Boost PPC Campaigns With the Power of Precision UTM Tracking

With rapid digitization in recent years, the marketing landscape continues to evolve. These developments provide new channels that effectively cast a wider net in terms of visibility and customer reach.

Pay-per-click campaigns (PPC) are an efficient way to drive traffic to business. But like any marketing tool, there are ways to boost PPC campaigns by using different techniques that optimize their performance. 

Tracking the Urchin Tracking Module (UTM) provides valuable insight into which ad content is performing well, allowing them to direct their content to the right areas. Applying best practices to UTM tracking guarantees high-performing ad campaigns, which, in turn, can result in higher traffic and engagement. For more information, talk to a PPC agency about how data analytics can benefit your group.

Looking for more tips about PPC marketing? Check out our video here: 

Why Is PPC Important?

With the rise of the internet, search engines prove to be an excellent tool for gathering information and cultivating communication and engagement. With billions of searches a day, search engines make for a great space for increasing brand visibility and driving customer engagement. 

There are many ways to market using search engines. Pay-per-click campaigns (PPC) are a popular option. 

Cost-effective and efficient, PPC campaigns create brand awareness and expand a business’s reach. Aside from increasing exposure through strategically placed ads, PPC campaigns provide valuable market insight through data collected from ad engagement, which allows for better and more precise ad targeting.

How To Optimize PPC Campaigns

PPC campaigns secure businesses great exposure in search engine results. However, due to the continuously evolving algorithms and keyword performance, these campaigns are variable and subject to optimization to achieve the desired performance. 

Optimizing PPC campaigns involves assessing and evaluating existing ads in search of areas of improvement. This involves UTM tracking, boosting keyword bids, overhauling landing pages for better user experience, and revising ad and website copies. 

Due to the importance of tracking metrics to ensure better ad performance, UTM tracking is an effective tool for PPC campaign optimization. It uses certain parameters to help track an ad’s performance, whose data is used to determine which areas are most effective. 

Boost bidding strategy

Keyword bidding is part of high-performing PPC campaigns. For PPC campaigns to take effect, advertisers bid on relevant keywords with a high chance of driving traffic to the business site. 

Keywords have the task of connecting the ad to users, which makes bidding for high-ranking keywords crucial because it secures the ad's optimal placement on search results pages. A high rank on the result page increases the chances of a user clicking it. 

Algorithms are constantly changing, making it essential to continue tracking the keyword performance. Adjust the bidding strategy based on the keyword’s ranking to maximize a PPC campaign's performance. Sometimes, it’s necessary to bid on other keywords or adjust the budget to invest in top-performing ones.

Improve landing pages

Landing pages are the frontline of a business—landing pages are crucial as this is where the user generally makes a decision. Aside from being the first stage of the customer lifecycle, landing pages create an impression on casual visitors and have the responsibility of encouraging them to make a purchase.

Many factors figure in a highly effective landing page, like: 

• Strong copy that emphasizes the business’ benefit
• Appealing visuals like logos and photos
• Solid technical build that’s easily navigated

A great experience with a landing page plays a role in boosting customer loyalty. 

What Is UTM Tracking? UTM Explained

Tracking progress through predefined metrics ensures maximum campaign performance. This helps businesses gain valuable insight into the campaign’s performance and guide them to efficient, high-opportunity areas. 

PPC campaigns require metrics just as much as other marketing strategies. Due to their quantitative nature, these campaigns use certain parameters to track their progress. One of these metrics is Urchin Tracking Module (UTM) tracking. 

UTM tracking is an efficient tool for monitoring a PPC campaign’s performance. The process involves using UTM parameters, also called UTM tags, to identify the source of the traffic and its behavior. These details determine which areas are high-traffic, helping marketers direct their campaigns to optimal areas.  

Google is one of the biggest search engines in the market and one of the pioneers in digital advertising. As a brand leader in the digital marketing landscape, Google Analytics is the search engine giant’s feature that tracks website performance and traffic. UTM parameters, the heart of UTM tracking, are part of Google Analytics. 

As traffic tracking tools themselves, UTM codes serve as a conduit between the PPC campaign and Google Analytics, sending data to associate the campaign with each site visit. Google Analytics has since evolved into Google Analytics 4, and UTM parameters have been adjusted to accommodate the update. 

Why UTM Tags Matter

UTM tags provide specific data about traffic generated by the campaign. Identifying the exact source of traffic helps ensure high-performing PPC campaigns and proper reallocation of effort and resources.

