Two URLs

Consider the following two URLs:

* http://www.eurasianet.org/node/67525?utm_content=buffer616b1&utm_source=buffer&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Buffer

and

* http://www.eurasianet.org/node/67525

The first one takes you to a page on Turkey. The second one takes you to exactly the same webpage using a far more compact address, quite unlike the ones you get from sites like TinyURL. The difference is that the first one was approached through a link on Twitter.

The extra elements in the URL, starting with "?", seem to contain three distinct components separated by a and ampersand "%", and each of these describes something called "utm". So what exactly is this?

It seems UTM stands for Urchin Tracking Modules created by Google Analytics to help track traffic sources. These tags apparently help you create unique links for different campaigns and enable them to be tracked while they are being distributed through emails, banner ads, or even offline marketing campaigns.

Good to know.. :)

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LINKS:

* Google Analytics - Traffic - URL Builder - https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/1033867?hl=en

* UTL Link Tracking Explained - http://www.intownwebdesign.com/google-analytics/google-analytics-utm-link-tagging-explained.html

* Explain the Internet to a 19th century Street Urchin -- http://www.fastcodesign.com/1662563/infographic-how-to-explain-the-internet-to-a-19th-century-street-urchin