Introduction
If visitors are directed to the website via a link or an ad, etracker analytics automatically records the referrer domain as the origin, including information in UTM or etracker link parameters. In this way, any campaigns from all systems can be measured.
Optionally, campaign parameters from Piwik Pro and Matomo can also be automatically assigned. This makes it easier to migrate to etracker analytics and prevents gaps in campaign measurement. The option can be found under Account → Automatic collection → Campaign parameters from Google, Piwik Pro and Matomo.
What are UTM parameters?
UTM parameters are special variables with which the URLs of the campaigns are extended in order to be able to evaluate them in detail. UTM stands for “Urchin Tracking Modules”. The web analysis software Urchin was purchased by Google in 2005 and is the predecessor of Google Analytics.
The UTM parameters are also recorded by etracker analytics by default and assigned to the etracker campaign attributes. Existing campaigns with UTM parameters do not need to be changed and campaign links can be created as usual.
Further information on UTM parameter mapping can be found here.
What are etracker link parameters?
Campaign information can be transferred as an alternative or in addition to UTM parameters using etracker link parameters. These are also “name-value” pairs with predefined or self-configured attribute names (or campaign segments).
How do I use etracker link parameters?
While a maximum of five UTM parameters are available, up to fifteen dimensions can be transferred with etracker link parameters and campaigns can therefore be evaluated very granularly. The etracker link parameters are divided into two required parameters (mandatory attributes) and thirteen optional parameters.
How to create target URLs with etracker link parameters:
- Basic structure: Start with the target URL to which the advertising material should refer, e.g:
https://www.beispielseite.de/landingpage - Append the parameters: Append the first parameter to the target URL using a question mark. Further parameters follow with an ampersand, e.g:
https://www.beispielseite.de/landingpage?etcc_med=Newsletter&etcc_cmp=Januar
Use the etracker campaign link generator to create target URLs easily and conveniently. Created campaign links or target URLs can be saved in this way. This makes the process even easier in the event of later modifications and prevents incorrectly different spellings or names.
Necessary parameters
The attributes listed in the table are required by default for the measurement of external campaigns (mandatory attributes).
| Attribute | Parameter (attribute name) | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Medium | etcc_med | Category of the source. By default, the media "SEO" is assigned for recognized search engines, "Social Media" for recognized social media, "Link/Referrer" for other sources of origin and "Type-In" for entries without referrers or parameters (including direct entries). |
| Campaign | etcc_cmp | Name of the campaign or advertising measure. |
Optional parameters
The attributes listed in the table can be transferred in addition to the mandatory attributes.
| Attribute | Parameter (attribute name) | Remark |
|---|---|---|
| Partner | etcc_par | |
| Display | etcc_ctv | |
| Group | etcc_grp | |
| Booked keyword | etcc_bky | |
| Match type | etcc_mty | |
| Booked device | etcc_bde | |
| Origin | etcc_ori | Overwrites the automatically entered referrer domain. |
| Keyword | etcc_key | Overwrites the automatically entered searched keyword if necessary. As Google has been encrypting its search results page since the end of 2011, the keyword data for organic search results is rarely transferred. In most cases, the value "not provided" is therefore displayed. |
| Advertiser | et_cmp_seg1 | Name can be customized. |
| Agency | et_cmp_seg2 | Name can be customized. |
| Goal | et_cmp_seg3 | Name can be customized. |
| Variant | et_cmp_seg4 | Name can be customized. |
| Placement | et_cmp_seg5 | Name can be customized. |
Change attribute names
The names of the five customizable campaign segments can be found under Account → Campaign dimensions can be changed.
Transfer parameter values statically or dynamically
The information on the campaign attributes can be transferred as static or dynamic values:
Static: The transferred value is permanently stored in the link, e.g. etcc_cmp=brand (campaign name).
Dynamic: The values are automatically added by the advertising platforms using variables, e.g. etcc_bky={keyword}. {keyword} stands for the booked keyword that triggered the ad display.
Unfortunately, marketing platforms do not offer suitable variables for all desired information. Therefore, a mixture of static and dynamic values is often useful.
The link parameters are each added as an ending to the target URL, separated by ‚?‘. The values are assigned to the parameters with a ‚=‘. The complete target URL with parameters then looks like this, for example:
https://www.website.de/landingpage?etcc_med=Newsletter&etcc_cmp=JanuarAs a user, however, you do not have to deal with the structure and formatting, but thanks to the etracker Campaign Link Generator you can concentrate entirely on filling in the parameter values.
Using dynamic parameters
By clicking on Configuration → Conversion upload you will be taken to the recommended parameters for tracking Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, Meta Ads and TikTok Ads.
Following the same principle, variables from other systems, such as Baidu or Yandex, can also be used for the delivery of online advertising. It is important that the allocation is as consistent as possible across all platforms.
| Campaign segment | etracker parameters | Google Ads | Facebook/ Instagram Ads | Microsoft Advertising | Baidu Ads | Yandex.Direct | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medium | etcc_med | SEA | Social%20Ads | SEA | SEA | SEA | Social%20Ads |
| Partner | etcc_par | {{site_source_name}} | Bing | Baidu | Yandex | ||
| Campaign | etcc_cmp | {campaignid} or manual input | {{campaign.name}} | {Campaign} | Manual input | {campaign_name} | {{CAMPAIGN_ID}} |
| Group | etcc_grp | {adgroupid} or manual input | {{adset.name}} | {AdGroup} | {gbid} | {{CAMPAIGN_GROUP_NAME}} | |
| Booked keyword | etcc_bky | {keyword} | {keyword:default} | {keywordid} | {keyword} | ||
| Match type | etcc_mty | {matchtype} | {MatchType} | {match_type} | |||
| Placement | etcc_plc | {placement} | {{placement}} | {placement} | {source} | ||
| Display | etcc_ctv | {creative} | {{ad.name}} | {AdId} | {creative} | {ad_id} | {{CREATIVE_ID}} |
| Booked device | etcc_bde | {device} | {Device} | {device_type} | |||
| Variant | etcc_var | {gclid} | {msclkid} | ||||
| Keyword | etcc_key | {QueryString} | {matched_keyword} |
Our consultants will be happy to support you in developing a campaign tagging concept for the sustainable and granular measurement of all marketing measures.