UTM and Tracking tags are applied in a URL for the purpose of tracking links and campaigns sources. This FAQ will not take a deep dive into what URL tracking parameters are or how they're used. Instead, we'll primarily look at supported Yabber tracking tags (the word 'supported' is somewhat of a misnomer because all URL tracking tags are 'supported', but some are integrated more deeply into Yabber's Xena statistical engine). An article on our website titled "UTM Tags and Tracking Social Media Campaigns" should be referenced for a broader understanding of how tracking parameters are used. The primary purpose of this FAQ is to detail what tags are considered 'Tier 1', or what tags are integrated with trigger systems and advanced analytics.
Advanced Users: This FAQ introduces reasonably advanced concepts, so the article can safely be ignored. If you read no further, understand that advanced tracking features are applied to links and URLs automatically in all modules.
The use of UTM and URL tracking tags should generally be considered an advanced feature. In most cases, general UTM tags are applied to various links automatically and do not require any consideration (footer and header links being a good example). However, if you're using external software, email systems, or you're tracking inbound links from third-parties, you may have to build a URL yourself with basic tracking data.
BMID: The article on UTM tracking tags referenced above details to the "... the old and now semi-retired BMID", although the BMID was introduced back into the Xena statistical engine so continues to play an important part in standard and shor.tt link creation. The BMID is reintroduced in an FAQ titled "How to Use the BMID When Tracking Links".
Website Links: Links created within our standard website framework should generally (and preferably) be constructed with our advanced link shortcode. This shortcode routes the link through Yabber for statistical reporting purposes and carries a large amount of information with each request. The shortcode also permits the use of link triggers. Shortcode attributes may be used in link shortcode - including UTM and other campaign tags - but they're usually not required. The linking shortcode is extensive, and a large number of related articles are provided at the bottom of this article.
Sendify: Our updated Sendify Social Media module will automatically apply UTM and other tracking tags to inbound links. This - in company with referrer and other data - allows us to measure the success of the same link sent to multiple social media platforms. For example, a link included in Instagratify will be created differently for Facebook and LinkedIn, thus allowing Xena to measure the performance of the UTL on each distinct platform.
Email Marketing Module: The BM Email Marketing Modules supports a large number of tags and 'find and replace' functionality. Our system is quite extensive and compares favourably with high-priced commercial systems (and it's integrated with Microsoft 365 giving it a compliance edge). UTM and other tracking tags in any email marketing campaign are created automatically for uniformity and simplicity.
Shor.tt: Our Shor.tt truncation module fully supports URL parameters in the manner described on this page. When a short URL is created and no tracking tags are present, those tags are automatically added (or appended) so that Yabber statistics reflects the source of traffic. While a standalone module, Shor.tt is fully integrated with Yabber.
A Brief Recap on UTM Tags
Standard UTM parameters are shown below. Note that while we provide examples of usage, there's no hard rule for how UTM parameters should be used, except that the tags should generally be hierarchical in design.
utm_source
utm_source is used to identify a search engine, newsletter name, or other source. In our case, and when automatically applied, Yabber will generally add a utm_source of 'yabber', 'vista', 'instagratify', 'bm_managed', or something else to identify the system used to generate a message.
utm_medium
Use utm_medium to identify a medium such as email, social, blog post, QR Code, or cost-per-click reference.
utm_campaign
Used for keyword analysis. Use utm_campaign to identify a specific product promotion or strategic campaign.
utm_term
The utm_term is often Used for paid search to note the keywords for this ad.
utm_content
This field is often used for A/B (split) testing and content-targeted ads. You might use utm_content to differentiate ads or links that point to the same URL. Many will use a phrase that differentiate similar content on the same page, such as unique call to actions or buttons.
A typical URL with UTM parameters included might look as follows:
utm_campaign=blog&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook
From our article on UTM Tags, we noted that we've used just three of the standard UTM tags in our URL example: utm_campaign, utm_medium, and utm_source. It's the values associated with each of these URL parameters that is recorded within Xena and made available in Triggerly (the Trigger Module).
UTM tags are an industry standard. They're used as a 'default' by Google and about every other email system on the planet.
Primary URL Tracking Parameters
A number of email providers (including us) use custom URL tracking tags for various purposes. While all URL parameters are recorded, only vetted parameters may be used for use in the Triggerly module, and these URL parameters are listed below. The list shown below is dynamically sourced from the Xena database, so as new URL parameters are added they will be shown in the result.
