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As a marketer, you know how important it is to track your efforts. You need to know where leads are coming from so that you know what’s working — and what’s not. Most importantly, you need to be able to go to decision-makers with data-fueled recommendations for future campaigns.
For digital marketing, this is a relatively simple task to accomplish in your marketing automation platform. But for traditional media, like print ads, television, or billboards, attribution can be tricky. And yet, research proves year after year that print ads are still highly effective at attracting and converting new leads — even younger generations!
The solution for effectively tracking traditional media is quite simple using a free tool you likely already use — Google Analytics. Here’s an easy 5-step process for tracking traditional media in GA.
Step 1 – Create A Custom Landing Page For Your Campaign
Creating custom landing pages for each marketing campaign ensures the messaging is targeted. Include a clear call to action and easy-to-follow form to funnel leads through the page and convert them.
It’s important to note that the landing page should be EXCLUDED from search indexing. This ensures all traffic to the page comes specifically from the ad campaign, and that the page was not just stumbled upon organically in search.
Step 2 – Set Up A Vanity Or Shortened URL
With digital marketing, a user simply clicks a link. With print, the user must remember the URL and type it into a browser. So short and simple is key when setting up a URL for a print campaign.
But the reality is that you’re likely building a custom landing page for the campaign. For example, a campaign URL for a print ad for a protein shake in Shape magazine might look something like this: https://proteinpowdercompany.com/products/probiotic-protein-shake/Shapemag/. But there’s no way someone is going to remember or type all of that!
A vanity URL allows you to create a shortened version that redirects to the full URL. A vanity URL for this page might be something like proteinpowdercompany.com/shape. Alternatively, you can use a URL shortener like https://bitly.com/. However, Bitly URLs will still contain letters and numbers that may be difficult to remember.
Once you’ve settled on a short and sweet URL, you need to create and apply UTM tracking parameters.
Step 3 – Set Up UTM Tracking Parameters
UTM parameters are codes added to the end of your URL to help you track the campaign in Google Analytics. You can use Google’s Campaign URL Builder to generate the code. If you’ve never used UTM parameters, Google provides more information on each parameter below the form on the builder page.
Using the example above, your full URL plus UTM code might be something like this: proteinpowdercompany.com/?utm_source=shape%20magazine&utm_medium=print&utm_campaign=promo
Step 4 – Redirect The Vanity URL To The Landing Page
Now it’s time to redirect your short vanity URL to the full URL with the tracking code. This means when a user types in proteinpowdercompany.com/shape, they will automatically be redirected to proteinpowdercompany.com/products/probiotic-protein-shake/Shapemag/?utm_source=shape%20magazine&utm_medium=print&utm_campaign=promo.
This step requires a bit of technical know-how and will vary depending on your website platform. Check with your developer if you need help.
Step 5 – Track Traffic In Google Analytics
Once the redirect is in place, paste the vanity URL into your browser and test to make sure it redirects. Once you arrive on the campaign landing page, it will be instantly tracked in Google Analytics because of the UTM parameters you placed in the URL.
To view traffic in Google Analytics, click on Real-Time reports on the left. Select traffic sources and click the campaign you want to view. You should see one active user on the site in real-time (that’s you doing the test!). As the campaign goes live, you can toggle to see page views over time, as well as other helpful metrics.
The Benefit Of Tracking Traditional Media
The biggest challenge with tracking traditional media is that most traffic is misclassified. Because it’s important to give out a short, easy-to-remember URL, most companies would just list their homepage. Someone would then see the ad and type in the company URL — but that traffic is simply classified as ‘direct;’ it doesn’t tell you that the person came from an ad in Shape magazine. Alternatively, someone may remember the name of the company and do a search for it — but that traffic is classified as ‘organic’ and also gives no indication that the person came from an ad.
Using Google Analytics to apply UTM tracking parameters and redirecting vanity links to the full, trackable link is really the only way to trace where leads came from — short of asking them on an intake form. Once you get the hang of it, it’s an easy process that can add serious value to your revenue attribution efforts!
Need help setting up your campaigns? Check out Pixel People’s Digital Marketing services. From one-off tasks to comprehensive managed services, we have everything you need to successfully scale your marketing efforts. Contact us to learn more!
