын

Loved your videos. So detailed and got a chance to learn a lot of things from your videos.

@rooted-digital Жыл бұрын

That means a lot, Ahmad. I am glad to hear it's been time well spent for you to watch. Thanks for sharing and God bless!

@MensGroup 2 жыл бұрын

Really helpful. Thanks! :)

@rooted-digital 2 жыл бұрын

Glad it was helpful. Thanks for coming by to check it out. - Zack

@nickdrishinski6507 2 жыл бұрын

The chrome extensions is a great find. Thank you!

@rooted-digital 2 жыл бұрын

Glad you find it useful as well! It has definitely made my life a little bit easier.

@ilianasam6814 Жыл бұрын

Great Video! 😃thank you so much!

@rooted-digital Жыл бұрын

Quite welcome! Thanks for the feedback, Iliana. : )

@behruzbekmurodov6446 Жыл бұрын

Thanks a lot, really helpful

@rooted-digital Жыл бұрын

Glad to hear it, Behruz. Thanks for watching! By the way, are you using the new Google Analytics 4 now or still using the prior version (UA)? I'm a UA fan myself, but slowly getting more comfortable with GA4. Zack

@anne-cecilesoularue976 2 жыл бұрын

Hi Thanks a lot for both videos. One question: what about the UTM 'shorter' version? Does it complicate the GA4 understanding of links? Cause the long version is not the most convenient for Socials posts.

@rooted-digital 2 жыл бұрын

Great question. The shorter version is completely fine to use and Google Analytics will understand it. You can test it out yourself by clicking on one of the 'short URL' versions. When the URL resolves in your browser, you should see that the long URL - with UTMs appended - is there. Hope it helps with your social media tracking. 🙂 Zack

@TheNextTorres9 Жыл бұрын

If I create a UTM link to a Men’s clothing collection on a website, will it be able to track a conversion (sale) ? Or would that only work if the link directs to a specific product? Im trying to find out if google analytics can detect check outs on online stores

@rooted-digital Жыл бұрын

Hi there. To confirm, your UTM link would be from a place outside of your website, right? Just wanted to confirm you’re not tagging your internal links with UTM parameters. As long as that’s the case, the answer is yes. GA4 will be able to attribute the entire session (not just the first Pageview) to the UTM parameters appended to the link the visitor clicked to come to the site. Best of luck.

@AkLaw79 Жыл бұрын

Straight to the point. Thanks for sharing. Is there any recommendable app to migrate from annotation data from UA to GA4?

@rooted-digital Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the feedback, AK. Sadly, still no recommendation from me about migrating annotation data. With that said, I'm game for a recommendation if you have one. Cheers!

@afrorum4861 9 ай бұрын

I'm trying to run a CPA influencer marketing campaign. My question is. If I use UTM to track the landing page, how will it know when a conversion is made?

@rooted-digital 9 ай бұрын

Hello there! So you're running an influencer campaign. Am I correct in thinking you have some campaign related links (say from email marketing or social media) that are pointing to your landing page and have UTM parameters appended to those links? Just want to make sure you're using UTMs in the manner I'm expecting. As long as that's the case, you'll be able to see those campaign traffic sources in your traffic reports in GA4 when conversions take place. You do need to have conversion tracking set up for that. Here's an article on how to do that if it's helpful: www.rootandbranchgroup.com/google-analytics-conversion-tracking-ga4/ I hope that helps. Best of luck!

@afrorum4861 8 ай бұрын

Yes, the issue that I have is that I don't own the landing page and I find that most tutorial about UTM assume that you're an ecommerce store that has a website and the UTM tracks your site. In my own case I'm an affiliate marketer who is trying to promote a CPA offer through influencers on WhatsApp (WhatsApp TV) and since I can't track using Bemob or other known software's because I'm not running a traditional campaign, I thought I could track it using Bemob. @@rooted-digital

@paolaselineochoa3304 Жыл бұрын

hello! Question, if we have a "?" symbol in our base URL, what other connector we can use right after the base url?

@rooted-digital Жыл бұрын

Hello Paola. I'm not sure! I didn't think it was possible to have a ? mark in the actual URL (since the ? mark is used as the delimiting boundary in URLs). What is your domain name? I'd be happy to think about this more and let you know if I come up with anything that might be useful. Good luck!

