UTM Email Tracking: How to Use UTM Tags to Track Your Campaigns

Estimated reading time: 9 minutes

With recent changes to email privacy rules, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to measure the effectiveness of your campaigns. Relying on open rates is no longer a trustworthy practice. So, what can you do instead? This is where UTM email tracking comes in. UTM parameters are actively used in email marketing to gain valuable insights into the performance of specific campaigns. In this article, you’ll learn about the main types of UTM codes, how to set up UTM tags for links in your email campaigns, and common UTM email tracking mistakes to avoid.

What are UTM codes?

Urchin Tracking Module (UTM) codes are extra tags added to web links that allow you to track clicks and traffic from your marketing campaigns back to your website. These parameters let you see exactly where the traffic is coming from – email campaigns, social media, advertising.

There are five various UTM parameters to use:

• utm_source – shows where the traffic came from, such as email channel;
• utm_medium – identifies the type of medium used for the link, distinguishing whether it is an email, social media, or pay-per-click advertisement;
• utm_campaign – specifies the name or identifier of a particular marketing campaign from which visitors arrived;
• utm_content – determines the exact element that led users to your site, such as a specific banner ad or text link. It is particularly useful for A/B testing and analyzing content-targeted advertisements;
• utm_term – optionally used mainly in search campaigns, this parameter captures the keywords or search terms that led users to your site.

Why UTM Tags Matter in Email Marketing

Using UTM codes in your emails is a simple but great way to see how well your campaigns are performing. They provide detailed insights into user behavior by attributing website traffic to specific emails. When you add UTMs to your email links, it enables web analytics tools, like Google Analytics, Hotjar, Mixpanel, or Adobe Analytics, to use these parameters to give you actionable data. This information is crucial for identifying strengths and weaknesses and refining your email marketing strategy based on data-driven results.

How to Use UTM Tags in Email Campaigns

The three most commonly used UTM parameters in email marketing are:

• utm_source (example: utm_source=email)
• utm_medium (example: utm_medium=newsletter)
• utm_campaign (example: utm_campaign=blackfriday)

Here’s an example of the full link with UTM tags:

www.your_domain_name.com/page?utm_source=email&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=blackfriday

How To Set Up Your UTM Tags for Email Campaigns

To track email campaigns effectively, you can set up UTM parameters manually or automate the process, each with its own benefits and limitations:

1. Manually setting up UTM parameters involves using tools like Google Analytics Campaign URL Builder to create unique tracking codes for each email element. Although this approach is time-consuming, it gives you full control over the UTM structure, allowing you to customize it to draw actionable insights. Use clear, consistent, and descriptive language so that your parameters are easy to analyze and lowercase letters in all tags to avoid errors and ensure analytics tools categorize all sessions correctly. For example, keep them simple yet specific, such as utm_campaign=blackfriday or utm_medium=newsletter.

2. Automating UTM settings speeds up the process and eliminates manual work. Many email marketing platforms can automatically generate and add UTM codes to your emails. However, this convenience comes at the expense of limited flexibility, as the parameters are usually predefined and may not suit all campaigns.

Choose the method that aligns best with your campaign goals and resources while ensuring your UTM parameters remain effective for reporting and analysis.

Analyzing UTM Data in Google Analytics

To improve email performance only setting tags is not enough. Consistently monitor UTM tracking insights and use this data for strategic optimizations. Integrate Google Analytics to track tagged links in your emails. As users click them, you’ll receive data about your website traffic. With UTM codes in your campaign links, you can easily monitor and compare traffic from various channels and campaigns. Google Analytics automatically collects this data and generates reports for you. Here’s where you can find it in your GA account:

The Channels Report

Channel reports are valuable tools for monitoring the effectiveness of various marketing channels such as emails, social media, and advertising. To access this information in Google Analytics, navigate to “Acquisition” and then select “Traffic Acquisition” from the sidebar. It helps compare the efficiency of email to other channels. 

The Campaigns Report

This report categorizes traffic according to specific campaigns, allowing for an analysis of which marketing events have been most effective in directing users to your website. If goal tracking or e-commerce tracking has been implemented, the report will also detail the number of visitors who completed purchases or achieved other defined goals. To access this report simply open the “Traffic Acquisition” tab and add a secondary dimension labeled “Session Campaign”.

Common Mistakes with Email UTM Tags and How to Avoid Them

Make sure that you’re tagging your email marketing campaigns properly. Poorly executed UTM tracking parameters lead to messy and inaccurate data. Here are common UTM email tracking pitfalls and how to avoid them:

1. Inconsistent naming conventions.

Capitalization, spelling, or terminology variations can fragment data, making analysis difficult. For example, using both “Email” and “email” as sources will split the data into separate categories.

2. Misuse of UTM parameters.

Confusing “utm_source” with “utm_medium” or other parameters leads to incorrect data attribution. To maintain data integrity, ensure each parameter is used as intended.

3. Using UTMs on internal links.

Never use campaign tagging for internal website links. Applying UTM codes to internal links can overwrite original source data, resulting in inaccurate tracking.

4. Not testing UTM-tagged links.

Failing to verify links before deployment can lead to broken URLs or incorrect tracking. Always test links to confirm they function properly and capture data as intended.  A simple way to do this is to enter your tagged URL into your browser and observe what happens. If you notice that your UTM codes disappear after the page loads, this indicates that there might be an issue that needs to be addressed.

5. Overcomplicating UTM parameters.

Using overly complex or excessive parameters complicates analysis and heightens the risk of errors. Keep UTM tags simple and relevant for clear insights.

6. Neglecting to use UTMs.

Failing to include UTM parameters results in missing attribution data, which complicates the effective assessment of campaign performance. Ensure all external links in your emails are properly tagged.

7. Incorrect use of symbols in URLs.

Misplacing or misusing characters like ‘&’, ‘=’, ‘?’, and ‘#’ in UTM tags can break URLs or cause tracking errors. Check the syntax for correctness when constructing UTM tags in email marketing.

8. Using generic terms as UTM sources.

Using broad terms like “campaign” without further context in UTM sources can lead to ambiguous data. To clearly distinguish between different traffic sources, use specific identifiers. For instance:

Good UTM setup	Problematic UTM setup
utm_source=email&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=blackfriday	utm_source=campaign&utm_medium=marketing&utm_campaign=blackfriday
This clearly attributes traffic to email as the source, identifies the medium as a newsletter, and specifies the campaign as Black Friday.	The term “campaign” is too vague to identify that the traffic originated from email. If you’re running multiple campaigns across different channels (e.g., email, social media, paid ads), it becomes impossible to differentiate the source, leading to fragmented data.

9. Not testing your email content before sending.

Skipping a full email campaign test can result in deliverability issues, broken layouts, or missed tracking data. Always test your emails before sending them so they reach recipients successfully. GlockApps analyzes all your email content, including text, images, and links. It quickly identifies potential issues and gives you action steps to fix them.

Closing Thoughts

UTM tracking is a powerful tool for understanding how your email campaigns perform. It helps you see what’s working and where you can improve. Take the time to review your data regularly, fix any tagging errors, and focus on what resonates with your audience. With a bit of attention to detail, you’ll get clearer insights and make better decisions for your email marketing. Follow these best practices to utilize UTM parameters properly and improve your marketing results with precise analytics.

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