You can use Nosto segmentation capabilities to create segments of users landing on your online store from specific campaigns. To do so, Nosto offers a specific set of custom segmentation targeting options.
When you open the custom segment creation wizard, select URL Parameters under External Signals:
UTM Parameters
You can find a list of UTM parameters available in the drop down menu on the left. The following parameters are available:
UTM_Campaign - Often used to identify the individual campaign name, slogan, promo code, etc. for a product.
UTM_Medium - Frequently used to track the advertising or marketing medium, for example: cpc, banner, email newsletter.
UTM_Source - Typically identifies the advertiser, site, publication, etc. that is sending traffic to your property, for example: google, newsletter4, billboard.
UTM_Term - Typically identifies paid search keywords. If you're manually tagging paid keyword campaigns, you should also use utm_term to specify the keyword.
UTM_Content - Used to differentiate similar content, or links within the same ad. For example, if you have two call-to-action links within the same email message, you can use utm_content and set different values for each so you can tell which version is more effective.
Learn more about UTM Parameters here.
Alternatively, you can input a custom parameter and define a value for it:
Users falling into the segment when visiting an online store
with the following custom parameter: www.store.com?hello=nosto
Once you have selected a UTM parameter or input a custom one, you need to select an operator. Nosto supports the following operators:
Exactly matches
Doesn't match
Contains
Doesn't contain
This is a key element to pair parameters and values correctly.
Parameter-value pairing
Once you have selected a parameter, an operator, you finally need to manually define one or multiple values.
Let's discover how pairing parameters and values works with some examples, focusing solely on utm_campaign parameter for the sake of simplicity.
Examples of strict matching
Example #1
The configuration above would result in segmenting shoppers when they land on your online store with - and exactly with - the defined parameter-value pair.
Cases:
Shopper #1 lands on the online store with the following URL:
example.com?utm_campaign=summer-sale
Shopper #2 lands on the online store with the following URL:
example.com?utm_campaign=summer-special
Only Shopper #1 shopper will be included in the segment.
Example #2
If you set-up multiple ad campaigns around the same theme and want to create a same unified experience regardless the ad campaign driving traffic onsite, you can decide to include multiple values in the input field:
This would result in segmenting shoppers when they land on your online store with, and exactly with the defined parameter-value pairs.
Cases:
Shopper #1 lands on the online store with the following URL:
example.com?utm_campaign=summer-sale
Shopper #2 lands on the online store with the following URL:
example.com?utm_campaign=summer-special
Shopper #3 lands on the online store with the following URL:
example .com?utm_campaign=summer-exclusive
Shopper #4 lands on the online store with the following URL:
example .com?utm_campaign=summer-vip
With this segment configuration, only the first 3 shoppers would be included in the segment.
Note: the same concept would apply if Doesn't match would be selected as an operator.
Examples of partial matching
Example #1
The configuration above would result in segmenting shoppers when they land on your online store with any parameter-value pairs that include utm_campaign as a parameter and contains summer as a set of characters inside as part of a value string.
Cases:
Shopper #1 lands on the online store with the following URL:
example.com?utm_campaign=summer-sale
Shopper #2 lands on the online store with the following URL:
example.com/?utm_campaign=summer-special
Shopper #3 lands on the online store with the following URL:
example.com/?utm_campaign=summer-exclusive
With this segment configuration, all 3 shoppers would be included in the segment.
Note: the same concept would apply if Doesn't contain would be selected as an operator.
Can I segment and create experiences based on gclid parameters?
It is possible to create specific experiences based on Google Auto-tagging gclid parameters.
When using a Nosto placement to display a content personalization campaign or a product recommendation slot, you can filter the placement to be displayed only if the URL contains the ?gclid= parameter and ultimately only show a campaign if these conditions match.
See full screen here
You can learn more about Display & Restriction Filters for Nosto Placements here.
Another option to create specific experiences when redirecting traffic from specific ad campaigns is to add a layer of custom UTM Parameter(s) on top of Google Auto-tagging so that Nosto can include correctly the shoppers in the relevant segment(s) and display the relevant onsite personalization campaigns in return. You can learn more about how to add customer UTM Parameters alongside with Google Auto-tagging here.
Note that while Google Click Identifiers can be decrypted, two out of the three gclid-specific parameters don't give relevant information to identify which advertising campaigns were involved in the clicks generating a redirection.