@truegritcreativeco Жыл бұрын

Do you have to enter the UTM somewhere in GA4 for it to be able to register / track it? Or is generating the link enough?

@rooted-digital Жыл бұрын

Generating the link is enough. Google Analytics will do the rest of the tracking work on its own. If you check out this video, you can see how to create a Campaign tracking report (where you can see UTM tagged traffic) in GA4: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/rcmmmsJ5yM-1o2Q.html&t Until July 11, 2022, it was not possible to see the parameter in GA4 reports. However, Google announced an update on that day and is now available and is the parameter called "Session manual term". You can read that Google announcement here if you'd like: support.google.com/analytics/answer/9164320?hl=en#080522&zippy=%2Creleases

@jihyejeong4259 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for great info. question here. you made a url something like source and medium. where do you put that url??

@rooted-digital Жыл бұрын

That URL with the appended UTM parameters in it (source and medium and campaign) gets used in places like links in email campaigns. When someone clicks on a link with UTM parameters in it (like the email you send out), Google Analytics will categorize the traffic according to those UTM parameters. You don’t use UTMs on links within your website, but you can use them on links outside your website that point to your website. Does that answer your question?

@jihyejeong4259 Жыл бұрын

@@rooted-digital Still not clear for it. you named source and medium and campaign by yourself, right? and how you put it there? probably I still didn't get GA4..

@alexjohntech Жыл бұрын

Very helpful and easy explanation. Do you have any updated video for annotations in GA4?

@rooted-digital Жыл бұрын

Alex, hello! Glad you found it helpful. To the best of my knowledge, annotations are not yet available in GA4. Too bad! If you've come across anything helpful, feel free to let me know. Good luck and Godspeed to you! Zack

@easyvestenglish Жыл бұрын

Thanks a lot for this video! Any idea of possibility to use UTM tracking in a UAC campaign?

@rooted-digital Жыл бұрын

Glad you found it helpful. : ) I don't have a lot of experience with UAC campaigns. By way of example, I just had to look up that UAC means "Universal App Campaign". (Right?) BUT! If it's a Google Ads campaign you should actually have this done automatically through something called auto-tagging. It's available for Google advertising platforms and is the default. The help article below from Google has more info. I hope this is at least somewhat useful. support.google.com/google-ads/answer/3095550?hl=en Let me know if I'm way off here on my response and I wish you all the best.

@Nyeeeesh 2 жыл бұрын

Great video! Can you explain why you left the keyword parameter blank in more detail?

@rooted-digital 2 жыл бұрын

Howdy Cam. The parameter would be for a Paid Search campaign if you wanted to track the specific keyword that your visitor searched for before they clicked on your ad. It is only for paid search ads. For example, if you're a dentist and bidding on "dentist near me", and someone searching for that keyword then clicks on your dentistry ad, that keyword information will pass in this parameter. The interesting thing is if you're using one of the primary Search advertising platforms (Google Ads, for example) this keyword information will automatically be passed in without you doing any of the manual setup. So I've actually never even used this before in my life. It's only for paid search traffic, and the vast majority of paid search traffic will do the UTM legwork for you (and not just for keywords, but for the other UTMs as well). Hope that helps. Let me know if not clear.

@fennasolvia Жыл бұрын

Helpful tutorial. How can i upload my old annotations from uniersal to GA4?

@rooted-digital Жыл бұрын

Hi Fenna, thanks for the feedback. Unsure about annotations, but do keep me posted if you come across anything. I really liked this feature in UA and I hope it comes back in GA4.

@reaganbradley60 Жыл бұрын

What is your recommendations for shortened links? Should you use them? Which tool do you like best?

@rooted-digital Жыл бұрын

Hi Reagan, I think shortened URLs with UTMs is often a good idea...especially if you're posting a URL within a social post or something like that. Nobody wants to see all those UTM parameters in there. ; ) In terms of Google Analytics, the platform will interpret your UTM parameters correctly whether you're using a short version of the URL or a long version. You'll see that the long version is what resolves in the address bar in your browser window. The UTM Chrome extension I mentioned in this video also has a shortening feature, which I think works fine. I have also used bit.ly and found that to be good as well. Do you have a personal favorite of your own? I'm always game for recommendations. Cheers! Zack

@reaganbradley60 Жыл бұрын

@@rooted-digital I was experimenting with Rebrandly, which enables you to add subdomains to your root URL so that your shortened link can remain a brand awareness opportunity but I read that subdomains are hurtful to your SEO.

