Link Tagging and Campaign Tracking by using Google URL Builder Tool
This article focuses on the importance of coding campaigns in Google Analytics using the URL Builder Tool in order that campaign will be recognized and thus we can have different data about the campaign, which is important to anyone who runs online campaigns. This article provides a technical, comprehensive and clear explanation of how to encode the campaign’s links with convenient and simple steps.
Campaigns coding
Campaigns coding is a necessity to enable Analytics account to identify the campaign that you manage and obtain statistics you want to improve and promote within your campaign. The process is mostly technical, and as such it is important, will be carried out without errors and consistently. Also, it is recommended that it will be assigned to an individual or a small number of people, who will perform these link tagging.
When it is important to use the URL BUILDER?
Campaigns coding is required for any promotional campaign which is carried out through direct tools such as Google Ads (also known as Google AdWords) or Google AdSense . When using for advertisements or sending newsletter to customers, it is required to tag the links of the campaign. In addition, if you are interested monitoring the number of surfers clicks (actions) on the link your shared via social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc., or if you shared the above link also by email, you cannot know for sure which of the links is the source of this traffic data which Google Analytics indicates. Using the link tagging of URL will provide more accurate data about the nature of the entrances to the campaign link. When you create a link, you can tag on additional information to the link that describes what the link is about, where the traffic came from when it lands on your site and much more.
Where do you access the Google URL Builder?
Enter the address:
https://ga-dev-tools.appspot.com/campaign-url-builder/
you can also search ‘URL BUILDER’ on Google search and enter the top score received.
Before you begin – Basic writing rules in URL BUILDER:
- should be written in lower case.
- A separation between words will be carried out with hyphen (minus sign) and must not include spaces between the parameters.
Primary parameters for the link tagging
The configuration involves filling out a form for each link you want to create. You go to the Google URL builder form and complete the following parameters:
- Website URL: Enter the exact URL address of the target page (the campaign), it will reach users after clicking the link. For example, if we want to move the users to the homepage of ‘Carmelon’ site, we’ll put in the address: http:www.carmelon.com
Note: Please enter the exact address of the page including all the Root (URI). It is recommended to enter the target page, copy the URL from the address and paste in the URL of the Website.
- Campaign Source: This is the source of where you are putting the link. For example, if you were sharing this link in a Newsletter or Facebook this could be the source you configured. For example: If you configure Facebook you will see the following added on to the website address: ‘utm_source=Facebook’
- Campaign Medium:The medium is which marketing method brought people to the site (newsletter, banners, Social networks). If your source is Facebook the medium for delivery of this link could be ‘Facebook advertising’ (‘utm_medium = Facebook advertising’). You might want to track multiple mediums for the same platform/source. For example, if we send newsletter to clients regarding car insurance company at a reduced price, you should write: ‘newsletter-link-car-insurance-low-price’.
- Campaign name: This is an important component that helps us to distinguish between one campaign to another. Since many campaigns come from the same source, this component should attempt to detail as possible including the date of the campaign, its name and its content, size (if it is in the banner), in order to facilitate its identification in Google Analytics.
- If again using the example from the previous section, the ‘Campaign Name’ should be written: newsletter-01-12-car-low-price
- If for example, there are two mailings on the same topic, and at the same time but the first is to existing customers, and the second is to potential customers one, you should make two links:
newsletter-01-12-car-low-price-customers.
newsletter-01-12-car-low-price-potential-customers
- The two additional parameters in are optional:
Campaign Term-keywords that you use in the campaign, so you can create a number of different sets of words and thus tag them separately in different campaign.
Campaign Content– If for example there are two different versions of a campaign, sending different emails, then you can use the same link, and only change this parameter.
What to do once creating the link tagging
- Once you have filled all the details, click the Generate URL
When coding a campaign by using the URL BUILDER, you will immediately receive ‘Link tagging’. The ink should be long and include a tag with the additional information you submitted.
For example, the following link used in a Facebook campaign called ‘Happy’:
www.carmelon.com/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Facebook%20ads&utm_campaign=Facebook%20Happy
Carefully copy the complete link, and use it as an objective to reach all of whom will click on the link. You can also shorten the link using the services of shortcut links such as bit.ly
• If it is to be attached to the newsletter link to the recipient, should be sent only to the tagged link.
• If it’s banner campaign, you should use the link to the target of the click
Checking the link tagging
- You should scan the link: If you see the% sign, it means that one of the settings tabs, you may substitute another tab.
• Click on it and confirm that you are moved to the desired page. If this does not happen – it is evidence that it is invalid.
• Note: if you created a link tagging to a page that isn’t yet online – obviously you will not reach it. In this case, wait until the page is active, and then check out the link. Likewise, highly recommended not to submit a tagged link not tested.
Recommended procedure:
Create an Excel file with media details; it will contain the following columns:
Website URL
Campaign source
Campaign medium
Campaign name
And another empty column -it will be used for the tagged link later.
When I share out the link what happens?
When someone clicks on the link, you will see the data in Google Analytics under the area of “Campaigns” Where you can view how many people click the link. If you have created a special link for each campaign on social network or by email or newsletter, you can receive data on the source of the clicks for each campaign separately.
Summary
In this article we have provided mainly a technical explanation about how to use URL BUILDER in order to obtain data on the campaigns and their tagged links in Google Analytics. Of course, that not in every campaign that you manage you’ll need or want to use this tool but it’s highly recommended to try out the URL BUILDER tool in order to obtain more accurate statistics on traffic sources. This action will help you to improve campaigns, and it is especially useful when there are similar campaigns from various sources.
