Analytics and reports

UTM tags for display networks: see placements and devices

How to add UTM tags with the placement and device type for the Yandex Advertising Network and Google Display, so analytics shows which sites bring leads.

Updated Nov 3 7 min read 7 views

In short

UTM tags for display networks are ad links where utm_term carries the placement: {keyword}-{source} for the Yandex Advertising Network and {placement} for the Google Display Network. Build the link in the “UTM tag generator” of “Website analytics” and add these parameters to “Tag (utm_term)”.

UTM tags for display network ads differ from search tags: in the Yandex Advertising Network, people don't type a query, they see your ad on a Yandex partner site. A standard tag with the keyword won't tell you which site the click came from. Yet placements are exactly what drains the budget most often: mobile games, random apps, sites with inflated traffic.

The Yandex Advertising Network is a network of thousands of sites and apps where Yandex Direct ads are shown. The Google Display Network is a similar network from Google. A placement is a specific site or app where the ad was shown. If you add the placement to the tag, “Website analytics” shows leads, deals and ROI for each of them.

Watch the ninety-second video, and below you'll find ready-made link templates.

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Why businesses need to see display network placements

An online store. It becomes clear that some clicks come from mobile games and bring no leads at all, and such placements get excluded in Yandex Direct.
A developer or real estate agency. Industry portals and news sites are compared by cost per lead and per deal, not by clicks.
An online school. You see which devices paying customers come from: if it's computers, you can lower bids on phones.
A PPC agency. The client gets a report on leads and sales from each placement, not just clicks.

Client case

A furniture store in Novosibirsk. The problem: a Yandex Advertising Network campaign brought many clicks and few leads. Before: the report had a single yandex-direct line with no details. What we did: the {keyword}-{source} tag and a weekly review of placements in “Website analytics”. Result: placements with no leads were excluded, and the cost per lead from the network dropped by about 20%.

How a display network tag differs from a search tag

For “Yandex”, the “UTM tag generator” sets utm_source=yandex-direct, utm_campaign={campaign_id} and utm_term={keyword}, plus tags for the banner, phrase and placement type. Yandex Direct replaces the words in curly brackets with the campaign number and the keyword. For the network, that's not enough: you need to add {source}, which Yandex Direct uses to pass the placement address. The result is utm_term={keyword}-{source}, and in the report the keyword looks like “keyword-placement”.

The device type is added the same way: {device_type} in Yandex Direct or {device} in Google. For example, with utm_term={keyword}-{source}-{device_type}, Yandex Direct inserts desktop, mobile or tablet. Search has no placements, so search campaigns keep their usual tag.

Ads	utm_source	utm_campaign	utm_term
Yandex search	yandex-direct	{campaign_id}	{keyword}
Yandex Advertising Network	yandex-direct	{campaign_id}	{keyword}-{source}
Network with device	yandex-direct	{campaign_id}	{keyword}-{source}-{device_type}
Google Display Network	google	{campaignid}	{placement}
Display with device	google	{campaignid}	{placement}-{device}

How to make UTM tags for the Yandex network: step by step

1
Open the generator
“Leads” → “Website analytics”, the “Create a UTM tag” link icon in the header.
2
Choose “Yandex”
In “Ad system”. The source, campaign and tag fields fill in automatically.
3
Check the “Campaign page”
The address the ad leads to. Your project's website is already filled in.
4
Add the placement
In “Tag (utm_term)”, add -{source} after {keyword}, and -{device_type} as well if you need the device.
5
Copy the link
Click “Copy link” and paste it into the ads of your network campaign in Yandex Direct.
6
Wait for clicks
The source appears in the report after the first click, and statistics update every 15 minutes.

UTM tags for the display network in the link generator

UTM tags for the Google Display Network

The Display Network has no keywords at all, so {keyword} stays empty there. Choose “Google” in the generator: it sets utm_source=google and utm_campaign={campaignid}. In “Tag (utm_term)”, replace {keyword} with {placement}, and Google inserts the domain of the site where the click happened. The device type comes from {device}: m for a phone, t for a tablet, c for a computer. Paste the finished link into the ad URL in Google Ads. Google spend doesn't reach the report by itself, so set a “Cost per visit” in the campaign settings, as described in the article UTM builder.

Where to see placements in the report

Open “Website analytics”, the “Traffic sources” table. Expand “Ad sources” → yandex-direct → the campaign: at the keyword level you'll see “keyword-placement” lines. Each has visits, leads, deals, costs and ROI, just like the rest of your marketing ROI tracking. The number in the “Leads” column is clickable and opens the list of those leads.

Exclude placements with a noticeable number of visits and no leads in your Yandex Direct campaign settings. For those that bring deals, you can raise bids or move them into a separate campaign.

Display network placements in a report by UTM tags

The anchor in a link and ads that are already tagged

If your ad leads to part of a page with a “#” sign, paste the address with the anchor into “Campaign page”. The generator moves the anchor to the end of the link, after all the tags, otherwise the tags won't reach the report. If your ads already have utm_source, utm_campaign and utm_term, there's no need to generate links again: just add {source} or {placement} to utm_term.

Important

Don't change utm_campaign={campaign_id} in Yandex Direct links. Your account uses it to match campaigns automatically when the Yandex Direct CRM integration is connected. Add new parameters only to utm_term.

Tip

Set up a separate campaign for the network in Yandex Direct. That way, search keywords and network placements won't mix in one report line.

Frequently asked questions

How do I add UTM tags for the Yandex display network?

Build a link in the “UTM tag generator” with “Ad system” set to “Yandex”, and in “Tag (utm_term)” add -{source} after {keyword}. Paste the link into your network ads.

How do I make UTM tags for the Google Display Network?

Choose “Google” and replace {keyword} with {placement} in utm_term. Google inserts the domain of the site where the click happened.

Why does the report show the keyword as undefined?

The ad link has no utm_term tag, or it's empty. Add utm_term with {keyword}-{source} for the Yandex network or {placement} for Google Display.

Do I need to retag my ads if UTM tags are already in place?

No. If utm_source, utm_campaign and utm_term are there, add the placement to utm_term, and the visits will sort themselves into lines.

How can I tell which device a client came from?

Add {device_type} for Yandex Direct or {device} for Google to utm_term. The device type will appear in the keyword line.

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