@rooted-digital Жыл бұрын

@@reaganbradley60 thanks for the info! I have not heard of these guys, but I checked them out and it's very interesting. You are right that subdomains normally are not awesome for SEO. That's primarily because of how Google treats them. Specifically, Google treats a subdomain as a separate entity from the primary root domain. For example, two pages on yoursite.com might be: yoursite.com/page-one and yoursite.com/page-two These are both on the same root domain and both pages can help each other in terms of building the overall SEO potential of the yoursite.com domain But if the two pages were: yoursite.com/page-one and secondpage.yoursite.com Those two pages are not going to be able to pass link value back and forth to each other in the same way. The first of these two pages will help the overall SEO ranking potential of the yoursite.com domain, while the second one really won't. In your specific case, I don't think the subdomains for the shortened URLs would really "hurt" SEO. It's just a question of do they really help accomplish anything? If you're using them for branding purposes, then maybe it's a yes. Otherwise, I'd say it's a no. Personally, I would avoid this tool and stick with something that doesn't mess with subdomains. Two final thoughts: 1.) I read this support article on the rebrandly site about SEO impact and how rebrandly uses 301 redirects to preserve any link value. Here's the specific text in quotes and the link below to the article. "Rebrandly uses 301 redirects to forward users from the short link to the final destination" support.rebrandly.com/hc/en-us/articles/360007299833-Does-Using-Rebrandly-Affect-SEO They are right that a 301 redirect will preserve link value (link equity), but I'd be hesitant about adding lots of 301 redirects to my site. It can sometimes be a problem in the long run. 2.) This video from my channel goes into 301 redirects and changing URLs if you are interested. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/e8p2mq183crcj2g.html Whew! I know that's a lot. I do hope it's a helpful perspective. Feel free to check back in later if anything is unclear or if you have other questions. Best of luck! 🙂 Zack

@reaganbradley60 Жыл бұрын

@@rooted-digital Absolutely killer response! This was way more than what I expected from comment and I really appreciate your time. 😊

@rooted-digital Жыл бұрын

@@reaganbradley60 Well, I'm glad to hear it! Even though I do more videos about Google Analytics, I'd say SEO is more of my first love. If that's something you're interested more in down the line, here are two final links from me. Then signing off and letting you get back to your day. : ) SEO Tutorial for Beginners Part 1: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/qs2HodJotqm1oWQ.html SEO Tutorial for Beginners Part 2 (keyword research and topic clusters): kzfaq.info/get/bejne/asyipcZ52peldqs.html (Part 3 on SEO reporting to be hopefully published next week)

@stepaheadwebsites Жыл бұрын

Zach, this was great. Thanks. I have a question. Is it possible, in my email signature, if I have a link to "mailto:my-email" to add UTM to this link to track clicks to my email in my signature, so they would show up in Google Analytics for my website? Is this possible or do you recommend some other way? Please let me know. Thanks, Gary 😀

@rooted-digital Жыл бұрын

Hi Gary. Apologies for the long delay. For some reason KZfaq was holding this comment before publishing and I totally missed it. My fault. The answer is yes! You can track clicks on your email signature with UTMs. I do this very same thing, in fact. And this blog on UTMs actually has that very example of how I set it up. www.rootandbranchgroup.com/utm-parameters-google-analytics/ Best of luck!

@stepaheadweb Жыл бұрын

@@rooted-digital Thank you so much for the reply. 🙂

@rooted-digital Жыл бұрын

@@stepaheadweb You're quite welcome. Feel free to check back on the channel or at www.rootandbranchgroup.com if you have other questions about Analytics or SEO. I definitely do not claim to always know the answer, but I will try to help if I can. Good luck and Godspeed! Zack

@ErikHill1 2 жыл бұрын

Great video, thank you! Guessing not, but are UTMs visible in the URL of a Google business profile when used?

