Configuring Referral Links

You can add UTM parameters to referral links shared by affiliates. UTM, short for Urchin Tracking Module, refers to the five URL parameters originally introduced by Urchin (the predecessor of Google Analytics). Adding Urchin campaign parameters to the website URL allows for tracking and analyzing user traffic from different advertisements.

Configuring UTM Parameters

Once you've added UTM parameters to referral links, you can monitor their effectiveness in Google Analytics (GA).

In the example URL below, the section after "?" represents the UTM parameters:

https://www.example.com/somepage?utm_content=xxxx&utm_medium=xxxx&utm_campaign=xxxx

You need to determine the variables for each UTM parameter. Before configuring them, it's important to understand what each UTM parameter represents and how to use them effectively. You can also refer to the instructions on Google Analytics.

You can add five different parameters to your links:

• utm_source (required): This parameter tells GA the possible source of a user, such as a specific website, publisher, advertisement, news media, social media, or others.
• utm_medium (required): Use this parameter to inform GA about the ad or marketing medium that brought a user to the website, such as CPC, banner, email, and news.
• utm_campaign (required): This parameter is used for keyword analysis. It identifies the name of strategic campaigns or promotions by using the campaign name parameter. Its purpose is to name marketing campaigns and provide additional information about the links clicked by users.
• utm_term: This parameter is used to indicate paid searches and identify advertising keywords.
• utm_content: This parameter is used for A/B testing or content-specific targeting ads. It helps differentiate between different ads or links pointing to the same URL.

Example:

• utm_source=google
• utm_medium=email
• utm_campaign=affiliate

Steps to Add UTM Parameters to Referral Links

1. In Affiliate Marketing System, go to Growth > UTM setting and switch the toggle to enable Add UTM parameters for referral link.
   
   You can select the links to which you want to add UTM parameters.

• • Affiliate Marketing System provides various referral links for affiliates, including a default link that directs users to the store homepage. It can't be deselected.
  • In addition to the default link, the marketing system also provides referral links for the product detail page and the affiliate's favorite product collection page. 

2. In the UTM parameter settings section, set up the parameters for the five UTM fields.

• • Three mandatory parameters must be set, while two optional parameters can be left empty.
  • Dynamic text suggestions are provided below each input box. You can click on them to add them as parameters.

3. Click Update.

• • Once the setup is complete, you can view the default referral link with UTM parameters on the affiliate details page.
  • After configuring your settings, the referral links that affiliates receive in the Affiliate's center will also contain UTM parameters.

Considerations for Adding UTM Parameters to Referral Links

When setting up UTM parameters, please keep the following in mind:

• If affiliates have already generated and shared shortened links before this setup, the existing links won't automatically update with UTM parameters. To track UTM parameters, they'll need to get new shortened links for sharing.
• After setting up UTM parameters, affiliates' default links will change. Previously shared links won't automatically update, so you can't track UTM parameters. Make sure to share the latest links after making updates.
• When entering UTM parameters, only use "-", "_", or "{}" for special characters within each parameter. Don't include spaces or other special characters.
• Avoid using excessively long UTM parameters, as they can lead to unusually long referral links that may cause issues.
• Affiliate Marketing System allows a maximum of two dynamic texts to be set within a single UTM parameter.