What are Tracking Modules?

Tracking Modules are a standardized set of parameters that you can add to a link (URL, email button, QR, etc). By appending these “tracking tags or snippets” to URLs, you can gain deeper insight into specific campaigns and tactics. Tracking Modules allow you to accurately attribute upstream or external traffic from the originating point of engagement to your destination landing page or asset (inbound traffic).

Tracking Modules help you:

  • Understand where traffic is coming from
  • Gain insight into your visitors, ROI, conversion, and engagement
  • Attribute inbound tactics properly
  • Determine which elements within a tactic are most effective
  • Perform A/B testing and optimize your campaign strategies

The History of the UTM Standard

Established in 1998, Urchin Software Company introduced Urchin Tracking Module (UTM) parameters as a way to track the source and medium of website traffic more precisely. These parameters were appended to URLs to help identify the effectiveness of different marketing efforts. 

Urchin was acquired by Google in 2005 to integrate the UTM technology into what became Google Analytics. With the launch of Google Analytics, UTM parameters became widely used by marketers to track the performance of online campaigns. 

Other tracking methods, such as sitecode, have also been utilized over the years in banner advertising and other tactics. However, as a Google standard, UTM is a more defined system.

In summary, UTM parameters are a standardized tool for tracking marketing efforts, whereas sitecode and other tracking variables are often used internally or customized for specific tracking needs beyond the scope of UTMs. Although our system may be able to see variables outside of the Tracking Module standard, it may not be able to act upon those variables. We would be happy to address integration of variable/value pairs outside of the standards defined below on a case-by-case basis.

Our Extension of the UTM Standard

CHANNEL DEFINITION

Channel 1: VIP

Visitor Insights & Performance (Reserved for Internal Use Only)
This is Active3D’s extension of the UTM concept and standard for Internal VIP Dashboard use.

Channel 2: UTM

Urchin Tracking Module
This is Google’s standard. We think of it as a Universal Tracking Module. UTM is originally design for integration with Google Analytics (currently version 4 or GA4)

Channel 3: VTM

Visitor Tracking Module (Channel 3)
This is Active3D’s extension of the UTM concept and standard for use by Agencies and other Marketing groups when tracking campaigns and tactics in the VIP dashboard.

CHANNEL DESCRIPTION

Since UTM is a well-established system already integrated with Google analytics, organizations have widely adopted the standard and now use it beyond just the Google platform. Our VIP system will ingest any well-formed variable compliant with the UTM standard. The system will report on UTM, and other custom post-actions and integrations can be programmed from these values as well (by request).

To avoid cross-talk between departments, we have also made the decision to designate the UTM “channel” as the set of variables specifically for the Company or Top Level Client.

If you were to think of the UTM standard as a single radio station or phone line, the system “listens” for the variables and values as they are being received. It then assigns or acts upon the UTM data as instructed. Since UTM is strictly assigned to Google Analytics and may also be assigned to other established IT or Marketing integrations that employ UTM variable/value pairs specifically, we have reserved UTM as its own channel.

For added flexibility within the VIP dashboard, Active3D has mirrored the UTM standard with a second and third “channel or line” named VTM (Visitor Tracking Module) and VIP (Visitor Insights & Performance).

The VTM channel is for Agencies or other Marketing groups that would like to assign tracking variables to the campaigns or tactics without cross-talking over the UTM channel.

The VIP channel is only for Internal Use reserved for the VIP Dashboard. 

It is highly recommended that Agencies and Marketing departments carefully coordinate with other project managers, marcom analysts, or other data/ROI stakeholders when planning the use of the UTM channel, otherwise it is recommended to only use the VTM channel to avoid cross-talk or cross-contamination of data and attributions.

Tracking Module Variables and Definitions

There are currently 9 variables defined in the standard.

  • 5 original – source, medium, campaign, term, content
  • 4 new – id, source_platform, creative_format, marketing_tactic
  • Currently, 2 of the 4 new additions, creative_format and marketing_tactic, are still being integrated into the GA4 standard and require manual steps for integration. This only applies when utilizing these specific variable/value pairs via UTM in GA4. N/A if utilizing VTM variable/value pairs.

Id

[GA4-New][EITHER id OR campaign REQUIRED for GA UTM INITIATIVES]
[Google Definition] Used to identify a specific campaign or promotion. When using the UTM channel, this is a required key for GA4 data import.
[Active3D Notes] The campaign id. CampaignID_LinkID_YYMMDDV# (date defaults to today if no date available – If evergreen, YYMMDDV00)
[Established Variable Values] TBD

source

[Original GA][REQUIRED for GA UTM INITIATIVES][REQUIRED VTM]
[Google Definition] Referrer, for example: google
[Active3D Notes]Used to show which site the visitors are coming from. (publisher-website-name, social-site-name)
[Established Variable Values] TBD

medium 

[Original GA][REQUIRED for GA UTM INITIATIVES][REQUIRED VTM]
[Google Definition] Marketing medium, for example: cpc, banner, email
[Active3D Notes] Used to show which marketing channels are bringing the visitor to your site. The correct medium value should be consistently entered in a fixed format (lowercase and in accordance with established values below) across all campaigns. This is a required parameter.
[Established Variable Values] qr, banner, email 

