UTM, Macros in tracking URLs

UTM-tag: What is it and what does it do?

UTM-tags are parameters that are added to the “tail” of the link to track traffic sources on a landing page.

An example of a UTM-tag:

https://test.io/?utm_source=bitmedia&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign={country_code}_{source}&utm_content={subid}

What types of UTM-tags are there?

There are two ways to classify the tags:

• Required and optional
• Static and dynamic

The required UTM-tags are the three parameters that always have to be included:

1. utm_source;

2. utm_medium;

3. utm_campaign.

Optional tags include the two commonly accepted parameters (utm-term and utm-content) and the parameters of large advertising systems. You can create your own UTM tags; the most important part is to document the type of information sent along with each specific tag. 

What to include in each tag

Whatever. The important part is to make it easy for you to identify the traffic source. 

You can use the following simple scheme:

• source — where the traffic comes from (e.g. Bitmedia, google, campaign32, – the name of the campaign, i.e. the source of traffic)

• medium — any additional parameter (in the case with Bitmedia, we suggest you include something like “addgroups”, “cpc” or “cpm, but you can also include any value you need)

• campaign — (commonly accepted) the name of the advertisement campaign in the account (in the case with Bitmedia, we suggest you use the variable {source}, which will allow you to correctly trace the IDs of the platforms where the ad is placed)  

• content — false statement (the number of the ad in the campaign from the campaign parameter); the info about the ad (we recommend using {subid} on our platform to track which particular ad works better without having to include every value manually)

Our link as an example

https://test.io/?utm_source=bitmedia&utm_medium=cpc_{country_code}&utm_campaign={source}&utm_content={subid}

A UTM-tag consists of the parameter and the value

• parameter – utm_source, value – bitmedia,
• parameter – utm_medium, value – cpc, etc.

How to use UTM-tags

Normally, there is no need for additional extensions.

There are analytics systems that are installed on the website, such as Google Analytics (or any other trackers). These systems generate reports that allow you to see which traffic sources a user came from, performed the intended action, look at the conversion rate, etc.

What are macros in tracking URLs?

Macros in tracking URLs are special tags or markers used in URLs to calculate clicks and impressions to gain additional information about ad clicks. 

For example, in this link template

https://test.io/?utm_source=bitmedia&utm_medium=cpc_{country_code}&utm_campaign={source}&utm_content={subid}

macros are:

• {country_code} — country code 
• {source} — publisher’s ID number (source of traffic)
• {subid} — subaccount identifier – the name of the ad block that the advertiser assigned to the ad

How macros work

As you general the final link (the URL the final user will follow), macros have to be replaced with actual values. For instance, the aforementioned template will send the following data into the analytics:

https://test.io/?utm_source=bitmedia&utm_medium=cpc_{country_code}&utm_campaign={source}&utm_content={subid}

Here, the following was replaced:

• {country_code} → US, UK, GE etc. – country code
• {subId} → “greenbanner”, “spincat” etc – the title of the ad
• {source} → 994905857908  – 12-digit ID number of the publisher 

Our partners can work with those macros that Bitmedia provides by default. 

Tags of Bitmedia

Tag	Type	Description	Example
{source}	string	source id	123456
{clickid} or {click_id}	string	click id	f2fe850b-d40a-4022-855b-2cff2db11803
{ip}	string	customer IP (who made a click)	000.000.00.00
{country_code}	string	country code ISO 3166-1 (Alpha-2). Example: AD, GB, US	US
{bid}	floating-point	rate in the system, for CPM will display the price for one impression	0.0408
{subid}	string	heading of ad block (unit)	Title+Title

UTM-tags of Bitmedia

UTM tag	Type	Description	Example
{utm_content}	string	If {utm_source} and {utm_medium} is not empty, and {utm_content} are not filled by the user. The banner size {advertisement id}-{width}x{height} is written in this macros	63345bc2c1093102030a0a72-320×1200
{utm_source}	string	The user writes in user dashboard	rihanna
{utm_medium}	string	The user writes in user dashboard	rihanna

Macros of Bitmedia

Below is the list of Bitmedia macros that can be used in tracking URLs:

Adjust macros	Type	Description	Example
{cost_type}	string	CPC or CPM type	CPM
{cost_amount}	floating-point	The rate in the system (advertiser’s bid) will display the price for 1000 impressions for SPM	40.8
{cost_currency}	string	Bid currency (for example, USD) according to the ISO 4217 standard	USD

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