@rooted-digital 2 жыл бұрын

Hi Erik, thanks for the question. UTMs can be used in your Google Business Profile website links. This is an awesome way to get additional insight into your Local SEO performance. You can see that UTM tagged traffic in both Google Analytics (to help measure traffic and conversions) and also Google Search Console (to see individual keyword performance and ranking changes over time). When a user clicks the "website" button / link on your Google Business Profile, the URL (including your appended UTMs) *will* be visible when they land on your website. Let me know if that doesn't answer your question. And here are some additional links that might be interesting to you: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/j86ogKSZ2L3Mhn0.html - video that includes the short process of setting up the Google Business Profile with UTM tagged URL. Also, quick notes about the Insights reporting in GMB kzfaq.info/get/bejne/gLlkgptostWwlY0.html - tracking keyword rankings with Google Search Console (a great way to use that tagged Google Business Profile traffic for useful analysis) kzfaq.info/get/bejne/gdh9aquC3KjcZWQ.html - the #1 most important ranking factor for your Google Business Profile (not what I had always assumed) Thanks again and best of luck to you! Zack

@ErikHill1 2 жыл бұрын

@@rooted-digital WOW, longest reply to one of my comments on KZfaq ever, thank you!! I checked out all of the videos you linked to above, start to finish, and gave each a like. Great content - very clear and thorough! In GA4 reporting, what is the equivalent to '' or the 'Ad Content' dimension in UA?

@rooted-digital 2 жыл бұрын

Well, thanks for checking them out. I appreciate it! In terms of , I have some disappointing news. It’s not currently supported in GA4. Isn’t that crazy? I think so. Based on this support article from Google, it seems like it’s probably on the development roadmap but just isn’t done *yet*. support.google.com/analytics/answer/10917952?hl=en#zippy=%2Cin-this-article If you have the option, I’d continue using UA for that specific function now and join me in crossing my fingers that GA4 gets an upgrade soon. 🤞

@ErikHill1 2 жыл бұрын

@@rooted-digital THANK YOU!!!!!

@rooted-digital 2 жыл бұрын

Very welcome! 🙂

@ashleyfloresweb Жыл бұрын

So informative👌 How can I add annotations in GA4?

@rooted-digital Жыл бұрын

Thanks Ashley. Glad you found it helpful. Re: annotations, they are not available in GA4. So crazy, right? They are incredibly helpful and I don't know how I'm going to keep track of them myself. Google keeps a log of all GA4 updates here (support.google.com/analytics/answer/9164320?hl=en) and I hope to find annotations on this list before too long. Fingers crossed for both of us! Best, Zack

@susanadelokiki1392 Жыл бұрын

Hello, I used to have data show up more in emails as I was using email marketing(with utm parameters), and less in "direct". Now it's the reverse, more traffic goes under "direct" and very very few under emails and nothing has changed with the utm parameters, what could be the issue?

@rooted-digital Жыл бұрын

Hi Susan, that's very interesting. Are you still running both UA and GA4? Curious if you have comparison data, say traffic for last month that you have in the Email channel both for UA and GA4. And for context, what are you using for and ? Nothing is coming to mind immediately for me, but I will poke around and see if I can find anything after I hear back from you.

@susanadelokiki1392 Жыл бұрын

@@rooted-digital My comment keeps getting deleted. Not sure why?

@rooted-digital Жыл бұрын

@@susanadelokiki1392 I don’t know why either, but this one made it through. Can you try again? (Maybe keep the text pasted somewhere else if KZfaq does something weird again).

@susanadelokiki1392 Жыл бұрын

@@rooted-digital Sure thanks. So I'm only using GA4

@susanadelokiki1392 Жыл бұрын

For context: here is what my link with utm parameters looks like

@Youtuberritama 2 жыл бұрын

This is not a GA4 dashboard?

@rooted-digital 2 жыл бұрын

Hi Deby. This is a 2 part video. Part 1 (this one) is about what UTM parameters are and some general information about how to use them. If you watch Part 2, that shows how to use GA4 to create the Campaign report that many of us were familiar with from the prior version of Google Analytics (UA). Hope that makes sense. Apologies this one wasn’t more clear. Zack