campaign 

[Original GA][EITHER campaign OR id REQUIRED for GA UTM INITIATIVES]
[Google Definition] Product, slogan, promo code, for example: spring_sale
[Active3D Notes] Used to identify which campaign the promotion/tactic is associated with.
[Established Variable Values] TBD

source_platform 

[GA4-New]
[Google Definition] The platform responsible for directing traffic to a given Analytics property (such as a buying platform that sets budgets and targeting criteria or a platform that manages organic traffic data). For example: Search Ads 360 or Display & Video 360.
[Active3D Notes] 
[Established Variable Values] TBD

term 

[Original GA]
[Google Definition] Paid keyword
[Active3D Notes] Used to manually identify paid keywords you’re targeting with your campaign. This would most likely only be utilized in the UTM channel.
[Established Variable Values] TBD

content

[Original GA]
[Google Definition] Use to differentiate creatives. For example, if you have two call-to-action links within the same email message, you can use utm_content and set different values for each so you can tell which version is more effective.
[Active3D Notes] Used to identify the exact element on your ad or promotion that was clicked. This is often used for optimization purposes.
[Established Variable Values] cta1, cta2, submit-top, submit-btm

creative_format

[GA4-New-Not currently reporting in GA4]
[Google Definition] Type of creative, for example: display, native, video, search
[Active3D Notes] 
[Established Variable Values] TBD

marketing_tactic

[GA4-New-Not currently reporting in GA4]
[Google Definition] Targeting criteria applied to a campaign, for example: remarketing, prospecting
[Active3D Notes] 
[Established Variable Values] TBD

Actual Tracking Module Variables & Channels

VIP TRACKING VARIABLES (CHANNEL 1 )
RESERVED FOR INTERNAL VIP USE)

vip_id
vip_source
vip_medium
vip_campaign
vip_source_platform
vip_term
vip_content
vip_creative_format
vip_marketing_tactic

UTM TRACKING VARIABLES (CHANNEL 2)
SEMI-RESERVED – COMPANY LEVEL – GA4 INTEGRATIONS – TOP LEVEL MARCOM

utm_id
utm_source*
utm_medium*
utm_campaign
utm_source_platform
utm_term
utm_content
utm_creative_format
utm_marketing_tactic

*Required by Google when specifically used in a Google Analytics campaign. See References above for Google specific info. 
Either campaign or id required for GA UTM Initiatives

VTM TRACKING VARIABLES (CHANNEL 3)
OPEN CHANNEL FOR AGENCIES OR ADDITIONAL MARCOM GROUPS
VIP METRICS ONLY, DOES NOT INTEGRATE OR INTERFERE WITH GA4

vtm_id
vtm_source
vtm_medium
vtm_campaign
vtm_source_platform
vtm_term
vtm_content
vtm_creative_format
vtm_marketing_tactic

Building a Link

GUIDELINES

  • It is recommended to keep values in lowercase
  • Values must be alphanumeric. Do not use characters reserved for web programming. See recommended “safe” list below.
  • Approved Characters (alphanumeric and underscore or dash as a separator)
    abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz1234567890_-
  • DO NOT USE.  Incorrect use of these symbols can cause the site to be unable to process the tracking variables and can cause loss of data.
    ! * ‘ ( ) ; : @ & = + $ , / ? % # [ ]
  • DO NOT USE. When using underscores or dashes to separate words or phrases for easier viewing, be sure to use basic unicode characters. Do not use em or en dashes!
  • Make sure you are intentionally using the correct channel UTM vs. VTM.
  • When in doubt, use VTM. 
  • UTM is reserved for tactics that need to be integrated with Google Analytics (this needs to be planned).
  • Use as many of the variables as you think you need to properly attribute tactics and define traffic.
  • You don’t need to use all of the variables, but you must have a value for the variables you do use.
  • Try to adhere to the strict definition of the variable when entering the text for the values. The standard is intended to provide clarity for all stakeholders.

Example of a Well-Formed Campaign Tactic Link with Attributions (Mixed UTM, VTM, VIP, and Other Variables)

https://subdomain.example.com?vip_id=12354&ref=fklasdf-13223&vtm_source=ada&vtm_medium=email&vtm_campaign=240822-v1&vtm_content=enrollment-email-5&utm_source=ada-special&sitecode=123456

VTM Variables Utilized: vtm_source, vtm_medium, vtm_campaign, vtm_content
UTM Variables Utilized: utm_source
VIP Variables Utilized: vip_id
Other Variables Utilized: ref, sitecode

Example of Variables inside an Embed Code

This is a single instance of an embedded asset.
(Assuming there is only one page hosting the embedded code that is being linked to from the enewsletter, video library, etc)

<iframe src=”https://example.com/?vip_id=Y2FyZWNyZWRpdC1wcm92aWRlci1jZW50ZXItMQ&vtm_id=240807-01&vtm_source=main-web&vtm_medium=article&vtm_campaign=blog-update-1&vtm_content=watch-now”
style=”position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; bottom: 0; right: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%;” allow=”cross-origin-isolated” frameborder=”0″ webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen allow=”autoplay; fullscreen”></iframe>