How To Use Master Tracking Codes

The Urchin Campaign Tracking Module (beginning with version 5.6 and UTM-4) allows you to tag your links using master tracking codes (a utm_id) instead of individual variables. You simply use utm_id in your links, and define the meaning of each utm_id in a table. For example, instead of

http://www.hostsite.com/?utm_source=overture&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=springpromo

you can use the UTM-4 variable utm_id as follows.

http://www.hostsite.com/?utm_id=2

Using utm_id hides your campaign tracking variables from web surfers and makes your tagging process less error-prone, since campaign tracking variable values are specified in a table, where corrections and changes are easily made.

To use master tracking codes, you

• Define your codes in a table
• Apply the table as a filter to your profile
• Use your master tracking codes in your links

Defining Your Codes

To define your codes:

1. Create a table in Excel that maps your codes to a set of campaign variables. An example is shown below.
   The first row of the file must begin with "#Fields:", followed by UTM variable names in any order.
   Each row defines the campaign variable settings for the master tracking code you place in the #Fields column. Use a hyphen (-) to indicate no value.
   You may omit any fields from the table for which there are no values for any code. For example, utm_term has been omitted from the spreadsheet, below.

   

2. Save the Excel table as a tab delimited plain text file in the lib/custom/lookuptables directory of your Urchin distribution. You must save the file with an extension of ".lt".

Applying the Table to Your Profile

To apply the table to a profile:

1. In the Admin tool, click Configuration.
2. Edit the profile to which you wish to apply the master tracking codes.
3. In the Profile Filters tab, click Add.
4. In the Filter Wizard:Options screen, select Add New Filter and click Next
5. In the Filter Wizard:Settings screen, select Lookup Table.
   The Table Name field appears in the wizard.
6. From the Table Name drop down list, select the name of the table you created in the section Defining Your Codes, above. If your table does not appear in the drop down list, make sure that the table file name ends with .lt and that it has been saved in the lib/custom/lookuptables directory of your Urchin distribution.
7. From the Filter Field drop down list, select utm_id (AUTO).
8. Click Finish.

Using Your Codes in Your Links

Use the values in the Fields column of your lookup table as utm_id values. For example, using the lookup table created in this article, above, you might tag a link as follows:

http://www.hostsite.com/?utm_id=1

Additional Notes

If you use utm_id in conjunction with other UTM variables in a link (such as utm_source), the values of the other variables will be overwritten with the values in your lookup table. For example, using the lookup table shown in this article, above, the utm_source for the following link would be overwritten with the value of "google":

http://www.hostsite.com/?utm_id=1&utm_source=overture

However, the utm_term in the following link would not be overwritten, since no value for utm_term was provided in the lookup table. (utm_source and utm_medium would be overwritten with values from the table.)

http://www.hostsite.com/?utm_id=1&utm_source=overture&utm_term=tennis&utm_medium=cpc