How do I add UTM parameters to my LinkedIn URL?

Adding UTM parameters to your LinkedIn URL is an effective way to track traffic sources, monitor campaign performance, and gain insights into how visitors are engaging with your content. UTM stands for Urchin Tracking Module, which is a system used to tag links so you can track visits, conversions, etc. in Google Analytics. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about using UTM parameters on LinkedIn.

What are UTM parameters?

UTM parameters are a simple string of text appended to a URL to track traffic sources and other campaign metrics. Each UTM parameter starts with utm_ and then a prefix to denote what it tracks:

• utm_source – Identifies the referrer (e.g. google, newsletter)
• utm_medium – Marketing medium (e.g. cpc, banner, email)
• utm_campaign – Product, promo code, or slogan
• utm_term – Identifies keywords
• utm_content – Used to differentiate ads

When added to your LinkedIn URL, these UTM codes are passed along to LinkedIn which can then pass it to Google Analytics. This allows you to dig deeper into the performance of your LinkedIn campaigns by answering questions like:

• What marketing channels or campaigns drive the most LinkedIn traffic?
• Which keywords or posts result in the most LinkedIn profile views?
• Do visitors from LinkedIn engage differently than other referral traffic?

How to Add UTM Parameters to Your LinkedIn URL

Adding UTM parameters to your LinkedIn URL is easy! Simply append the UTM codes to the end of your URL with a “?” between the URL and UTM codes.

Here is an example LinkedIn URL with UTM parameters:

https://www.linkedin.com/company/xyz/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=summer&utm_term=small+business&utm_content=june+newsletter

When adding UTM parameters to your LinkedIn URL, follow these best practices:

• Place UTM parameters after the “?” in the format utm_code=value
• Separate each UTM parameter with an “&”
• Use descriptive values – “newsletter” rather than “email”
• URL encode any special characters in the values
• Always include lower case utm_ at the start of each parameter
• Keep UTM codes consistent across channels/campaigns
• Add UTM parameters to all links you’ll use in campaigns or track

Essential UTM Parameters to Use

At a minimum, you should use utm_source, utm_medium, and utm_campaign when adding UTM parameters to LinkedIn. These three cover the fundamentals of identifying traffic sources and monitoring channel and campaign performance.

Some additional parameters you may want to consider include:

• utm_term – Track keywords that drive traffic for SEO
• utm_content – Differentiate similar LinkedIn ads
• utm_id – Unique ID for each visitor to track user journey
• utm_device – Identify mobile vs desktop visitors

Examples of UTM Parameters on LinkedIn

Here are some examples of UTM parameters you can add to LinkedIn URLs for various use cases:

LinkedIn Ads

https://www.linkedin.com/company/xyz/?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=lead-gen-ad&utm_content=it-manager

LinkedIn Sponsored Content

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:1234/?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=sponsored+update&utm_campaign=thought-leadership

LinkedIn Message

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jsmith/?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=message&utm_campaign=referral-program&utm_term=john-smith

LinkedIn Company/Showcase Page

https://www.linkedin.com/company/xyz/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=smallbiz&utm_term=growing+business&utm_content=april+newsletter

LinkedIn Article Share

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/article/20140924184558-1234-top-10-ways-to-optimize-your-linkedin-profile/?utm_source=LinkedIn&utm_campaign=profile-optimization

How to Track UTM Parameters in Google Analytics

To track UTM parameters in Google Analytics, you first need to set up campaign tracking in your GA account. Follow these steps:

1. In your GA account, navigate to Admin > Channel Settings.
2. Under Channel Grouping, select “Default Channel Grouping”.
3. Check the box for “Allow manual tagging”.
4. Under Campaign Tracking, select “Yes” for tracking campaign details.

Once enabled, UTM parameters will automatically be collected and organized under Acquisition > Campaigns. You can view traffic source, medium, campaign name, keywords, and more.

You can also apply filters to isolate traffic from LinkedIn and analyze engagement metrics. Under Acquisition > Campaigns, select “+ Add Segment” and create a segment filtered by Campaign Source = LinkedIn.

Tips for Using UTM Parameters on LinkedIn

Here are some tips to help you get the most value from UTM tracking on LinkedIn:

• Identify your main LinkedIn marketing objectives – leads, traffic, brand awareness? Use UTM parameters to track performance towards these goals.
• Organize UTM values by campaign objective – Brand, Lead Gen, Engagement etc. Makes filtering and analysis easier.
• Use UTM parameters on all LinkedIn links – posts, articles, ads, messages, profile URLs, etc.
• Keep UTM values consistent over time. Don’t change utm_campaign from “summer-promo” to “summer22”.
• Shorten overly long parameters like campaign names when possible.
• Check campaign tags are passing to Google Analytics using real time reports.
• Analyze UTM reports frequently to optimize LinkedIn marketing performance.

Conclusion

Adding UTM parameters to your LinkedIn URLs is a quick, easy way to better track and optimize your LinkedIn marketing. By tagging links with campaign and traffic source codes, you can gain visibility into your most effective channels, ads, posts, keywords and more.

Be sure to follow best practices with consistent and descriptive UTM values. Enable campaign tracking in Google Analytics to collect this data and create focused segments to isolate your LinkedIn traffic sources and engagement. With UTM tracking in place, you have the insights needed to maximize your LinkedIn marketing results.