Xena API: if you're using our Statistics API, the same data is returned with the xena_social_cid_types action grouped by category and in a flat array.
wemail - Wistia Email, Injected into Video.utm_campaign - UTM Campaignutm_region - UTM Regionutm_campaign_id - UTM Campaign IDutm_target - UTM Targetutm_source - UTM Sourceutm_date - UTM Dateutm_content - UTM Contentutm_device - UTM Deviceutm_source_id - UTM Source IDutm_offer - UTM Offierutm_medium - UTM Mediumutm_time - UTM Timeutm_term - UTM Termutm_version - UTM Versionutm_medium_id - UTM Medium IDutm_variant - UTM Variantad_id - Facebook AD IDmscklid - Microsoft Click Identifiergclid - Google Click Identifiercategory_id - Category ID, FBfbclid - Facebook Click Identifiergclsrc - Google Click Sourcelead_source - Lead Source - FB et alzanpid - Zanox Click Identifierdclid - DoubleClick Click Identifiermc_eid - MailChimp Email IDmc_cid - MailChimp Campaign IDe - Mailchimp Email Recipientclickid - Click IDmedium - Mediumclick_subid - Click Sub IDclick_country - Click Countrydate - Datecpid - Campaign IDclick_medium - Click Mediumclick_cpid - Click Campaign IDclick_device - Click DevicerefID - Reference IDreferrer - Referrersrc - Sourceclick_content - Click Contentclick_url - Click URLclick_language - Click Languagephone - Phone Numberchannel - Campaign Channel Parameteraffid - Affiliate IDcampaignid - Campaign IDclick_affid - Click Affiliate IDclick_region - Click Regioneid - Event IDtime - Timeref - Referrer Parameterclickref - Click Referenceclick_campaign - Click Campaignclick_clickid - Click Click IDclick_browser - Click Browsertracking - General Trackingtrk - Tracking Parametersubid - Sub IDsource - Sourceclick_channel - Click Channelclick_ip - Click IPsendID - Send IDpartnerid - Partner IDclick_source - Click Sourceclick_partnerid - Click Partner IDclick_city - Click Cityaction - Actiontype - Type IDcmpid - Campaign IDclick_term - Click Termclick_ref - Click Referrerclick_os - Click Operating Systememail - Email Addresssourceid - Source IDbmeid - BM Email IDbmid - BM IDbmcid - BM Campaign IDlink_id - BM Link IDpartner_id - BM Partner IDemail_id - BM Email IDbmlid - BM Link IDcampaign_id - BM Campaign IDapm - ActivePipe Message IDapz - ActivePipe Zoneapf - ActivePipe Flagapb - ActivePipe Behaviorapv - ActivePipe Version IDapd - ActivePipe Dateapc - ActivePipe Campaign IDapa - ActivePipe Actionapu - ActivePipe User IDapn - ActivePipe NoteAs mentioned earlier, any value assigned to a URL parameter has invalid characters removed, is converted to lower-case, truncated if ridiculously long, and is slugified if required. This methods ensures consistency and prevents invalid requests.
Website URL Parameters
A large number of URL parameters are managed on your website and don't necessarily impact the statistical engine. You'll see parameters such as bmx and others pop up from time-to-time, and we use a large number of geographic tags within various modules, such as street, suburb, state etc.
UTM Tags in Facebook Campaigns
When creating Facebook ads you will have the option of applying UTM tags, and we highly recommend you assign tags that are consistent with the specific ad you're creating. This action removes the reliance on Facebook statistics and provides additional trigger options within Yabber.
There are times where a URL is required within your ad copy. In these cases, we recommend you create a truncated shor.tt link (either with full tags or a BMID). Do not use bit.ly or other third-party services - ensure you use shor.tt for quality control and full statistical integration.
Shor.tt and the BMID: The Shor.tt URL module is related only in that the system creates a URM tracking string by default (if not supplied). Read more about creating a trackable Shor.tt URL in an article titled "How to Create a Shor.tt URL on Your Website or in Yabber". The BMID (a tool to compress all tags into a single slug) is introduced in an article titled "How to Use the BMID When Tracking Links". These features are connected to the tracking module and often used in Facebook (or other) campaigns. In some cases, such as sending links to Twitter via the Sendify module, links are generally truncated with Shor.tt by default with appropriate UTM tracking tags automatically applied.
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Email Marketing Module FAQs
FAQs related to the Email Marketing module.
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