A UTM tracked link is your sale-page URL with a few extra tags on the end, like this:
https://yourstore.com/pages/your-drop?utm_campaign=your-drop&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=story&utm_content=launch-story
The tags don't change what the visitor sees — the page is identical. They tell the analytics where the visitor came from: which campaign (utm_campaign), which platform (utm_source), which placement (utm_medium — story, bio, newsletter…) and which specific plan step (utm_content). "UTM" is just the industry name for these tags (Urchin Tracking Module — the tool that invented them).
Why bother?
If you share your bare sale-page URL, a visitor still reaches the page and can still buy — but the analytics can only classify that visit by its referrer, or as "direct" when no referrer survives. With tracked links, every click is attributed to the exact channel and post that earned it, and orders placed by those visitors attribute to that channel too. That's how you learn "my email list outsells Instagram three to one" instead of guessing.
Where the links live
Open any card in your marketing plan — the Tracked links section at the bottom lists one link per platform for that step, each with the platform's logo and a copy button. Copy the link for the platform you're posting on and use it as the link in that post, story, or email.
Each step's links are unique to that step, so use the link from the card you're acting on rather than reusing one everywhere.
Platform quirks worth knowing
- Instagram feed posts can't hold links. That's Instagram, not us. Post traffic reaches you through your link-in-bio and your story link stickers instead — the card explains this wherever it applies. This is exactly why the Switch your link-in-bio step matters: the bio link is tracked, and it's where "link in bio" captions send people.
- Story links use Instagram's link sticker — paste the tracked link into the sticker.
- Broadcast channels: if you told the plan you run an Instagram broadcast channel, each step carries an extra broadcast link so those clicks are counted as their own channel.
- Instagram sometimes adds its own tags (
utm_source=ig) to bare links. The analytics recognise this and still count that traffic as Instagram — but it can't be attributed to a specific post of yours, so your own tracked links are always better.
What if I forget to use them?
Nothing breaks. Untagged visitors are classified by referrer where possible (Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, search), and the rest count as direct — see About marketing analytics. You lose per-post detail, not the traffic itself. If a post was detected as published but its tracked link earned zero visits, the plan card shows a Wrong link used chip so you can fix the link for next time.
Can I edit a link's tags?
No — the links are generated to match your campaign and step exactly, and hand-edited tags would break attribution. What you can do is add up to three custom tracked links at the plan's foot for channels the plan doesn't cover; each gets its own line in analytics.