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How to track incoming transactions with UTM parameters
How to track incoming transactions with UTM parameters

The ability to track your donor traffic is available thanks to the support of UTM parameters.

Max Friedman avatar
Written by Max Friedman
Updated over a week ago

About UTM parameters πŸ€“

UTMs (short for Urchin Tracking Module) are short pieces of code you can add to your campaign or Widget URL. They are a safe and reliable way to track traffic online and can provide valuable information about how and where donors are finding your campaign. That information can be used to understand and improve the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns.
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For a more detailed explanation of UTM parameters, check out this Hootsuite article about using UTM parameters to track social media success.

Basic UTM usage πŸ‘

To make the best use of UTM parameters, apply specific data to your campaign URL using an online tool like the Google Analytics Campaign URL Builder.

Advanced UTM usage❗️

For the tech-savvy, please reference Givebutter's analytics documentation.

Types of UTMs πŸ”˜

When applied, the following UTM parameters are now viewable in the Transaction details side panel and CSV export. πŸ”

Campaign source

Indicates the social network, search engine, newsletter name, or other specific source driving the traffic.

  • Examples: Facebook, Twitter, blog, newsletter, etc.

  • UTM code: utm_source

  • Sample code: utm_source=newsletter

Campaign medium

Tracks the type of channel driving the traffic: organic social, paid social, email, etc.

  • Examples: cpc, organic_social

  • UTM code: utm_medium

  • Sample code: utm_medium=organic_social

Campaign name

Gives each campaign a unique name so you can keep track of your efforts. This could be the product name, a contest name, a code to identify a specific sale or promotion, an influencer ID, or a tagline.

  • Examples: summer_gala, fall_walk

  • UTM code: utm_campaign

  • Sample code: utm_campaign=summer_gala

Campaign term

Used to track paid keywords or key phrases.

  • Examples: social_media, fall_ball

  • UTM code: utm_term

  • Sample code: utm_term=fall_ball

Campaign content

Allows you to track different ads within a campaign and is perfect for A/B testing

  • Examples: video_ad, text_ad, blue_banner, yellow_banner

  • UTM code: utm_content

  • Sample code: utm_content=video_ad

Referrer

The webpage address where a person clicked a link that sent them to your page.

View UTM data πŸ‘€

To see UTM data on all transactions in a CSV, you can run a transaction export. The UTM data will be at the far right.

UTM in spreadsheet

To see UTM parameters on a single transaction, navigate to the Transaction tab in the left-hand menu bar. Click on the white space in the transaction line. UTM information will be at the very bottom of the sidebar.

utm referer

FAQ πŸ€”

What's the difference between URL parameters and UTM parameters?

URL parameters are elements added to a specific URL to pass information along when a link is clicked, ie. color=orange. These are not tracking-related. Read more about using URL parameters β†’

UTM parameters are pieces of code added to your campaign URL to keep track of online traffic by attributing a source, ie. Facebook. These are useful if you want to track where a donor first clicked on your campaign or what the final touch for conversion was. You can learn more about UTM parameters via GA4 (Google Analytics).

Can you use UTM and URL parameters together?

Yes! Any URL parameters can be used together in the same URL as long as they are properly formatted with "&" between each one. For example, you may want to use UTMs in addition to any of the available URL parameters (ie. promo codes) in the same URL they are sharing via email, social, or QR code.


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