UTM (Urchin Traffic Monitor) parameters are tags that are added to the end of a URL to identify the source of traffic or campaigns. They were originally developed by a company called Urchin Software Corporation, which was later acquired by Google in 2005.
UTM parameters are used to track the effectiveness of marketing campaigns and to understand the behavior of users who click on links from different sources. They allow marketers to attribute website traffic and conversions to specific campaigns or channels, such as email, social media, or paid advertising.
UTM parameters consist of five different components:
utm_source: identifies the source of the traffic, such as "facebook" or "google"utm_medium: identifies the medium through which the traffic was sent, such as "email" or "cpc" (cost-per-click)utm_campaign: identifies the specific campaign that generated the traffic, such as "spring_sale" or "black_friday"utm_term: identifies the keywords that were used in paid search campaignsutm_content: used to differentiate between different versions of an ad or link, such as "banner_a" or "banner_b"
UTM parameters are typically added to the end of a URL using the following format:
http://www.example.com?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=spring_sale
By adding UTM parameters to the URLs of your marketing campaigns, you can track the effectiveness of those campaigns in Google Analytics and other analytics tools. This can help you understand which marketing efforts are driving the most traffic and conversions, and make informed decisions about how to allocate your marketing budget.