How to Use UTMs to Prove ROI With AddEvent

Proving ROI is one of the hardest parts of event marketing, especially when you are using Add to Calendar tools, calendar marketing campaigns, and RSVPs to drive attendance. You can see registrations coming in, but tying those registrations back to specific channels, campaigns, or placements is often fuzzy.

That is where UTMs come in.

When properly used on AddEvent’s event landing pages, and in event and calendar descriptions, UTMs let you track exactly where your event registrations originate, so you can confidently say which efforts are working and which ones are not.

This guide walks through what UTMs are, how they work with AddEvent, and practical examples you can apply to your upcoming events immediately.

What are UTMs, and Why Do They Matter?

UTMs, short for Urchin Tracking Modules, are parameters you add to a URL. They pass extra information into your analytics tool, such as Google Analytics, so you can identify the source of traffic. If you’ve ever clicked a link on social media and noticed extra text in the URL that mentions Twitter or Facebook, that extra info is a UTM code doing its job.

UTM parameters define the specific details a UTM code can track. Each parameter captures a different piece of information about where a click came from and how it fits into your overall marketing strategy. 

Here’s an example UTM code, followed by a breakdown of each parameter and what it tells you.

https://example.com/?utm_source=addevent&utm_medium=event_landing_page&utm_campaign=monthly_webinar&utm_content=rsvp

Everything that appears after the question mark (?) is part of the UTM code. Each parameter is separated by an ampersand (&), which tells analytics tools to read them as individual data points.

The Five Main UTM Parameters

While your UTM may vary depending on how much (or how little) information you need to track, here are the main parameters you’ll find in UTMs:

Source

Identifies where the traffic originated, such as a social media platform, search engine, newsletter, or paid ad.

Example: utm_source=addevent

Medium

Shows the type of channel driving the traffic, like email, organic social, paid social, or pay-per-click (PPC).

Example: utm_medium=event_landing_page

Campaign

Tracks the performance of a specific campaign. In GA4, this parameter is expressed as utm_id=[campaign] and is required for GA4 data importing.

Example: utm_campaign=monthly_webinar

Content

Differentiates between multiple pieces of content within the same campaign. This is especially useful for emails or landing pages with more than one CTA, since it helps identify which content performs best.

Example: utm_content=ticketing_page

Term

Captures the keyword driving traffic and is most commonly used for PPC campaigns to evaluate keyword performance and optimize bidding strategies.

Example: utm_term=webinar

When someone clicks that link and registers for your event, your analytics platform records exactly where that person came from.

For event marketers, UTMs can start to answer questions like:

• Which channels drive the most registrations?
• Which partner promotions actually convert?
• Which placements are worth investing in again?

Where AddEvent Fits into the Picture

AddEvent does not replace UTMs. Instead, it amplifies their value.

Every time you share an Add to Calendar link or button, RSVP event page, or Subscription Calendar, it ultimately sends users to your event or calendar page, ticketing page, or registration form, helping bridge the gap between calendar marketing efforts and actual registrations. By attaching UTMs to those destination URLs, you keep attribution intact while still delivering a seamless calendar experience.

In short, AddEvent helps people remember your event. UTMs help you measure how they found it.

Example: Selling Tickets From an Event Description

Imagine you are promoting a live webinar or in-person event and using Add to Calendar links as part of your calendar marketing strategy to increase registrations. You share the event across multiple channels, including:

• Your website
• Email newsletters
• Social media posts
• Partner blogs
• Paid advertising

Inside the event description, you include a link to buy tickets or register.

Instead of using the same generic registration link everywhere, you create unique UTM-tagged links for each placement.

For example:

Website event page:
?utm_source=website&utm_medium=event_page&utm_campaign=webinar_q2

Email campaign:
?utm_source=email&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=webinar_q2

AddEvent landing page:
?utm_source=addevent&utm_medium=event_landing_page&utm_campaign=webinar_q2

Each of these links points to the same registration page, but the UTMs tell you exactly where each registration originated. When someone clicks Add to Calendar and later registers through that link, your analytics still capture the original source.

Hospitality Example: Tracking Upsells Beyond the Initial Booking

UTMs are not just useful for measuring initial registrations or ticket sales. In hospitality, they are especially powerful for tracking upsell opportunities that happen after a guest has already committed.

Imagine a hotel promoting an on-site event, such as a wine tasting, live music night, or seasonal dining experience. A guest books a room, receives a confirmation email, and then adds the event to their calendar using an AddEvent Add to Calendar link.

Inside the calendar event description, the hotel includes links to relevant upsells, such as:

• Booking a spa appointment
• Reserving a table at the hotel restaurant
• Purchasing event tickets or VIP upgrades

Each of these links uses UTMs to track the source and context of the click. 

From the guest’s perspective, nothing feels different. They add the event to their calendar, receive reminders, and click when it is convenient. From the marketing and revenue team’s perspective, every upsell action is now measurable.

Using UTMs with AddEvent Add to Calendar Links

Here is how to set this up with AddEvent:

Start by defining the channels, campaigns, or placements you want visibility into. Keep naming consistent so reports are easy to read later.

Then, create your UTM-tagged URLs. Use your preferred UTM builder to generate links for each channel. Make sure each one points to the correct registration or ticketing page.

Add the UTM link to your event description or location section. When creating your AddEvent event, use the UTM-tagged URL as the destination.

Share each AddEvent link in its intended channel. Avoid reusing links across multiple sources if attribution matters.

And the most important part: measure to see what’s working. In your Google Analytics platform, you can filter by campaign, source, or medium to see which UTM-powered placements drove registrations.

What ROI Looks Like in Real Life

With tracking in place, ROI becomes much easier to demonstrate for your add to calendar strategy, calendar marketing campaigns, and overall RSVP performance.

You can start to clearly show:

• Which owned channels drove the most engagement
• How calendar descriptions and links influenced downstream behavior
• Which campaigns resulted in registrations and purchases

Instead of saying, “This event performed well,” you can now say, “The links we added with UTMs in the calendar and event descriptions drove 20% of total registrations.”

That is the difference between assumptions and proof.

Other Best Practices to Keep in Mind

• Keep UTM naming consistent across campaigns
• Avoid using too many parameters if you do not plan to analyze them
• Document your UTM structure so your team stays aligned see sure your registration platform captures UTM data correctly

Final thoughts

Events are powerful, but only if you can measure their impact.

By combining UTMs with AddEvent’s event and calendar tools, you get clear, reliable attribution across add to calendar usage, calendar marketing efforts, and RSVPs, without sacrificing the user experience.

Your audience remembers your event, and you get the data you need to prove ROI.

If you want help setting this up or improving your event attribution, AddEvent makes it easy to start tracking what really works.

Ready to prove the ROI of your events?

With AddEvent, you can create Add to Calendar links and RSVP events that work seamlessly with your existing analytics setup, so every campaign, channel, and promotion is measurable. Start using AddEvent to turn more event interest into attendance, and turn your data into clear ROI.

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