Using External References fields for Campaign References and UTM codes
The External Reference data fields are optional fields you can add to your transactional data. Once enabled, you will see them in your transactional data exports, and when exporting from the data API.
There are a total of ten fields that can be enabled which are broken into two segments. The first segment is usually used for utm parameters, and the second segment for custom parameters.
Each external reference field may store values of up to 100 characters in length. If you provide values longer than this they will be truncated and may not contain what you expect.
Section 1 – External Reference 1-5
The first segment is reserved for capturing data passed over a URL and most commonly used to capture UTMs (“Urchin Tracking Module”, a Google defined term, which are parameters for tracking), or any other generic value you assign simply by adding an additional parameter to your URLs.
By default, the five External Reference are assigned a specific UTM parameter:
Field | URL parameter |
|---|---|
External Reference 1 | utm_source |
External Reference 2 | utm_medium |
External Reference 3 | utm_campaign |
External Reference 4 | utm_content |
External Reference 5 | utm_term |
A link from Engaging Networks that includes UTM parameters would look something like this:
https://ca.engagingnetworks.app/page/XXX/action/1?utm_source=SOURCE&utm_medium=MEDIUM&utm_campaign=CAMPAIGN&utm_content=CONTENT&utm_term=TERMWhen the page is submitted, the transactional data will also include the value for each of the UTM parameters that was passed over the URL.
If you do not use UTM parameters, but would still like to use these fields to capture reference data, simply substitute the UTM parameter in your URL with an en_txn parameter for each field. Since these are generic fields you can define their meaning and the usage for each field.
Field | URL parameter |
|---|---|
External Reference 1 | en_txn1 |
External Reference 2 | en_txn2 |
External Reference 3 | en_txn3 |
External Reference 4 | en_txn4 |
External Reference 5 | en_txn5 |
A link from Engaging Networks that includes en_txn parameters looks like this:
https://ca.engagingnetworks.app/page/XXX/action/1?en_txn1=VALUE1&en_txn2=VALUE2&en_txn3=VALUE3&en_txn4=VALUE4&en_txn5=VALUE5
There is a setting in the page admin settings that dictates the behavior if both UTM parameters and en_txn parameters 1-5 are present in the same URL.
Section 2 – External Reference 6-10
The second section is reserved for capturing campaign reference data. These are user-defined fields that are populated directly from the campaign under its admin section:
You can also populate the parameters by passing the values over the URL using the en_txn parameters below.
Field | URL parameter |
|---|---|
External Reference 6 | en_txn6 |
External Reference 7 | en_txn7 |
External Reference 8 | en_txn8 |
External Reference 9 | en_txn9 |
External Reference 10 | en_txn10 |
Any values provided to an enabled “Client Reference” parameter in the “admin” section will be overridden URL parameters passed referring to the same External Reference.
Enabling the fields
For pages
For Section 2 fields (External Reference 6-10) to capture campaign reference data that is not passed over a URL, you will need to name each field under the account preferences. To do this, go to Hello > Account Settings and Account preferences on the left.
Under the Campaign References section check the box next to each field you would like to use and give it a name. Click Save.
To assign a value to the campaign references on a page, go to the page admin section of any page, and the enabled fields will be available there as they were named in the Account Preferences.
For Emails
To enable Section 2 fields (External Reference 6-10) for emails go to Marketing Tools > Google analytics > enable Expose Campaign Reference fields to the Email tool.
A value for the campaign references can be assigned in the email settings for a broadcast.
For API Data
If you sync data from Engaging Networks to a third-party platform, be sure to update the configuration to include the new transactional data fields to be synced. Not doing so may cause your sync to fail. If you are unsure, please consult your technology team or contact support. Please do not enable them if you are unsure.
Go to Data & Reports > API Options > File format and locate the first external reference field.
Check the box next to the fields you would like to enable, or make sure they are unchecked if you do not want them to come out in export files.
You can also assign a custom reference name (by providing a value to the “Override name” field) that will be used as the field header in your exports. Otherwise, the field header will appear as “External Reference 1”, “External Reference 2”, etc.
Click “submit” and confirm you would like to save the changes.