UTM Tracking
How to create trackable links for email marketing
Email clicks need a slug you own, UTMs the ESP will not smash, and a host subscribers already trust in the preview pane.
Zipy editorial · 2026-08-05 · 8 min
Key takeaways
- Brand the host. Anonymous shorteners look like phishing in the inbox.
- One slug per placement: header, body, button, and footer are not the same click.
- Set UTM defaults on the campaign so every send inherits the same spelling.
The inbox is a trust test
Subscribers hover or preview the URL. An anonymous shortener next to your from-name is a reason to delete. Use a host they already see on your site. Keep the slug readable. go.brand.com/june-letter beats a hash even when the destination is long.
ESPs wrap links for their own click tracking. Double wrapping creates two hops and two numbers that never match. Decide who owns the click ledger. If Zipy holds the campaign report, give the ESP a URL that already includes your UTMs and skip a second wrapper when the tool allows it.
Placements are not interchangeable
The hero button, a mid-letter text link, and the footer unsubscribe-adjacent promo are different intents. Separate slugs, same campaign. You will learn whether people tap the button or ignore everything under the fold. That is more useful than a single “email” row.
Defaults beat a spreadsheet of UTMs
utm_source=newsletter, utm_medium=email, utm_campaign=the send name. Put those on the campaign object. Content can split header vs footer. Do not invent SummerSale, summer-sale, and summer_sale across three teammates. Read device and country next to the send. A mobile-heavy letter may need a different destination than the desktop archive.
Google: email sender guidelines
Related: how-to-track-campaigns-with-utm · how-branded-links-improve-trust