Let’s imagine you’re a wizard and your business is located on Diagon Alley. If a young Harry Potter knocked on your door, surely you would think he got there via the floo network! You wouldn’t likely imagine that he mispronounced his destination “diagonally,” got lost, and had to walk part of the way—unless you had a client tracking system that told you so. UTM tracking is like that! (But for muggles.)

What Is UTM Tracking? 

To fly a little further into the world of Harry Potter, know this: UTM tracking works just like the Sorting Hat! Just as the Hat sorts new Hogwarts students into their houses, UTM tracking codes “sort” your website visitors into groups based on your chosen parameters.

UTM stands for Urchin Tracking Module. That’s a complicated title for busy people to ponder (kind of like the elusive “swish and flick” spell) but the concept is really quite simple. You can create short codes that attach to the end of your website URLs (like an urchin!) whenever someone clicks a link to reach you. The UTM reveals their source—it’ll tell you if they came from an email campaign you sent out, a social media post you made, or somewhere else entirely. 

With UTM, your browser’s URL bar acts a little bit like Platform 9 and ¾! That’s where Hogwarts students go to board the Hogwarts Express and head to school…and your UTM codes appear in the URL bar of your visitor’s browser when they click on one of your links—it takes them to the right destination, and you’ll know exactly how they ended up there.

Leveraging a UTM tracking system is extremely valuable! It sheds light on which of your marketing strategies are actually working (and which are not). By keeping a close eye on your UTM data, you can make meaningful changes to your marketing campaigns in the flick of a wand.

Why Is UTM Tracking Important? 

How far would Harry have gotten without the Marauder’s Map? About as far as you’ll get on your marketing strategy without using UTM tracking! But seriously, UTM data is an important tool that can help guide your marketing decisions. Have a closer look!

It Shows You Which Marketing Campaigns Are Most Effective 

Stick with me, magic fans! Before executing the Patronus charm, Harry had to try multiple different happy memories to find one that was strong enough. He stuck with that memory until he had an even more powerful one to trade up. 

Similarly, you can put out multiple different marketing campaigns and uncover which are the strongest using UTM tracking codes. You can keep using your strongest campaign until an even more effective one turns up.

Related: How To Measure The Effectiveness of Facebook Ads

You’ll Get Deeper Insights Into Campaigns You Already Know Are Working 

Marketing without UTM tracking is like reaching into a box of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans! You reach for watermelon but may get booger-flavored one by mistake. 

But implementing UTM links removes the guesswork. They work like a flavor chart, steering you past the options you don’t want right to the ones you do!

In short, you won’t have to guess which links in your newsletter drive the most action to your website, or blindly post on social media without knowing which CTAs actually drive your audience to take action. Your UTM tracking system will tell you exactly what you need to know.

UTM Tracking Is Vital to Your Google Analytics 

Google Analytics is a fantastic tool for businesses! Like the quaffle in a Quidditch game—it will earn you points. But you can only win at marketing with more specific metrics from your UTM tracking system—the golden snitch of analytics.

UTM tracking is the game-ender you’re looking for. Without it, the campaign data you’re working off of from last quarter’s big marketing push can be misleading.

When you don’t use UTM links, Google analytics can misinterpret where your traffic is coming from—your data will be generalized instead of specific. 

How Can UTM Tracking Help You Improve Your Client Marketing? 

A UTM tracking system makes your marketing strategies more pronounced (it’s levi-OH-sah, not levi-oh-SAH) so your marketing magic is far more effective. After all, what good is an advertising budget if you can’t be sure of your return?

Check out these three important ways UTM tracking will take your business to new heights (and, obviously, hold onto your broomstick).

You Can Use UTM Tracking for A/B Testing

An A/B test reveals which strategies are most attractive to your target audience. Some consumers desire access to the Gryffindor House entrance—the “Fat Lady” portrait requires a specific password to get in! Others desire access to Slytherin House via the dungeons of Hogwarts Castle.

Just as different wizards are organized through different entrances (with different passcodes) your client pool may be organized by the different entrances to your website…if you properly implement UTM codes.

UTM tracking codes appear at the end of your actual web address in the URL search bar, but don’t affect navigation. They merely show where your web visitors are coming from, and look like this:

• utmcampaign=40off&utmsource
• utmsource=mailchimp1&utmpcampaign
• utmcontent=googleplus

Just as the colors of your cape reveal which house you represent at Hogwarts, the UTM code at the end of a web address reveals how you got there. This allows you to perform “this” or “that” marketing adjustments without thinking twice.

Having a Spreadsheet With All of Your UTM Links Makes the Campaign Creation Process Run Smoother

Speaking of Harry Potter, the Hogwarts Library Magic Index System offers the witches and wizards an effective way to stay organized! Unfortunately, it’s not available to muggles, so you’ll have to make do with a UTM tracking and sorting spreadsheet instead. 

Like the library at Hogwarts, you can use UTM tags to divide your books (I mean clients!) into helpful categories. 

This makes for more strategic dividing of marketing responsibilities. You can dedicate a portion of your team (or a portion of their time) to Invisibility and another to the Study of Dragons… or categories more suited to your business niche. 

You Can Fine Tune Your Social Media Marketing Strategy Based on Platform 

You likely use a variety of social media platforms as part of your overall marketing strategy. While the professors at Hogwarts guide their students form and focus to make their spells more effective, different social media platforms work to elevate different marketing strategies.

And UTM tracking proves their effectiveness! Businesses providing more visual services (like photography) should fly more towards Instagram and Pinterest. Other businesses drive more traffic through Facebook or Twitter.

LinkedIn is like the Professor McGonagall of social media platforms! It pretty much works for everyone and gets the job done right!

Whether you’re experienced with UTM tracking or just hopped on the express train, invest more time in UTM coding to improve your marketing. Even if you’re feeling a little intimidated, remember that once you get the hang of it, UTM data is sure to have a magical impact on your business.

A huge part of tracking your metrics is being organized. Make project management and tracking super straightforward and save time with my One Board System.