Did you know that while a single URL tag can unlock a treasure trove of visitor insights, one misplaced UTM tag can wreak havoc on your site’s SEO strength? In this blog post, Senior Digital PR Strategist, Theresa Bass demystifies these tracking tags, revealing how they can turbocharge your campaign analytics and the pitfalls that could drain your link equity when misused.
Prepare to dive deep into mastering UTM power—and learning when to steer clear for optimal SEO success.
My Expert Opinion on UTM Parameters and SEO
Urchin Tracking Module (UTM) parameters are great for tracking certain online marketing campaigns. Also known as UTM tags, these parameters attach to the end of a URL to make it uniquely identifiable and attributable to a traffic source, such as a social media ad or a call-to-action button.
With the help of effective UTM tracking, you can see where traffic to a page comes from, which can then help you measure the effectiveness of your marketing strategy.
At the same time, I do not recommend relying on this campaign tracking method for SEO, as it can hurt rather than help your efforts by compromising link equity. The key is knowing when to use these parameters and how to avoid hindering SEO through duplicate content, URL bloat, and referral source misattribution.
The Case for UTM Parameters
Using tools like Google Analytics, marketers can use UTM parameters to see precisely which channels bring in new or existing leads and customers, with links that are unique to each campaign.
For example, you might use the Google Analytics Campaign URL Builder to put together a URL that works with an email newsletter campaign promoting a summer sale and want to see how many people click through those emails.
Using the tool, your URL would look something like this:
These parameters are attached to the end of a URL for identification and differentiation based on source, campaign, or other characteristics.
The main types of UTM parameters used for campaign tracking include:
- utm_source: This parameter looks at the traffic source attracting website visitors. Possible sources include ad platforms, newsletters, search engines, and other platforms. For example, in the above example, “utm_source=newsletter.”
- utm_campaign: This tag identifies the type of campaign using a particular source, medium, or piece of content. In the above example, “utm_campaign=summer_sale” would indicate that this URL applies to a summer sales period.
- utm_medium: This parameter refers to the medium or channel used to run a campaign and provides the source. The example’s “utm_medium=email” tag indicates that email is the channel for the newsletter campaign.
- utm_content: You can also use this tag to indicate a specific type of content within a source, such as a specific call to action button on a web page.
utm_term: Use this parameter to track particular keywords, like a search term in a PPC ad campaign.
You can then use these tags to track campaign performance and determine what’s working and what isn’t. For instance, you could map a sales funnel that tracks links at various touch points and see where people are dropping off in the funnel, with the links indicating the specific source, campaign, and other attributes within that funnel.
The SEO Drawbacks of UTM Parameters
UTM parameters can be great for gauging marketing performance in many cases. However, they could hurt SEO in the following key ways:
Link Equity Dilution
Also known as link juice, can suffer when UTM parameters and SEO efforts clash. Link equity is an SEO concept in which links transfer credibility from one page to another. A strong, authoritative site linking to another page helps boost that page’s credibility and ranking power. The term “link juice” refers to the way good pages fuel their linked counterparts.
For instance, backlinks on another trusted website with authority that link back to your site could signal to search engines that your content is worthy of ranking. Over time, the linked page could see an increase in search ranking performance.
Link juice could also apply to internal linking strategies, with more well-established pages on your site linking to blog posts, service pages, or other less authoritative content.
However, if the link to a page uses UTM parameters, that authority might not transfer to the original page, as Google views it as a separate page.
URL Bloat
URL bloat, or index bloat, is another issue that can arise with the use of UTM parameters.
Search engines have a limited crawl budget to use to crawl and index pages on a website, so the more URLs your website has for bots to crawl, the longer it will take to get your pages indexed and ranking.
Due to this risk, it’s often better to have clean and short links that are easy to crawl and to establish which version of a page you want to index and rank.
Referral Source Misattribution
Improper use of UTM parameters may also cause Google Analytics to misattribute traffic to the wrong source.
This issue could lead marketers to draw incorrect conclusions about campaign performance, which could then result in unnecessary and damaging changes to content based on inaccurate data.
This risk is why it’s crucial to implement UTM tags with each campaign correctly.
Duplicate Content Issues
Without proper use, search engines could perceive multiple URLs for the same page as duplicate content, comprising multiple pages. In turn, your content could face a penalty from Google and other platforms if it isn’t clear which page is the original content.
Alternative Tracking Methods That Preserve SEO Value
To prevent potential damage to SEO equity and other issues, there are certain UTM alternatives you can use for campaign tracking.
These methods could include:
Server-Side Tracking and First-Party Data
One of the best UTM alternatives to use is server-side tracking, which helps you track campaigns using data collected from your server rather than a user’s browser.
This method uses first-party data that users provide with their consent, including names and contact information that you can incorporate into campaigns. This kind of data is often more accurate and reliable, helping you understand how your marketing efforts are performing while tracking user interactions.
Another advantage of server-side tracking is the ability to optimize site and app performance, as these platforms see improved security and faster loading times. In the process, you can remain compliant with increasing privacy restrictions as brands like Google transition away from third-party data.
The only potential issues with server-side tracking include increased complexity compared to UTM parameters, and they can take up more server resources.
First-party data could also be limited and give you a more short-sighted view of user behavior. In addition, it can require more resources and capable data management systems.
Google Tag Manager
Another option you can implement is Google Tag Manager (GTM), which uses a management system to manage tracking tags.
GTM helps with setting up and maintaining Google Analytics, with the ability to simplify tag management without the need to change any website code. The asynchronous loading of tags can also help optimize page performance and speed.
In addition, GTM works with other marketing platforms beyond Google Analytics, offering plenty of flexibility to help you manage your campaigns.
Just keep in mind that GTM comes with a bit of a learning curve, as it can take some getting used to when initially using this tool. You’ll also need to use a third-party analytics tool to view the data collected through Google Tags.
Custom Redirects
You can also use custom redirects as UTM alternatives. These redirects use personalized tracking links that you can use for specific campaigns and pages.
For example, you could set up custom redirects for links on campaign-specific landing pages. These redirects would indicate the unique source of visitors to those pages and take them to the most relevant pages across the campaign.
Maintaining tracking parameters within custom redirects can also prevent potential misattribution of traffic sources and boost your campaign’s overall performance.
While custom redirects can preserve tracking parameters and improve attribution, incorrect configuration can lead to data loss. Therefore, it is important to have technical expertise behind your campaigns when setting up custom redirects.
Improve Link Equity and Overall SEO Performance With Ignite Visibility
UTM parameters can be great for campaign tracking when used outside of SEO campaigns, but it’s often ideal to use suitable UTM alternatives when appropriate to avoid the potential setbacks they might cause.
At the same time, managing Google Tags, custom redirects, and server-side data can be difficult. That is why you may benefit greatly from working with experienced marketing professionals to get the most from your campaigns.
At Ignite Visibility, we can provide you with comprehensive SEO services that help you climb to the top of search engines and stay there, along with paid media campaigns and many other strategies that help you succeed with your overarching digital marketing strategy.
When you turn to us, you’ll get help with:
- Properly implementing UTM parameters and URLs when appropriate
- Using the most compatible alternatives based on your campaign goals and website needs
- Developing robust SEO campaigns that help you dominate competitors in search results
- Regularly monitoring and measuring campaigns with accurate, reliable data
- Continually optimizing campaigns to get even better results and achieve all of your marketing goals
- And more!
Contact us today to find out what sets us apart from other marketing companies and get started on a custom campaign with our experts.
