What do YOU use utm fields for?

[Anonymous]

What various ways are you using UTM fields?

There's a Resource page on linking AdWords into Marketo:
https://community.marketo.com/MarketoResource?id=kA650000000GuyMCAS

It has you create four fields:

• Campaign Source (utm_source)
• Campaign Medium (utm_medium)
• Campaign Term (utm_term)
• CampaignID (utm_campaign)

Those make sense for AdWords tracking, but... aren't they quite valuable for a heck of a lot of other uses too?

We are just ramping up our Marketo implementation, and at the same time opening a lot of doors for new kinds of tracking (such as leveraging utm fields, which we have been unable to before). So I'd love to hear what others are doing with utm fields, where you're using them, how you're analyzing/organizing them.

I assume you use them whenever you post social links, right? Where else?
Do they get pulled from organic search?
Do they express into Google Analytics?
Do you use additional fields?
I'd love to hear more about any of this.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for looking, Adam. It was mentioned in that post you linked to as well (in the "best answer"). But that was from 2013.

[Anonymous]

Michelle. You're right. I just poked around for 20 minutes and did some searching. I can't find it anywhere. Perhaps it's no longer a function they support. Oh well.

[Michelle_Tizian]

I use the utm_content for the reason below:
Used for A/B testing and content-targeted ads. Use utm_content to differentiate ads or links that point to the same URL. I also use it when I am unable to track the link clicks on an email that goes to a particular page that changes content on a daily basis.  

I'm not sure about the question below, unless you mean how do you view in Google Analytics the urls that you use parameters with: "

Also, where do you go to set up custom parameters in Analytics? I assume it's something that makes a link between "sc" and "utm_source" so that Analytics will understand either one to be the source, right? I just am unclear on where that gets set up."


 

[Anonymous]

Do you also use utm_content? It's not mentioned in Marketo's docs, but seems like it could come into play with more advanced AdWords campaigns, right?

Also, where do you go to set up custom parameters in Analytics? I assume it's something that makes a link between "sc" and "utm_source" so that Analytics will understand either one to be the source, right? I just am unclear on where that gets set up.

Thanks again for all the great help.

[Anonymous]

GTM is for managing Javascript & other scripts. You could turn on & off Marketo's Munchkin code for example. Not relevant to this conversation.

[Anonymous]

Nice, Kim. I have been thinking of how to track links. A spreadsheet with formula sounds like a very elegant solution. Very lightweight and easy to use, and also allows for simultaneous creation and management.

I see Google Tag Manager, but it sounds like overkill. Not really sure why I'd be creating tags within my web property, so I'm guessing I don't need it. Perhaps it's for retailers? Anyway, I had been wondering if it might work merely as a tag management tool. Anyone here use it?
 

[Kim_Allen]

In addition, we actually keep a huge tracking links document in Box for every link we create. I built out a formula so that it takes each column input (source, medium, etc) and creates the link in the last column, then you just copy/paste. We have lots of moving pieces so this is a good way to keep it all together.

[Anonymous]

in GA you can make custom parameters, that map to utm_source. If I had done this, 5 years ago, before I ever got in the habit of typing utm_source, etc... It could have shaved hours off of my work life just in typing out the full name. I'm not really a copy/paster. 🙂

[Anonymous]

Set up utms in Google Analytics? I thought they were already inherent to Analytics, no? I have been using Silverpop and was able to leverage at least that bit of functionality out of it: utm fields got fed into Analytics and showed me data on people who came in from email campaigns.

P.S. Thanks a lot, Adam. I really appreciate your input. 

[Anonymous]

If i had it all to do over again. i'd set up custom utm's in Google Analytics first. Use some short name like SRC instead of utm_source. Then call your Marketo fields whatever you want.

Mine are all just named utm_source. Both the parameters & the fields in Marketo.

[Anonymous]

Thanks, Adam. I know they're not essential, but they seem downright neglected in Marketo's perspective. Oh well. 😕

Since the docs aren't that clear... the field names don't really matter as long as they're mapped well in forms, right? I gather it's best to set up the fields in SFDC (and thus Marketo) with plain-lanuuage names (Campaign Source, Campaign Medium, etc.) right?

[Anonymous]

It isn't a required thing. People just use it to track their effectiveness beyond standard reporting. You don't have to know about or use it to be a Marketo user.

They do have a URL builder tool in the software now. if you right click on the landing page icon you'll find it.

[Anonymous]

Thanks guys. 

So I guess this leads me to a followup question: why is this so relatively obscure in Marketo?

Shouldn't the Marketo app create these fields in SFDC from the get-go? The only mention in the docs is about creating them for AdWords, as if it's just a necessary little thing to do for that one function. Odd, no? That's what tripped me up: thought I was missing something.

(And that's a pretty fantastic link, Adam; thanks! Still digging through it.)

[Kim_Allen]

We use them for social and everything. They are really important to use in tracking digital advertising in Marketo.

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

EVERYTHING.

Social links, yes. They don't get pulled from Organic Search, Google express it themselves, but it won't tell you the query anymore. They show all UTMs in Analytics. We do add hidden fields to capture the information. 

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