About UTM parameters 🤓
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.
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 👍
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 🔘
When applied, the following UTM parameters are now viewable in the Transaction details side panel and CSV export. 🔍
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 👀
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.
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.
FAQ 🤔
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 →
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 share via email, social, or QR code.
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