How to use UTM Tags for Facebook Ads

In the following article, I will share with you a step-by-step guide on using UTM tags for Facebook ads.

UTM (Urchin Tracking Module) tags allow you to define special links for every ad that leads to the same web page. By clicking on the ad with the UTM tag, the data is sent to Google Analytics, which tracks the visitor’s behaviour on the website (session duration, completed events, goals, conversions…).

Also, to see which link (ad) visitors used to come to the site and make conversions, you can, for example, track on which pages they clicked before they left the web or made a conversion.

This is very helpful because this way, you can see which campaign or web page needs improvement, which content works better, and after all, make a better allocation of your budget.

Think of them as an addition to conversion tracking and a way of connecting your Facebook and Google data.

You can compare Facebook ads that appear in the Newsfeed to those ads running on the Sidebar or ads with a single image to ads with multiple images.

Why should you use UTM tags?

Google Analytics provides data about website visitors. Suppose a website achieves one of the marketing goals, such as signing up for a newsletter, registering on a page, submitting an inquiry for an offer, booking a flight, or purchasing an item or service.

In that case, it’s also essential to know which ads paid off the most and their features.

How to create UTM tags for your links?

Before creating ads in the classic interface of Facebook Adverts Manager or Power Editor, you must create a UTM tag for each ad you create and use that link for your campaign.

UTM tags are created using the URL builder – a tool where you add your URL parameters and where you need to define the following:

Fields details

• Website URL: The URL you are looking to advertise.
• Campaign source: The channel where the ad is placed. In the example below, it’s “Facebook”. Make sure you always use lower case letters for “source” and “medium” because the difference in one letter makes an entirely new group in Google Analytics. If you have one ad with the source “Facebook” and all others as “facebook,” Google Analytics will separate that ad from the others.
• Campaign medium: The ad type that is being created. In this case, it is a “socialmedia” ad, but it can also be “social.”
• Campaign name: The name of the campaign will contain multiple ad types, but all with the same goal.
• Campaign term: Keywords used as the brand’s name or as a generic expression from the brand sector. (e.g.. breakfast if it’s a grain brand). Campaign_term is rarely used in practice, so if this is all new to you, we suggest you don’t use it for now.
• Campaign content: The name or feature of the ad within the campaign, the content used in the ad. In this example, this is an ad that uses image 1 and text 1, which are parameters that are tracked or used for A-B testing. Name it the way you find it easier to remember which content is used for the ad. Every campaign should have more than one ad.

Out of all offered fields, you must define Campaign Source, Campaign Medium, and Campaign Name.

Campaign Term and Content can be left unspecified, but it is helpful to have content defined as it tracks which content in the ad is performing with the best results.

The result

As a result, you should get this link:

https://todays.agency/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ppc_ads_promo&utm_content=image1_promo1

Another essential thing to mention is that you can add parameters to the URL in your mobile-app ads. To do that, use the Google Play URL builder.

Google Play URL builder is different from the primary URL builder only for Ad Network, the network where you want your ads to show, and Application ID, which you already know.

Conclusion on UTM tags for Facebook ads

To summarize, UTM tags are handy whether you are an advanced digital marketer with many different campaigns or just a beginner. Start using them as a beginner, and they’ll give you a better sense of organization and optimization for every campaign you create in the future.

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• Reviving the Romanian Market for Used Smart Gears through Lead Generation

Keep in mind that when creating the parameters, you should be specific, have standard ways of defining parameters, use only lowercase letters (that way, you will always be on the same page with Google Analytics), and always create links using the URL builder. The final links should be as simple as possible.