How to track Youtube Video Shares with the UTM link?

To track how viewers share your YouTube videos and which channels drive the most traffic, you can append UTM parameters to the video’s URL and then monitor those campaigns in Google Analytics. Here’s how:

1. Understand UTM Parameters

UTM parameters are query-string tags you add to a URL. The most common are:

  • utm_source: identifies the referrer (e.g., facebook, twitter, newsletter)

  • utm_medium: identifies the marketing medium (e.g., social, email, cpc)

  • utm_campaign: names the campaign or promotion (e.g., spring_sale, product_launch)

  • utm_term (optional): tracks paid keywords

  • utm_content (optional): differentiates similar content or links (e.g., header_link, footer_link)

A sample tagged URL:

arduino

Copy

https://youtu.be/VIDEO_ID?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=launch_july

2. Build Your UTM-Tagged YouTube Link

  1. Open Google’s Campaign URL Builder
    https://ga-dev-tools.appspot.com/campaign-url-builder/

  2. Fill in the fields

    • Website URL: Your YouTube share link (e.g., https://youtu.be/VIDEO_ID)

    • Campaign Source: e.g., facebook, twitter, whatsapp

    • Campaign Medium: e.g., social, messenger, email

    • Campaign Name: e.g., summer_promo, giveaway

    • (Optionally) add Term/Content if you need more granularity.

  3. Copy the generated URL

    Example:

    arduino

    Copy

    https://youtu.be/ABC123?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=summer_launch&utm_content=profile

3. Distribute and Encourage Sharing

  • In Your Video Description & Pinned Comment
    Place a “Share this!” call-to-action with your UTM-tagged link so every share uses the tagged URL.

  • Via Email Newsletters
    Embed the UTM link in buttons or text links.

  • On Social Posts
    Use the specific UTM link for each platform or post type.

  • Use a Shortener (Optional)
    Services like Bitly will mask the long UTM URL, but still pass the tags through when clicked.

4. Configure Google Analytics

  1. Ensure Your GA Property is Tracking
    If you haven’t already, set up a Google Analytics property on your website. (Note: YouTube itself can’t be directly tagged, so you’re tracking clicks on the link that lead viewers to YouTube from other sites.)

  2. View Campaign Data
    In GA4:

    • Go to Reports → Acquisition → Traffic acquisition.

    • Add a filter or secondary dimension on Session source/medium or Campaign name.

    • You’ll see sessions attributed to your UTM parameters.

    In Universal Analytics (if still in use):

    • Go to Acquisition → Campaigns → All Campaigns.

    • Drill in on Source/Medium or Campaign to compare performance.

5. Best Practices

  • Standardize Naming
    Keep a spreadsheet of your UTM naming conventions to avoid typos (e.g., always “social” not sometimes “Social”).

  • Use Lowercase
    GA treats “Facebook” and “facebook” separately. Stick to lowercase.

  • Limit Optional Tags
    Only use utm_term and utm_content when you need that extra layer.

  • Test Your Link
    Click it yourself and verify in GA’s Real-Time report that the tags are registering.

6. Advanced Tracking Options

  • Event Tracking
    On your own website, you can fire a GA event when someone clicks the UTM link (using Google Tag Manager) to capture click-throughs even if they don’t become a session.

  • Custom Dashboard
    Build a GA dashboard focused on Source/Medium and Campaign to monitor your YouTube promo links at a glance.

  • URL Shortener Analytics
    Combine your UTM data with Bitly’s click analytics for where and when people clicked your link (time of day, geography).

By consistently appending UTM parameters to every share link and reviewing those campaigns in Google Analytics, you’ll be able to see which platforms and placements are driving the most traffic to your videos—and optimize your promotion strategy accordingly.

YouTube, SEO, ViralityFrancesca Tabor