By Michelle Drewek, mdrewek@lessitermedia.com
Digital Media Manager, Lessiter Media
Working in our Digital Media department I have the benefit of seeing every campaign that goes in and out of our virtual doors. While observations certainly help in determining where to focus our digital efforts, I wouldn't have a fraction of the insights I do without the backend tracking we have in place. It seems so rudimentary yet all too often I see marketers without tracking codes on their campaigns. I don't think it's for a lack of desire — who wouldn't want more data, and free at that? I simply believe that for many they just don't know how easy it is to do.
Even though UTM (Urchin Tracking Module) codes aren’t a new concept in the digital space, consistent use by marketers is loose at best. On one end of the spectrum you have companies that are fully utilizing them across all of their digital campaigns and on the other end you have companies who still don’t use Google Analytics at all. And, of course, you have a wide range of usage somewhere in between. No matter where you fall, there is likely room for improvement in how you are using UTM codes to determine the effectiveness of your campaigns and mediums for distribution, and in turn creating actionable marketing plans based off of this data.
The process of creating a UTM code isn’t only for the technically savvy. Google Analytics has a URL Builder set up so all you have to do is plug in your values and it gives you your link. And the more you use them, the more comfortable you’ll get in making changes to the UTM string manually.
Without tracking and subsequent analysis you are missing out on valuable data that can help you improve your campaigns, build off successes and avoid making the same costly mistakes over and over again. Put simply, it adds transparency to your digital marketing ROI. To help you get your tracking on-track, I've created the infographic below for you to download.
Let me know if you have any questions along the way!
Source: AddThis