What Is The Open Graph URL? 🤔
The og:url tag is required and defines the canonical URL of the web page, ensuring that the shared link leads to the correct page.
What is the og:url TOC
The OGP website indicates that the OG URL is a required property.
Below I’ve included an example og url that points to a fictitious post on this website.
<meta property="og:url" content="https://thospfuller.com/.../some-post/" />
An example of the og:url is shown in the page source for this article in the image below.
The og:url and other Open Graph tags need to be placed between the head tags in a given webpage.
Below we can see the Open Graph URL as it appears in an unfurled link that’s been displayed in the WhatsApp messaging application.
I came across the idea of adding Urchin Tracking Module tracking codes when I happened upon the Prerender article entitled 5 Easy Social Media Optimizations With Massive Impact.
We’re going to spend more time on the og:url than on other OGP tag descriptions mainly because we can enhance the value of the og url by including Urchin Tracking Module (UTM) tracking codes.
The Urchin Tracking Module is still supported in Google Analytics 4 as well.
What is the Urchin Tracking Module?
The Urchin Tracking Module (UTM) is a system for tracking and analyzing the effectiveness of online marketing campaigns and traffic sources.
What are Urchin Tracking Module parameters?
UTM parameters are used by analytics tools, such as Google Analytics (including Google Analytics 4), to collect data about website traffic and user behavior.
UTM parameters are typically appended to the end of a URL to provide additional information about the source, medium, campaign, and other details associated with a click or visit.
By using Urchin Tracking Module parameters, marketers and website owners can gain insights into which marketing efforts are most effective, which platforms drive the most traffic, and how users interact with their content.
UTM data facilitates data-driven decisions, and optimization of marketing campaigns, along with a better understanding of user behavior on websites.
Google Analytics, in particular, makes extensive use of UTM parameters for tracking and reporting on campaign performance.
Benefits of adding Urchin Tracking Module parameters to the Open Graph url meta tag.
Adding UTM tracking parameters to your og:url meta tag can provide several benefits for tracking and analyzing the performance of shared links on social media and other platforms including:
Detailed Analytics
Urchin Tracking Module parameters allow you to gather detailed data regarding how users interact with your shared links — for example, it’s possible to track the source, medium, campaign, content, and term associated with each click.
This level of granularity helps you to better understand which specific marketing efforts are driving traffic to your site.
Source Attribution
Urchin Tracking Module parameters can help you to identify the exact source of traffic — for example, you can distinguish traffic coming from different social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn or from specific campaigns such as newsletters or paid ads.
Campaign Performance
By using UTM tracking codes in conjunction with the og:url tag, you can assess the performance of different marketing campaigns.
UTM data allows you to compare the effectiveness of various campaigns in terms of click-through rates, conversions, and other metrics.
Content Tracking
Urchin Tracking Module parameters can be used to differentiate various pieces of content shared from the same URL — for example, if you’re sharing multiple articles from your website, UTM codes can help you determine which specific articles are generating the most traffic.**
A/B Testing
UTM tracking codes can be used to facilitate A/B testing and experimentation — for example UTM tracking codes can be used to create variations of the same link with different UTM parameters in order to test different messaging, images, or calls to action.
The presence of UTM parameters also helps to optimize your social media and marketing efforts.
Custom Segmentation
Urchin Tracking Module parameters can be used to segment and analyze traffic in your analytics tools — for example, with Urchin Tracking Module parameters you can create custom reports and dashboards based on Urchin Tracking Module data in order to gain insights into user behavior and conversion paths.
Goal Tracking
UTM parameters can be associated with specific goals or conversions on your website, such as form submissions, product purchases, or newsletter registrations.
UTM parameters included in this manner can be used to measure the impact of social media and marketing campaigns against your business objectives.
Cross-Platform Insights
Urchin Tracking Module tracking is by no means limited to social media platforms — for example Urchin Tracking Module parameters can be used across various marketing channels, including email marketing, paid advertising, and more thus providing a holistic view of your marketing efforts.
Data-Driven Decisions
UTM-tagged URLs provide valuable data that can be used to inform data-driven decisions — for example, you can allocate resources more effectively, focus on high-performing campaigns, and optimize underperforming campaigns based on the insights gained.
Improved ROI Measurement
UTM tracking allows you to calculate the return on investment (ROI) for different marketing initiatives accurately — for example, UTM tracking can help determine which campaigns deliver the best results in terms of revenue or other key performance indicators (KPIs).
Adding UTM tracking parameters to your Open Graph Protocol og:url helps to deliver comprehensive data on the performance of shared links.
UTM data is essential for optimizing your marketing strategies, understanding your audience, and making informed decisions in order to improve your presence online.
Article Conclusion
This concludes the article on the og:url meta tag.
I hope the addition of UTM parameters to the og:url tag proves to be useful for you and the SEO project that you’re working on.
See also the OGP metadata section for more details about the og:url tag along with the article regarding how to use Open Graph Tags on a website.
Note that this article is a content experiment which is based on keyword research using SEMrush after refactoring the article on OGP tags.
See also the Open Graph Protocol Tutorials category for other articles in this series.
Further Reading
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
The term Urchin Tracking Module (UTM) originates from Urchin Software Corporation, the company that created the UTM tracking system. Google acquired Urchin Software Corporation and the technology and concepts behind Urchin became the foundation for Google Analytics.
Urchin Tracking Module (UTM) tracker parameters are simple code snippets added to the end of a URL in order to track the effectiveness of online marketing campaigns across traffic sources and publishing media. UTM parameters enable Google Analytics (GA), including Google Analytics 4 (GA4), and other analytics tools to understand where traffic is coming from and how visitors interact with a website. UTM tracking codes typically include information about the source of the traffic (such as a search engine or social network), the medium (such as email or CPC), and the specific campaign name or content. Analyzing data obtained from the use of UTM parameters gives marketers the opportunity to gain insights into the performance of their campaigns and make informed decisions in order to optimize their marketing strategies.
Read more about how UTM parameters can be used with the Open Graph URL here.
A canonical URL is a web address that is considered to be the definitive version of a webpage. A canonical URL is used to tell search engines which version of a similar or duplicate page to index and rank in search results. The canonical URL is particularly important when multiple URLs can lead to the same content, such as with different URL parameters or across different domains. By specifying a canonical URL, website administrators effectively prevent issues arising from duplicate content, thereby ensuring that link equity is directed to a single, preferred URL. The canonical URL helps to improve Search Engine Optimization (SEO) by consolidating ranking signals and avoiding competition between similar pages.
Read more about how UTM parameters can be used with the Open Graph URL here.
