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Adding UTM parameters to your links makes it easy to track the traffic your social media posts bring to your website. UTM parameters work with Google Analytics, so you can see exactly which social channels and campaigns drive your traffic.
What are UTM parameters?
UTM parameters are short pieces of text you add to the end of a link. They tell your analytics tool where the link was shared and why, so you can track clicks from a specific post or campaign.
Here's an example link with UTM parameters:
https://www.example.com/menu?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=paid_social&utm_campaign=summer_sale&utm_term=social_media&utm_content=video_ad
The UTM parameters are everything after the question mark. To make long links tidier, use a link shortener.
Types of UTM parameters
There are five UTM parameters. Google Analytics requires the first three. The last two are optional but useful for paid campaigns.
- Campaign source (utm_source): where the traffic comes from, such as Facebook, X, or your newsletter.
- Campaign medium (utm_medium): the type of channel, such as organic social, paid social, or email.
- Campaign name (utm_campaign): a unique name for each campaign.
- Campaign term (utm_term): optional; tracks paid keywords or phrases.
- Campaign content (utm_content): optional; tracks different ads within a campaign.
How to create URL tracking rules
1. Go to Settings > Publishing Settings > URL Tracking and click Add URL.
2. In URL to be tracked, enter the link you want to track. When you add this link to a post, Vista Social attaches your UTM parameters automatically.
3. Set the default parameters (utm_campaign, utm_medium, and utm_source). For each one, choose a value from the dropdown and add any extra information the value needs.
4. (Optional) Click Add custom parameter, enter a parameter name (up to 100 characters), and choose its value.
5. Click Save.
Example
A restaurant wants to see how many people visit its menu page from social media. The social media manager creates a URL tracking rule for the menu page link:
- utm_source: Social Network (default). The source is the name of the network the post is published to, for example Facebook. If the post goes to several networks, they're listed in alphabetical order, separated by commas.
- utm_medium: Social Profile (default), because the traffic comes from posts on the brand's social profiles.
- utm_campaign: Custom Value, with the value Menu.
- utm_content: Unique ID. Vista Social creates a unique ID each time the link is used, so traffic can be matched to each post.
Now, whenever the menu link is added to a post in Vista Social, the rule is applied automatically and the traffic is captured in Google Analytics.
Viewing the data in Google Analytics
In Google Analytics, go to Reports > Acquisition > Traffic acquisition. You can sort and analyze your campaign data by campaign, source, medium, and content.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What happened to the Post Labels option in my UTM settings?
A: Post Labels is now called Post Tags. If a URL tracking rule used Post Labels as a value (for example, under utm_campaign), select Post Tags instead. Learn more in How to create and manage tags.
Q: Do I need to add UTM parameters to every post manually?
A: No. Once a rule exists for a link, Vista Social adds the parameters every time you use that link.
Q: Which UTM parameters are required?
A: Google Analytics requires utm_source, utm_medium, and utm_campaign.
Need help?
Reach out to our support team, and we are happy to help.
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