UTM (Urchin Tracking Module) parameters are short pieces of text added to the end of the URL, and allow analytics platforms to identify where each surfer came from. For businesses using Zoho Forms to collect leads, connecting UTM into the CRM is the difference between 'we collected 50 leads this month' and 'we collected 50 leads — 32 from Google Ads, 12 from the newsletter and 6 from Instagram, and the best close ratio came from the newsletter'. In this guide we will go over the three parts: defining the capture, best practices and implementation in campaigns.
What are UTM parameters and what five are there?
UTM parameters are additions to the URL that allow you to track the source of each visit. The five industry standard parameters:
- utm_source — traffic source: for example google, newsletter, instagram.
- utm_medium — the marketing channel: for example cpc, email, social_post.
- utm_campaign — the name of the specific campaign: for example march_campaign, summer_sale.
- utm_term — the keyword (for sponsored search only): enables tracking at the keyword level.
- utm_content — version of the ad or link: useful for A/B testing of ads.
Part 1: Capturing UTMs using Zoho Forms and transferring them to Zoho CRM
For a full video tutorial on setting up UTM Tracking in Zoho Forms: Watch the video tutorial
The setup steps: First, turn on UTM Tracking in the Zoho Forms settings and click on 'Get Tracking Code'. The resulting code must be pasted before the closing </body> tag on all website pages. After that, UTM fields must be created in Zoho CRM — it is important to create them not only in the leads module but also in Contact, Account and Deal. The reason: this way you can track closing percentages and profit from each lead, and not just how many went to the next stage. Finally, the Zoho Forms fields must be synchronized to the CRM fields by clicking on Integration and mapping to your CRM.
Part 2: How to set up UTM effectively — Consistency rules
The foundation of effective UTM tracking is consistency. Parameters that are defined differently create fragmented data that is difficult to analyze:
- Always lowercase letters: Analytics platforms differentiate between 'Email' and 'email' — use only lowercase letters in all parameters.
- Underline instead of spaces: instead of 'End of year sale' use 'end_of_year_sale' — prevents problems with URL coding.
- Descriptive and consistent names: for the March newsletter campaign — utm_source=newsletter, utm_medium=email, utm_campaign=march_campaign.
- URL shortening when needed: Long URLs with multiple UTM parameters can be cumbersome on social networks — use Bit.ly for admin links.
- Avoid setting too many custom parameters: you can add utm_referral and other parameters, but multiple parameters make the analysis difficult.
Part 3: UTM implementation in Google AdWords campaigns
In AdWords, the recommended final URL structure is: utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign={campaignid}&utm_content={adgroupid}&utm_term={keyword}. Central working methods:
- Campaign-level tracking: Make sure each AdWords campaign has a unique utm_campaign that matches the campaign name in the AdWords interface—simplifies cross-platform performance analysis.
- Keyword tracking: Use utm_term to identify which keywords generate quality leads — and refine your bidding strategy.
- Differentiation of ad content: utm_content makes it possible to distinguish between different versions of an ad in the same campaign — essential for A/B Testing of Ad Copy.
UTM implementation in email and social media campaigns
UTM principles for additional marketing channels:
- Email campaigns: utm_medium=email, utm_source=list name, utm_campaign=campaign subject. For different versions of the same email — utm_content to distinguish between the versions.
- Social networks: utm_source=facebook/instagram, utm_medium=social_post or paid_ad. A combination of utm_campaign and utm_content allows tracking at the single post level.
- Referrals: utm_medium=referral, utm_source=the name of the referring site — allows you to know which external sites flow quality traffic.
- Many mailing platforms (Mailchimp, Zoho Campaigns) support the automatic addition of UTM parameters — it is recommended to activate the feature and not to build manually.
Conclusion
The 1T Solutions team implements Zoho Forms and Zoho CRM for businesses in Israel with projects at a fixed price and full support in Hebrew — including the definition of end-to-end UTM Tracking, from the mapping of the fields to the ROI dashboard by channel. Contact us for a free characterization call.
