UTM Builder Spreadsheet Templates for Managing Your URLs

When to Use a UTM spreadsheet?

Sometimes a simple URL builder is not sufficient and you need a system to save all your UTM codes and URLs for generating consistent URLs. A spreadsheet the next level up in having a proper UTM tracking system.

What URL builder Spreadsheet should you use?

If you are not very familiar with writing formulae in Excel or Google sheets, it's better that you use one of the free UTM spreadsheets. You can then customize them to your own needs. However, be careful.

Most spreadsheets generate URLs incorrectly.

Evaluating Some Free UTM Spreadsheets

We reviewed some popular spreadsheets and checked them against UTM Builder tests to help you decide if they are right for you.

1. UTM Standardizer - Amazee Metrics

UTM Builder Test results:

Test	Result
Query Parameter Test	Passed
Hash (#) Fragment Test	Failed
Combination Query/Hash Test	Failed
Space Test	Failed

Pros:

• Has dropdowns to select existing UTM codes (for Campaign, Medium and Source)
• Source dropdown values are updated based on selected Medium

Cons:

• No easy way to figure out how to add new values to dropdowns
• UTM Term is missing
• No instructions on how to use it (e.g. how to add new values to dropdowns or how to use UTM History)

2. UTM Builder and Shortener Spreadsheet - Whole Whale

UTM Builder Test results:

Test	Result
Query Parameter Test	Passed
Hash (#) Fragment Test	Failed
Combination Query/Hash Test	Failed
Space Test	Failed

Pros:

• Shortens URLs using Bitly (even though we couldn't get it to work)
• Has instructions on how to use it

Cons:

• Bitly shortening is unreliable
• You have to be careful on what cells to touch to make shortening work correctly

3. UTM Tagging Template - linktosheets.com

UTM Builder Test results:

Test	Result
Query Parameter Test	Passed
Hash (#) Fragment Test	Failed
Combination Query/Hash Test	Failed
Space Test	Failed

Pros:

• Has dropdowns to select existing UTM codes (for Campaign, Medium and Source)
• New values are automatically saved in dropdown

Cons:

• Only good for simple use cases (nothing wrong with that)

4. UTM Campaign URL Builder - Chameleon Collective

UTM Builder Test results:

Test	Result
Query Parameter Test	Failed
Hash (#) Fragment Test	Failed
Combination Query/Hash Test	Failed
Space Test	Failed

Pros:

• Has dropdowns to select existing UTM codes (for Campaign, Medium and Source)
• Allows building UTM conventions for campaign names
• A separate sheet allows defining dropdowns by an admin

Cons:

• Dropdown in campaign name are not enforced

5. Google Analytics Campaign Tagging Tool - Cardinal Path

UTM Builder Test results:

Test	Result
Query Parameter Test	Passed
Hash (#) Fragment Test	Passed
Combination Query/Hash Test	Passed
Space Test	Passed

Pros:

• Detailed instructions on how to use the spreadsheet
• Passes all the tests
• Has iOS and Android app install builder sheets

Cons:

• Does not have dropdowns (but many others don't either)

6. Google Analytics Campaign Tagging Tool - Annie Cushing

UTM Builder Test results:

Test	Result
Query Parameter Test	Passed
Hash (#) Fragment Test	Failed
Combination Query/Hash Test	Failed
Space Test	Failed

Pros:

• Has dropdowns to select existing UTM codes (for Campaign, Medium and Source)
• New values are automatically saved in dropdown

Cons:

• Only good for simple use cases (nothing wrong with that)

Why do so many spreadsheets fail UTM builder tests?

You'll notice that simple URL builders pass UTM builder tests much better than spreadsheets.

These web based builders can use Javascript to parse URLs natively and generate correct tracking URLs. Spreadsheets do not have such tools readily available. Most of them use simple string concatenation which is not as robust.

What do we recommend?

Out of all these options, we recommend UTM Spreadsheet from Cardinal Path. It's the only one that passes all the tests.

We also like how URL Builder from Chameleon Collective defines different fields to help enforce UTM conventions which you will need to configure based on your business. You can use some of its features in your own custom spreadsheet.

Spreadsheets can only go so far. You may need a custom UTM builder software if you want to build correct URLs and also enforce UTM conventions for your entire team.