Using UTM tags benefits PPC campaigns in many ways. These tags are essential in evaluating PPC campaigns by pinpointing the exact areas and channels that produce a high level of traffic. This information leads marketers to invest more time and effort in these areas. 

Aside from identifying campaigns that work, UTM tags help businesses determine which keywords are pulling their weight, playing into their bidding strategy by guiding them into the right keywords to invest in. 

The 5 Main Types of UTM Parameters

UTM parameters consist of five different types, each with their function and purpose. 

1. Terms (utm_term)

The Terms parameter focuses on tracking by the keyword or key phrases. This tag determines which keywords or key phrases brought the traffic. 

2. Medium (utm_medium)

The Medium parameter tracks the type of channel the traffic came from, whether it's through banner ads, email, or any marketing medium. 

3. Source (utm_source)

The Source parameter determines the exact source of the traffic. This parameter identifies the exact source of the traffic, whether it’s from social media, email, content, or search engine. 

4. Campaign (utm_campaign)

The Campaign parameter identifies the campaign associated with the link. This identifies which campaign brought the traffic, like promotional content, online events, and affiliate codes. 

5. Content (utm_content)

The Content parameter identifies which campaign element brought the traffic. For content containing identical links, this tag helps differentiate them and the traffic they bring. 

Best Practices for Precise UTM Tracking in PPC Campaigns

It's important to use UTM tags properly to maximize the effectiveness of UTM tracking. These tags are case and punctuation-sensitive. Any wrong element in their entry hinders them from working as intended. 

To make sure UTM tags are working properly, double-check areas like spelling and character spelling. 

Keep codes lowercase

A noticeable characteristic of UTM tags is that they are typed in lowercase. UTM tags are highly case-sensitive, so it's best to double-check both spelling and capitalization to ensure the parameters are functioning well. Typographical errors result in dysfunctional links and data. 

Ensure consistent punctuation marks

Aside from being case-sensitive, UTM tags are also hugely dependent on punctuation. In UTM tracking, underscores serve as placeholders for spaces, because spaces can mean something else entirely in website analytics. Be sure to use the right punctuation to ensure the tags’ effectiveness. 

Keep records

For UTM tracking to serve its purpose of efficiently tracking PPC campaign performance, marketers need to keep an accurate record of their data. Data collected from these metrics are used to develop more campaigns, 

How To Create UTM Tags With Google’s URL Builder: 6 Steps

With so many typographical elements involved in adding UTM links, it’s a big benefit that Google provides its feature for easier URL building. 

Google’s URL builder can be found on the Analytics page. To access Google Analytics, make sure that there is an existing account, or that there’s one set up, in any case. 

1. Log Into Google Analytics

The process begins with activating a Google Analytics account. To begin UTM tracking, simply log in to Google Analytics. If there’s no existing account, create one by supplying important details. Once done, head back to the home page and click “Start Measuring” to begin. 

2. Open Google Campaign URL Builder

Once a Google Analytics account is set up, start building a campaign by simply heading over to the Campaign Builder and entering the website URL and campaign ID. Supply the UTM parameters and relevant details as well. 

3. Fill Out the Campaign Information: Source, Medium, and Name

Fill out the fields for campaign information. Supply correct information to ensure accurate, error-free tracking. 

4. Input the URL You Want Visitors To Land On

The website URL anchors the tracking process. Enter the correct website URL, and check for any typographical errors.  

5. Track the Data in Google Analytics

Once all essential details have been provided, the UTM tracking begins in Google Analytics. To begin tracking website performance, simply open the Google Analytics page to view data. 

Keeping a record of collected data makes for an easier performance evaluation, so it's advisable to keep a spreadsheet containing data collected from UTM tracking. This crucial data can serve as a reference in crafting new campaigns. 

6. Ask for Help

Commanding UTM tracking might be a daunting task for some, especially for those new to digital marketing. To ensure successful UTM tracking that provides accurate data, it helps to consult with a digital marketing agency that provides expert guidance in maximizing UTM parameters. 

Boost PPC Campaigns With DAP

UTM tracking provides valuable data to marketers by directing them to channels and areas that produce the highest amount of traffic. This data helps maximize PPC campaign performance by investing in the right campaign elements and utilizing the ideal placement for their content. 

Digital Authority Partners, PPC experts, can help businesses navigate the complex world of digital marketing and analytics. Their unmatched experience in optimizing online advertising campaigns guarantees high traffic that generates high-quality leads. 

Create efficient campaigns that drive the best results. Talk to us today.