A campaign in web analytics is a named set of marketing touches designed to drive traffic and conversions. Think of it as a logical container for visits that share the same intent and tracking tags—email push in March, spring sale on paid search, a sponsored newsletter, etc. We identify campaigns with tracking parameters (see UTM Parameters) attached to links. Together with Source and Medium, the utm_campaign value lets your analytics tool attribute visits, Sessions, and outcomes to the right effort.
How campaigns are tracked (in practice)
- Tagging: Every outbound link in the campaign should carry consistent UTM tags. Missing tags = traffic falls into “direct/unknown,” corrupting your reports.
- Granularity: Use
utm_contentandutm_termto split creatives/keywords under the same campaign for deeper analysis. - Landing consistency: Point traffic to a relevant Landing Page and keep redirects minimal to preserve tags.
- Attribution: Conversions roll up to campaigns per your chosen Attribution Model (last touch, first touch, multi-touch). Different models will credit different campaigns for the same conversion—by design.
Common campaign metrics (quick math)
- CTR (Click-Through Rate) = Clicks / Impressions
- Conversion Rate = Conversions / Sessions
- CPA (Cost Per Acquisition) = Spend / Conversions
- ROAS = Revenue / Spend
Mini example
| Metric | Formula | Example |
|---|---|---|
| CTR | 1,500 / 50,000 | 3% |
| CPC | $3,000 / 1,500 | $2.00 |
| Conversion Rate | 120 / 1,200 | 10% |
| CPA | $3,000 / 120 | $25 |
| ROAS | $9,000 / $3,000 | 3.0 |
Quality checklist for campaign tracking
- One canonical campaign name across platforms (BI, ads, CRM).
- UTM taxonomy documented; enforce via link builders and QA.
- Track spend and revenue alongside traffic to get CPA/ROAS, not just visits.
- Watch for “dark” traffic: untagged links in PDFs, apps, chat—add redirects or UTMs.
SEO notes: Use phrases like marketing campaign tracking, UTM campaign, campaign attribution, and measure campaign performance in surrounding content to capture long-tail intent.