The best way to add UTM parameters to your YouTube Ads
Learn how to use tracking templates to add UTM parameters to your YouTube Ads, so you can accurately track how many leads & customers you're getting
Are you trying to figure out how to add UTM parameters to your YouTube Ads?
With so many different ways to do it, it’s understandable that you could be confused. The simplest approach is to append the UTM parameters directly to the end of the URL used in your ads. However, this method can be time-consuming and prone to errors, especially if you have a few different campaigns and ads running.
Fortunately, there is a solution.
In this article, we will explain how to use a feature called tracking templates to quickly and easily add UTM parameters to all your YouTube Ads in one go.
The best method for adding UTM parameters to your YouTube Ads
The best way to add UTM parameters to your YouTube Ads is to use a feature called tracking templates.
A tracking template is basically a template you create that tells YouTube how to add UTM parameters to your ads. An example might look a bit like this:
{lpurl}?utm_medium=paid&utm_source=youtube&utm_campaign={_campaign}&utm_term={_adgroup}&utm_content={_ad}
If I was running YouTube Ads for Attributer and someone clicked one of the ads from my CRM campaign, the URL they got sent to would look a bit like this:
https://attributer.io?utm_medium=paid&utm_source=youtube&utm_campaign=crm-campaign&utm_term=salesforce-ad-group&utm_content=red-ad
As you can see from the example above, when someone clicks your ad YouTube automatically adds UTM parameters according to the tracking template you set.
Now you may have noticed that there is some strange text in the curly brackets in the tracking template that then gets replaced with real information when the ad is clicked. These are parameters. They basically little placeholders you put inside the tracking template that tells YouTube Ads what data to put in.
There are two different types of parameters in the tracking template above:
- {lpurl} = This stands for landing page URL. You would almost always put this at the beginning of your tracking template as it tells YouTube Ads to send people to the URL you place behind each of your ads (I.e. https://attributer.io).
- {_campaign} - This is a Custom Parameter. Custom Parameters will always start with an underscore. You can place Custom Parameters in the tracking template and they are then swapped out for whatever value you specify. So in the above example, the {_campaign} custom parameter would then be swapped out for whatever I specify.
In summary, the best way to add UTM parameters to your YouTube Ads is to create a tracking template with custom parameters. The tracking template will then automatically be appended to the URL every time someone clicks one of your ads, and the parameters will be overwritten with the real data.
5 simple steps for adding UTM parameters to your YouTube Ads
Now that you understand what Tracking Templates are, let’s walk through how to set them up.
1. Define what information you want to include
The first step in building your tracking template is to figure out what information you want to include in your UTM parameters.
It’s obviously completely up to you, but we’d generally recommend the following structure:
- UTM_Medium=paid
- UTM_Source=youtube
- UTM_Campaign=[Name of your campaign]
- UTM_Term=[Name of your ad group]
- UTM_Content=[Name of your ad]
2. Build your tracking template
Now that you understand what information you want to include in your UTM parameters, it’s time to build your tracking template.
The best way to do this is to open some sort of text editor (Google Docs, Microsoft Word, etc) and start writing it out.
You can use our own tracking template as a starting point:
{lpurl}?utm_medium=paid&utm_source=youtube&utm_campaign={_campaign}&utm_term={_adgroup}&utm_content={_ad}
Simply copy the above, paste it into your text editor, and change any parts of it you need to.
3. Decide where to add your tracking template
You can add a tracking template in multiple different places, including:
- Account Level - You can add the tracking template at the account level, and it will apply to all the ads in all your ad groups in all campaigns.
- Campaign Level - You can add the tracking template at the campaign level, and it will apply to all the ads in all ad groups in that campaign.
- Ad Group Level - You can add the tracking template at the Ad Group level, and it will apply to all ads in that Ad Group.
YouTube Ads then applies these bottoms up. So, if you have a tracking template set at the Ad Group level, it will overwrite any set at the Account Level.
This all seems a bit technical, but it’s important to understand if you have other types of campaigns running in your larger Google Ads account (e.g., Google search ads). You wouldn’t want to put a tracking template that has utm_source=youtube at the account level and then have it apply to your Google Search ads.
So, ultimately, you need to decide where to add the tracking template. If you are running other types of campaigns in your Google Ads account, you’ll likely want to add it to the YouTube campaigns only, but if you are only running YouTube Ads, you could apply it at the account level.
4. Add your tracking template
To add your tracking template, open up your Google Ads account.
Assuming you want to add it at the campaign level, you first need to open up the particular campaign and then select the 'Campaign Settings' button at the top.
In the panel that appears, select the ‘Campaign URL options’ dropdown.
Finally, copy and paste the tracking template you created earlier into the field titled 'Tracking Template'
5. Define your custom parameters
If you have used custom parameters in your tracking template, like {_campaign} for instance, then you’ll need to define the values for each one.
To do this, navigate to the Campaign or Ad Group you want to define them in and click the ‘Settings’ option in the top right.
In the panel that appears, select the ‘Campaign URL options’ dropdown.
And then in the Custom Parameters section, write the name of the custom parameter you want to define and then write the value.
You’ll need to do this for each of your campaigns or ad groups (depending on what custom parameters you are using in your Tracking Templates).
How to test it's working
Now that you have everything set up, the last thing you need to do is test it’s working.
To do this, navigate back to where you added the Tracking Template at the account level (Admin - Account Settings - Tracking) and click on the ‘Test’ link.
This will then show a popup that contains all the links behind the ads in that campaign. You will be able to see the exact URL each ad is sending people to, including the UTM parameters.
You should just be able to review this table and make sure the UTM parameters are being added correctly.
How to use these UTM parameters to track how many leads & customers you get from your YouTube Ads
Tools like Google Analytics make it easy to track the number of website visitors generated by your YouTube Ads, but how do you track the number of leads and customers generated?
That’s where Attributer comes in.
When a user lands on your site from one of your YouTube Ads (with UTM parameters), Attributer stores the UTMs in the visitor’s browser. This ensures that they are remembered as the user browses around your website (or if they leave and come back later).
Then, when that visitor completes a form on your website, Attributer automatically writes the UTM parameters into a series of hidden fields you add to your form.
Finally, when the visitor submits the form, the UTM parameters are captured by your form tool along with the information the lead manually entered into the form (like their name, email, phone, etc).
You can then see this information in the submissions table of your form builder, or send it to your CRM where you can use it to run reports that show how many leads & customers you've generated from your YouTube Ads.
Wrap Up
If you're trying to add UTM parameters to each of your YouTube Ads, then using tracking templates with custom parameters is a great way to do it.
Adding them this way (as opposed to placing them in the URL of each ad) saves set-up time, ensures you never forget to add them and helps keep the data structured and consistent (which ultimately makes for more accurate reporting in your analytics tools).
So go ahead and implement this in your account today!
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About the Author
Aaron Beashel is the founder of Attributer and has over 15 years of experience in marketing & analytics. He is a recognized expert in the subject and has written articles for leading websites such as Hubspot, Zapier, Search Engine Journal, Buffer, Unbounce & more. Learn more about Aaron here.