UTM Tracking Guide for Sponsors

Track exactly where your traffic comes from and which itineraries drive the most conversions

Also see: Banner Specifications
Back to Partners

What are UTM Parameters?

UTM parameters are tags added to your URLs that help you track where your website traffic comes from. When visitors click links from Plantrip itineraries, these parameters tell your analytics exactly:

  • Which platform sent the traffic (Plantrip)
  • Where they clicked (banner image vs. activity link)
  • Which campaign it's part of (your company name)
  • Which specific itinerary drove the visit

UTM Parameters Plantrip Uses

Example URL
https://yourcompany.com?utm_source=plantrip&utm_medium=banner&utm_campaign=your-company&utm_content=123
Parameter Value Meaning
utm_source plantrip Traffic came from Plantrip.io
utm_medium banner or itinerary Banner = clicked your banner image/button
Itinerary = clicked an activity link
utm_campaign your-company-name Your company name (lowercased, hyphenated)
utm_content 123 The specific itinerary ID

Setting Up Tracking (Google Analytics)

Prerequisites

You need Google Analytics installed on your website. If you don't have it yet, sign up at analytics.google.com

Step-by-Step Setup

Step 1: Verify Google Analytics
  1. Go to your website
  2. View page source (right-click → View Page Source)
  3. Search for "gtag" or "ga(" - if found, you have Google Analytics ✓
Step 2: Access Your Reports

For Google Analytics 4 (GA4):

  1. Log in to Google Analytics
  2. Navigate to: Reports → Acquisition → Traffic acquisition
  3. Look for traffic from plantrip / banner and plantrip / itinerary

For Universal Analytics (UA):

  1. Navigate to: Acquisition → All Traffic → Source/Medium
  2. Look for plantrip / banner and plantrip / itinerary
Step 3: View Campaign Data
  1. Navigate to: Acquisition → Campaigns → All Campaigns
  2. Find your campaign name (e.g., "valencia-travel-cusco")
  3. Click it to see detailed performance metrics

What You Can Track

Traffic Volume
  • Total visitors from Plantrip
  • Sessions per itinerary
  • New vs. returning visitors
  • Traffic trends over time
Click Behavior
  • Banner clicks vs. activity link clicks
  • Which itineraries drive most traffic
  • Bounce rate per source
  • Pages visited after arrival
Revenue & ROI
  • Conversions from Plantrip traffic
  • Revenue per itinerary
  • Cost per acquisition
  • ROI on sponsored itineraries
User Insights
  • Demographics of visitors
  • Geographic location
  • Device type (mobile/desktop)
  • Time on site

Example Reports You'll See

Source/Medium Report

Source / Medium Sessions Users Bounce Rate Conversions
plantrip / itinerary 450 380 42% 23
plantrip / banner 125 98 38% 8
google / organic 1,200 950 55% 45

Content Report (Top Itineraries)

Itinerary ID Sessions Conversions Revenue
1031319 145 8 $2,450
1028522 89 5 $1,200
1027540 67 3 $980

Key Insights You Can Discover

Compare plantrip / banner vs plantrip / itinerary to see if people prefer clicking your banner image or activity links throughout the itinerary.

Use the utm_content parameter (itinerary ID) to identify which specific itineraries drive the most traffic and conversions. Double down on promoting similar destinations!

If you have e-commerce tracking enabled, you can see exact revenue generated from Plantrip traffic. Compare this against your sponsorship cost to calculate ROI.

Track bounce rate, time on site, and pages per session for Plantrip traffic. High engagement = quality traffic worth the investment.

Don't Have Google Analytics?

Alternative Tracking Methods
1. Server Log Analysis

Check your server logs for URLs containing utm_source=plantrip

2. Other Analytics Tools

UTM parameters work with any analytics platform:

  • Matomo (formerly Piwik)
  • Adobe Analytics
  • Mixpanel
  • Plausible Analytics
3. Simple URL Counter

Create a redirect page on your site that counts clicks before forwarding to the final destination.

Testing Your Tracking

Quick Test
  1. Visit one of your sponsored itineraries on Plantrip
  2. Right-click any activity link → "Copy Link Address"
  3. Paste it - you should see the UTM parameters
  4. Click the link and visit your site
  5. Check Google Analytics real-time report → you should see traffic from "plantrip"
Note: It may take 24-48 hours for full campaign data to populate in Google Analytics, but real-time tracking shows immediately.

Questions About Tracking?

Need help setting up analytics or interpreting your data?

Contact Us