Due to the rise of the privacy first Brave browser and tech savvy users using ad blockers a prevalent question for marketers in Web3 revolves around UTMs and their use in this new ecosystem.

Before answering the question, let’s get a clear understanding of where they come from and what they’re used for.

What are UTMs and why do they matter?

UTMs (Urchin Tracking Modules) are parameters added to URLs that help marketers track the performance of campaigns across different traffic sources. They originated from Urchin, a web analytics software acquired by Google in 2005, which eventually became Google Analytics.

These parameters — such as utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign, utm_term, and utm_content — help identify where visitors are coming from and how they engage with a website. Marketers rely on UTMs to track everything from social media campaigns to email marketing and paid advertisements, giving them insight into what channels drive traffic and conversions.

In Web2, UTMs have been essential for measuring marketing effectiveness. However, with the rise of Web3, which introduces blockchain-based interactions and decentralized applications (dApps), some have questioned whether UTMs are still relevant.

So while UTMs might seem like a relic of the past, the answer is very much no — they are not dead. Instead, they should be used in conjunction with other tools to get the most comprehensive picture of what’s happening on your website.

At its worst it can give you a glimpse to a portion of your audience and with the rise of Web2 users adopting Web3 you’ll get a fuller picture.

Especially when you combine off-chain and on-chain data, you get the best of both worlds. This complete picture allows you to answer the 5 Ws of user behavior in web3 marketing, check out some of the examples:

WHO — Understanding the User Persona:

• A user visits your website through a UTM-tagged link in a Twitter ad.
• They sign up for your Web3 app using wallet authentication (e.g., MetaMask, WalletConnect, or Coinbase Wallet).
• By analyzing their wallet transactions, you see that they hold high-value NFTs and have interacted with DeFi protocols like Aave or Uniswap.
• Conclusion: This user is likely an experienced crypto investor rather than a newcomer, so your messaging and offers can be tailored accordingly.

WHAT — Understanding User Interests:

• A user clicks on a UTM-tracked link from your Telegram group, leading them to your blog post about staking rewards.
• They then explore multiple staking-related pages and eventually interact with your staking smart contract.
• By cross-referencing this with on-chain data, you see that they have previously staked tokens in other DeFi projects.
• Conclusion: This user is likely interested in yield farming, so targeting them with staking APY comparisons, tutorials, and incentives would be effective.

WHERE — Tracking Traffic Sources:

• You run a multi-platform marketing campaign with UTM-tracked links on: Discord server announcements, Reddit crypto communities, Crypto Twitter (X) influencers, YouTube video descriptions
• After checking UTM performance, you find that Twitter and Discord drive the highest engagement, while Reddit brings in fewer but highly engaged users who complete transactions.
• Conclusion: Your community-building efforts are paying off on Twitter and Discord, while Reddit is better for deeper discussions and long-term engagement.

WHEN — Timing of User Interactions

• A user interacts with your Web3 dApp (e.g., swaps tokens on your DEX) right after a major airdrop event.
• Looking at UTM analytics, you see that they came from an email newsletter you sent about the airdrop eligibility.
• The on-chain data confirms they claimed the airdrop and immediately swapped tokens instead of holding them.
• Conclusion: Some users are only interested in short-term airdrop gains. You can use vesting mechanisms, bonus incentives for long-term holders, or loyalty rewards to retain them.

WHY — Understanding User Motivation

• You notice a spike in traffic from a referral link posted in a niche DAO governance forum.
• Checking the UTM data, the link points to a blog post about decentralized governance benefits.
• On-chain data shows that these new visitors hold governance tokens of multiple DAOs and participate in proposals.
• Conclusion: These users are highly engaged in DAO governance, so you can create content that resonates with them (e.g., token voting guides, governance toolkits, DAO comparison reports).

Wrapping up

By combining UTMs and on-chain analytics, Web3 marketers can move beyond surface-level metrics like clicks and page views. Instead, they can track real user actions on-chain, identify their interests, and fine-tune marketing strategies accordingly.

Combine this with web3 digital advertising for example when running a campaign on your newsletter stack such as on EtherMail, or on a digital SEM campaign on Google Ads or with KoLs and you can get a complete 360 view to know which channel is working best for you.