{"id":11013,"date":"2022-02-08T15:31:06","date_gmt":"2022-02-08T15:31:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/02\/08\/do-links-with-utm-parameters-pass-the-same-link-equity\/"},"modified":"2022-02-08T15:31:06","modified_gmt":"2022-02-08T15:31:06","slug":"do-links-with-utm-parameters-pass-the-same-link-equity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/02\/08\/do-links-with-utm-parameters-pass-the-same-link-equity\/","title":{"rendered":"Do Links With UTM Parameters Pass The Same Link Equity?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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This week\u2019s Ask An SEO question comes from Jeff in Houston, who writes:\n<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe have a very authoritative site linking to our website. We set them up with UTM parameters to track traffic and sales that they make.<\/p>\n

This is what it looks like:
https:\/\/www.example.com\/?utm_source=partner&utm_medium=banner&utm_campaign=example<\/p>\n

We have the canonical of this page pointing to the homepage without the parameters.
<link rel=\u201dcanonical\u201d href=https:\/\/www.example.com\/\u201d><\/p>\n

Questions:<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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  1. \n
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    Do the UTM parameters still pass the same link equity if it didn\u2019t have a UTM parameter? (I would think that if a link contains a UTM parameter, it would not be considered a \u201cnatural link,\u201d as why would they put parameters in there if it\u2019s organic?)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n

  2. \n
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    Should we 301 redirect the UTM parameter page to the homepage instead of just the canonical?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n

  3. \n
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    If we 301 redirect the UTM parameter, will we still be able to track it under the parameters set?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n

  4. \n
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    This is a sitewide footer link, which I would not suggest on a normal site, but this site is a nonprofit AND one of the most authoritative sites in the health niche.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Great questions Jeff!<\/p>\n

    I agree with you that the link will not be considered a \u201cnatural link,\u201d but a redirect will not help you.<\/p>\n

    And yes, you can still track sales.<\/p>\n

    Let\u2019s dive in!<\/p>\n

    A quick background for others reading this (not aimed at you Jeff, this is in general):<\/p>\n

    The first and foremost thing to remember here is that this is not a backlink or a link for SEO.<\/p>\n

    When you provide UTM sources to a publisher, the link is now a paid media link and should be treated as such with \u201cnofollow\u201d or \u201csponsored\u201d<\/a> markup attached.<\/p>\n

    The website must also disclose the relationship to follow FTC and U.K.\/E.U. advertising guidelines if any payment was made, including to the journalist, affiliate commissions, advertorial fees, product for review, etc.<\/p>\n

    The FTC has a great PDF doc<\/a> here on how to do this.<\/p>\n

    In your case, you have a footer link across the site, so you\u2019ll want to have your general counsel look over sponsorship and disclosure laws if you paid the organization or sponsored them to get the link.<\/p>\n

    Most major media sites already have disclosures at the top of pages because they are monetizing through advertorials and affiliate marketing<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    Even if your link is not an advertorial or affiliate link, the disclosure on the page may signal to a search engine spider that the parameters are for tracking and that your link is not \u201cnatural.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Once the search engines see the parameters, they will likely consider your backlink a paid link<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    Even if you did not pay any money or compensate the site, those parameters are not naturally occurring.<\/p>\n

    The only time a backlink will carry UTM parameters is if the journalist or blogger clicked through an affiliate\/paid media link to your website, and your domain does not force a redirect to a version of the page without the parameters.<\/p>\n

    In these instances, the parameters will match the original article and not be 100% unique to this page and site.<\/p>\n

    Because your parameters outlined above are unique to the page and site, your parameters show search engines that your link is not a natural one, and the link should not pass link equity.<\/p>\n

    Once the backlink is found, one of two things will likely happen:<\/p>\n