Documentation
Best Practices
Tagged campaigns are extremely helpful in determining metrics about your traffic. Try to use this URL builder in an effort to standardize your outbound links. As a general rule of thumb, only tag what variables you need (try not to be too excessive).
Never send personally identifiable information (pii) through the UTM querystring parameters as it is a violation of the terms of service of many analytics programs. You are exempot from this guideline however if you are using Targeted Email and sending pii through the Targeted Email autofill functionality and not promoting the sharing of those direct links.
Try to ensure that essential information is located higher up in the string as some browsers react differently to longer URLs. This URL builder automatically prioritizes the ordering of campaign parameters in the case that your URL is truncated. As a general rule of thumb, try to keep your URLs at or under 2,048 characters.
UTM Parameters
Urchin Traffic Monitor (UTM) parameters are originally from the Urchin Analytics program which later (through acquisition) evolved to become Google Analytics. UTM codes, since adopted by Google in 2005 have become the industry standard for URL tagging.
utm_medium parameter identifies what type of link was used, such as cost per click or email. Example: utm_medium=cpc
utm_campaign parameter identifies a specific product promotion or strategic campaign. Example: utm_campaign=spring_sale
utm_term parameter identifies search terms. Example: utm_term=running+shoes
utm_content parameter identifies what specifically was clicked to bring the user to the site, such as a banner ad or a text link. It is used for A/B testing and content-targeted ads. Examples: utm_content=logolink or utm_content=textlink
NGP VAN Querystring Parameters
A query string is something you can add to the end of the URL your form lives at, e.g. www.somesite.com/formurl?foo=bar Primarily, query string values are used to pre-fill values in the form. The general format is that the first bit is the name of the form field, followed by an equals sign and then whatever data you wish to pre-fill that form field with.
The way to add these onto a form is that the first one needs to use a question mark, and other subsequent ones use an ampersand, e.g. www.someurl.com/formurl?fn=John&ln=Adams
This list is subject to change, for the most up to date Querystring Parameters, check the NGP VAN Developer Documentation.
To pre-fill forms, we offer the following options:
AddressLine2 : add2, e.g. add2=Ste. 202
AdditionalContributionValue: AdditionalContributionValue, e.g. AdditionalContributionValue=25 to prefill the additional contribution amount on event forms only
Amount : am, e.g. am=5
AmountOptions : amtOpts, e.g. amtOpts=3,5,20.16,50,100 This sets the radio button options on a contribution page, enabling dynamic ask amounts. To select a particular contribution amount, use Amount, detailed above
City : ci, e.g. ci=Boston
Country : c, e.g. c=United States
EmailAddress : em, e.g. em=john@adams.com
Employer : ep, e.g. ep=The United States
FacebookProfileUrl : fb, e.g. fb=http://www.facebook.com/JohnAdamsPresident
FirstName : fn, e.g. fn=John
HomePhone : hp, e.g. hp=6175551234
IsRecurring : r, e.g. r=true
LastName : ln, e.g. ln=Adams
MiddleName : mn, e.g. mn=Quincy
MobilePhone : mp, e.g. mp=6175551234
Occupation : oc, e.g. oc=President
PostalCode : pc, e.g. pc=02144
Prefix : p, e.g. p=Mr
SpouseName : sn, e.g. sn=Abigail Adams
StateProvince : st, e.g. st=MA
Suffix : s, e.g. s=Esq.
TwitterHandle : tw, e.g. tw=the_real_adams
WorkAddressLine1 : w1, e.g. w1=1600 Pennsylvania Ave
WorkAddressLine2 : w2, e.g. w2=Oval Office
WorkCity : wc, e.g. wc=Washington
WorkEmail : we, e.g. we=john@adams.com
WorkPhone : wp, e.g. wp=2025551234
WorkPostalCode : wz, e.g. wz=20500
WorkStateProvince : ws, e.g. ws=DC
There are also elements that may not be visible, but have to do with how the form submission data is entered into the database:
- Attributed Contact ID : ac, e.g. ac=VN96C3TBX36
- This either adds or overrides the defined contact record on a form for the contribution attribution.
- This is also used to preselect a host committee member on event forms that expose that field.
- Kiosk Mode: kiosk, e.g. kiosk=true
- Using this query string parameter disables FastAction and ActionProfile integration. This is useful if you are using a form on a tablet or laptop in a public place and do not want the submission information remembered on that device. Notably, if you configure one form to redirect to another form (what we refer to as secondary ask), the form fields on the second fom will not be pre-populated by the submission info from the first form. If you are launching the form with knowledge of who a contact is, kiosk mode does still allow you to prefill form fields using other query string values, e.g. fn=Michelle as documented above.
- MarketSource : ms, e.g. ms=201409_fb_birthday_v1
- This can be used to track different ad buys to the same form to compare ROI
- SourceCodeId : sourceid, e.g. sourceid=57
- This either adds or overrides the defined source code on the form. This only applies to contribution forms. You must use the source code ID, not the source code name.
- QuickSign: quick, e.g. quick=true
- This automatically submits the form and segues to the next action (thanks page, secondary ask, or an arbitrary other URL) if all the required fields are prefilled by either a query string value or ActionProfiles.
- This does not work for contribution or event forms.
- Best Ask: ss, e.g. ss=true
- Enables our Best Ask feature for adjusting your suggested contribution amounts.