Integrate UTM codes fully into emails, landing pages, and database

[Anonymous]

Currently, all support for UTM codes is entirely manual. One needs to:

1. Create fields in Marketo (via SFDC, if that's your route)
2. Create hidden fields on Marketo landing pages
3. Manually insert UTM codes into each individual link in an email
4. Manually create and track UTM codes using whatever tool you can find
5. Hack together analytics of a mixture of campaigns/leads with and without UTM codes 

I just received a marketing email from Marketo, where the call-to-action button is linked to a utm-coded URL. So even Marketo understands how important/useful it is to embed UTM codes into everything.

So shouldn't it be a priority to make UTM codes an integral part of the product? Other similar marketing automation systems do this inherently.

Especially adding codes into emails would be enormously helpful. The utm_source is already implicit. The utm_medium could be a small set of channels users set up (e.g., drip, blast, newsletter) The utm_campaign is also already defined in almost every case. And utm_content could be the name of the mailling. Manually adding these is incredibly time-consuming. Computers are supposed to do this sort of thing for us.

Additionally, making UTM fields inherent in Marketo would help not just with setup, but with analytics. A lead with a utm_campaign that matches a Marketo campaign obviously should be associated with that campaign.

I'm thinking I'm not the only one who would find value in this?

[Eric_Rojas]

Implementing this is absolutely crucial for tracking interactions. Manually adding these to links in an email (and not just CTAs) is absurdly time-consuming, and most marketing platforms already have this kind of automation. Thanks for posting this, Ed!

[Anonymous]

This should have been in the platform a long time ago.

There is no way for us to check how much traffic to our website comes from Marketo campaign initiatives.

[Anonymous]

UTM creation and tracking should definitely be an option within the Marketo platform. As a key element of all inbound, email and lead generation marketing, it seems silly to not have such a key piece integrated into a platform that does the above mentioned tasks. 

UTM tracking codes should be automatically created when a link is added to an email or a CTA is created; there should also be the option to create UTM codes for paid and online advertising, or any other outbound communications where users wish to see the success of a particular link (such as a blog post) and allow for updates/tweaking/revision to optimize efforts.

Currently, I have to use a Google Docs template to create codes, which is not only time consuming but can lead to errors and means that a whole subset of information is not included in Marketo. The addition of a UTM tool within the platform could potentially improve reporting functionality too.

[Stefan_Castelén]

This would be an amazing add and would save me anywhere between 15-30 minutes for each campaign. While Marketo tracks programs and program buckets quite well, it does a poor job of tracking medium and source data (e.g. online advertising and webinar should never be two comparable channels - they should be regarded as two separate fields entirely). UTMs are the answer to the problem.

[Grégoire_Miche2]

Ideally, the list of parameters that we could use would be set in the admin, similarly to tags. The 5 UTM would be provided by default, yet the admins would be able to set their own.

Then values would be set by users at folder or program level (something very similar to tokens, in this case, with the exception that one would not need to add them to each link), at email level or even at link level.

When setting it at a higher level, it would be inherited at lower level.

-Greg

[Mike_Reynolds2]

I agree that it would be nice to have a built in functionality that would do everything automatically. In the meantime, until that is designed and developed, there is at least one other option that may save a little time. The URL builder will build your URL with the UTM Parameters in the querystring the way that you need. It doesn't fully automate the whole process, but could save a couple steps along the way. Using the URL Builder - Marketo Docs - Product Docs

[Dan_Stevens_]

Thanks Mike. Unfortunately, we do very little with Marketo landing pages.  Most of our Marketo integration is done on our website.  The pain point for us is having to use Google's UTM builder for each and every link that we include in our emails and paid marketing/display campaigns; and then manually build the necessary workflows to capture these values properly (and of course, if a lead is responding to multiple campaigns, his/her UTM value will be overwritten with the latest one).

[Anonymous]

I am in the exact same spot as Dan where we don't use Marketo landing pages; only the functions within them such as the forms.

I then have to build separate landing pages for each type of paid advertisement, for example, so that the lead source and lead source detail is matched properly - still hoping for an answer to another thread about how to set up those UTM codes to they can all go to a single landing page and save another step

For a platform that is based on engagement and provides some amazing information as to attribution, having a UTM code builder/tracker within the platform should be a no-brainer!

[Mike_Reynolds2]

I agree completely. It would be a great feature to have, so I up-voted the idea here. In the meantime, there are still ways you can capture URL parameters: Tracking Lead Sources

[Anonymous]

Michelle, that can probably be done with Javascript. One of our programmers wrote a script which passes on variables from the URL to out-bound links on the landing page: Capture URL parameters and use on links

That's probably not what you're looking for; but the same sort of method could be used to capture the parameters and write them to hidden form values. You just need a javascript programmer to do it. I think it might take them less than an hour to code and debug.