# UTM Parameters & Link Tracking

### Overview

UTM parameters are tags added to your campaign URLs that help you track the performance of your marketing efforts in analytics tools like Google Analytics. Bird's campaign platform makes it easy to add and manage UTM parameters across all your messaging channels.

### What are UTM Parameters?

UTM (Urchin Tracking Module) parameters are snippets of text added to the end of a URL to track where traffic comes from. They help you understand which campaigns, channels, and content drive the most engagement and conversions.

#### Standard UTM Parameters

* **utm\_source**: Identifies the source of your traffic (e.g., `bird` )
* **utm\_medium**: Identifies the marketing medium (e.g., `email`, `sms` , `rcs`, `whatsapp`, `push`)
* **utm\_campaign**: Identifies the specific campaign name (e.g., `summer_sale_2024`)
* **utm\_id**: Identifies the specific campaign id (e.g., `12345`)
* **utm\_term**: Identifies paid search keywords (optional)
* **utm\_content**: Specific content tags/keywords

Sample URL: [https://yourstore.com/sale?utm\_source=bird\&utm\_medium=email\&utm\_campaign=spring\_sale](https://yourstore.com/sale?utm_source=bird\&utm_medium=rcs\&utm_campaign=spring_sale)

### Defining UTM Parameters in Bird

#### Bird's Built-in UTM Builder

Bird provides an automated and dynamic UTM parameter builder:

* Under **Settings > Marketing > Analytics > UTM tracking** , you can find your pre-defined UTM parameters settings for messages sent from Campaigns, Flows and Journeys
* Bird inserts dynamic parameters like `platform_name`, `campaign_name`, `campaign_id` based on how the message is sent.

<figure><img src="/files/fl7N4dSmGNux52PWv1tf" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

You can update the above settings as needed

* To add any more standard or custom UTM parameters, click on  "Add UTM parameter"
* Fill in the UTM parameter values when sending from campaign, flow or journeys

<figure><img src="/files/zOSddnhcjBeGajXZldbc" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

* Bird will automatically generate and append the properly formatted URL to all the links in the messages sent from campaigns, journeys or flows as defined here

### Managing UTM Parameters in Journeys

By default, the Tracking is turned ON and UTM parameters as defined in the settings will be applied to all journey message links.

For Journeys, in a **Send a Message step > Advanced** tab, you can turn off applying UTM parameters for that message in the journey.

<figure><img src="/files/Lz0FPGN9XvEscxSJGtbw" alt="" width="375"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

### Link Tracking

Bird track link clicks in the following ways:

* Links clicks in Bird are tracked irrespective of UTM parameters appended or not
* Email link clicks are tracked automatically. Please ensure you have your tracking domain verified under Settings > Marketing > Email > Domains.
* Other channels like SMS, WhatsApp, Push, RCS link clicks are track when they are shortened by Bird link shortener (standard or custom). Please ensure you do not disable Bird link shortening if you want to track link clicks.
* Bird automatically shortens URLs with UTM parameters to keep your messages clean and professional while maintaining full tracking capabilities.

Learn more about [short links](https://docs.bird.com/applications/campaigns/campaigns/concepts/short-links).

#### In Bird Dashboard

* View link performance directly in Bird on the Marketing Dashboard
* You can also view link clicks in Journey insights and reports.
  * View metrics including:
    * Total clicks
    * Unique clicks
    * Click rate: Unique clicks / Delivered %
    * Link Activity: Total and Unique clicks per URL

#### In Google Analytics

Track the full customer journey:

1. Log into Google Analytics
2. Navigate to **Acquisition > Campaigns > All Campaigns**
3. Filter by your Bird campaign/flow/journey names to see:
   * Traffic volume from each campaign/flow/journey
   * User behavior and engagement
   * Conversion rates and revenue attribution


---

# Agent Instructions
This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com.

## Querying This Documentation
If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.bird.com/applications/journeys/journeys/concepts/utm-parameters-and-link-tracking.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.