As the world of digital marketing becomes increasingly complex, it's vital to know exactly which campaigns and resources will deliver the greatest results. The tracking metrics are designed to do just that.

Why use tracking parameters?

Tracking parameters are small pieces of information that are added to a URL. These parameters allow marketers to gather detailed data about the visitor's source and behaviour. This can provide insight into how specific campaign strategies are performing and help tailor future marketing activities to achieve better results.

Setting options in |related|

In the Add tracking parameters to target URL field, you can choose from three options.

Not required: In this case, no parameters are added to the URL you specify. Choose this option if you are using a CT link from another server or a destination URL that uses redirects (e.g. bit.ly).

Standard UTM parameters: UTM is a parameterisation used by Google Analytics and other analytics tools to identify sources of web traffic. If you want to track campaign results in Google Analytics, it is recommended to use the standard UTM parameters.

For the standard setting, the following parameterization is used:

utm_source=related&utm_medium=native&utm_campaign={campaign_title}&utm_content={ad_id}<o:p></o:p>

Specific parameters: if you use advanced marketing tools and have specific needs, you may also need a few other parameters. With the choice of custom parameters we give you complete freedom to set this up. The system also offers dynamic parameters , so-called "macros", which are loaded with data at the moment of the click (e.g. the moment of the click, the type of device used by the user).

How the definition of custom parameters works

Add parameters: simply click on the "Add parameter" button, then enter the parameter name and value!

Delete parameters: remove any unwanted parameters by simply clicking on the "Delete" icon.

Insert macros: macros are dynamic parameters that are automatically filled with given information at the moment of clicking. Clicking the Add Macro button automatically inserts the macro code into the value field.

The value field is optional, in which case the parameter will be appended to the link empty.

AdBlock compatibility: many users use ad-blocking add-ons, so it is important that parameter names do not refer to advertisements or words that can be easily recognized and blocked by these add-ons. Avoid the use of parameter names like ad, advertisement, track, etc., as well as names of known ad providers and ad servers.

Existing parameters in the target URL

If your target URL already contains UTM parameters and you specify them in the ad and you also enable the standard UTM parameters in the campaign or define custom parameters, the system will combine the parameters and, if they are the same, overwrite the parameter set in the ad with the parameter set in the campaign.

In the example below, the campaign is set to Standard UTM tracking and the ad is set to the following target URL:

https://example.com/landing?utm_source=related&utm_medium=banner&custom=abc123<o:p></o:p>

The result will be the following link:

https://example.com/landing?utm_source=related&utm_medium=native&utm_campaign={campaign_title}&utm_content={ad_id}&custom=abc123<o:p></o:p>

As you can see, the utm_source and custom  parameters are retained, and utm_medium is overwritten. In addition, two new parameters, utm_campaign and utm_content, have been added.