UTM Parameter Tracking

UTM (Urchin Tracking Module) parameters help you track the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns. Go2 makes it easy to add and manage UTM parameters on your short links.

What are UTM Parameters?

UTM parameters are tags added to URLs that help you track:

• Source (utm_source): Where the traffic comes from (e.g., twitter, newsletter)
• Medium (utm_medium): The marketing medium (e.g., social, email, cpc)
• Campaign (utm_campaign): The specific campaign name
• Term (utm_term): Paid search keywords
• Content (utm_content): Differentiate similar content or links

Adding UTM Parameters

Via Dashboard

When creating or editing a link, expand the "UTM Parameters" section:

1. Enter your UTM values in the provided fields
2. The parameters will be automatically appended to your destination URL

Via API

const link = await go2.links.create({
  destinationUrl: 'https://example.com/landing-page',
  utmSource: 'twitter',
  utmMedium: 'social',
  utmCampaign: 'summer-2024',
  utmContent: 'hero-cta',
});

The resulting destination URL will be:

https://example.com/landing-page?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=summer-2024&utm_content=hero-cta

Best Practices

Be Consistent

Use consistent naming conventions across your organization:

Do	Don't
twitter	Twitter, tw, tweet
email	Email, newsletter, mail
cpc	paid, ppc, ads

Use Lowercase

Always use lowercase for UTM parameters to avoid duplicate entries in analytics:

✅ utm_source=facebook
❌ utm_source=Facebook

Be Descriptive but Concise

Campaign names should be identifiable but not overly long:

✅ utm_campaign=summer-sale-2024
❌ utm_campaign=summer-sale-promotional-campaign-for-new-products-2024

Tracking in Analytics

Google Analytics

UTM-tagged links automatically appear in Google Analytics under:

1. Acquisition → All Traffic → Source/Medium
2. Acquisition → Campaigns → All Campaigns

Go2 Analytics

Go2 captures UTM parameters in click events, allowing you to:

• Filter link analytics by campaign
• Compare performance across sources
• Track which content drives the most clicks

Common UTM Combinations

Social Media

utm_source=twitter
utm_medium=social
utm_campaign=product-launch

Email Marketing

utm_source=newsletter
utm_medium=email
utm_campaign=weekly-digest
utm_content=top-story

Paid Advertising

utm_source=google
utm_medium=cpc
utm_campaign=brand-awareness
utm_term=url+shortener

Influencer Campaigns

utm_source=creator-name
utm_medium=influencer
utm_campaign=holiday-2024