Overview

This guide walks you through setting up Marketing Channels in Sona to map your UTM parameters to Sona's attribution tracking system. You will learn how to configure channel mappings that connect UTM values from your marketing campaigns to standardized marketing channels in Sona. With this guide, you will be ready to ensure that all your UTM-tagged traffic is properly categorized and attributed across your marketing funnel.

When to use Marketing Channels

Mapping UTM parameter values to standardized marketing channels in Sona.
Ensuring consistent attribution across campaigns that use UTM tracking.
Grouping UTM values into standardized marketing channel reporting when different campaigns use varied UTM naming conventions.

Prerequisites:

Sona tracking pixel installed and collecting UTM data.
Admin or appropriate role permissions in your Sona workspace.
An understanding of your UTM parameter structure and naming conventions.
Marketing campaigns using UTM parameters, such as utm_source, utm_medium, and utm_campaign.

Step 1: navigate to Marketing Channels configuration

Access Marketing Channels setup: from your Sona workspace, go to Path to Conversion in the top navigation, then click the Marketing Channels tab.

Choose your configuration method: you will see two configuration options, Input Channel Mapping and External Data Source. For UTM mapping, either option can work depending on your data source.

Step 2: set up UTM parameter mapping

Option A: using External Data Source (recommended for UTM data)

Select External Data Source: click External Data Source to configure UTM parameter mapping from your data. This is ideal when you have spreadsheets or reports containing UTM parameter data.
Choose your data source type: select Spreadsheet for Excel or CSV file imports.

Other available options may include Platform Report (for advertising platform data), Analytics Report (for web analytics data), Google Drive Report (for cloud-stored data), Metabase Report (for database reports), Shopify Report (for e-commerce data), Derived Report (for calculated metrics), and Audience (for audience segment data). This connects your external data to create comprehensive attribution tracking.

Option B: using Input Channel Mapping (for direct UTM value mapping)

Select Input Channel Mapping: click Input Channel Mapping to access the manual configuration interface. This option lets you directly create channel mappings with custom rules.
Understand the Input Channel Mapping interface: you will see a table with these columns:
- Channel: primary marketing channel category.
- Subchannel: specific platform or source within the channel.
- Bucket: grouping category for reporting.
- Color: visual identifier for the channel in reports.
- Channel/Subchannel: combined identifier.
- Marketing Channel: final channel classification.
Create new channel mappings: click Add Row to create new UTM-to-channel mapping rules, use the checkbox to select or deselect mappings, then click Save to apply your configuration.

Step 3: create UTM-to-channel mapping rules

Add new mapping rules: click Add Row to create a new channel mapping, then fill in each column to define how UTM parameters should be categorized.
Configure channel mapping fields: for example:
- Channel = Paid Search
- Subchannel = Google Ads
- Bucket = Paid
- Channel/Subchannel = Paid Search > Google Ads
- Marketing Channel = Paid Search
- UTM Logic = utm_source=google AND utm_medium=cpc
Set visual identifiers: use Color to choose colors that help visually distinguish channels in reports, and Bucket to group related channels for high-level reporting, such as "Paid", "Organic", or "Social".
Save your configuration: use the checkbox to select active mappings, then click Save to apply your UTM mapping rules. Inactive mappings, unchecked, will not be applied to your data.

Step 4: configure advanced UTM mapping logic

Handle UTM parameter combinations: create specific rules for different UTM parameter combinations. Example mapping logic:

utm_source=google AND utm_medium=cpc maps to Paid Search > Google Ads.
utm_source=facebook AND utm_medium=social maps to Social Media > Facebook Organic.
utm_source=newsletter AND utm_medium=email maps to Email Marketing > Newsletter.

Set up fallback rules: create default mappings for unrecognized UTM combinations. Add catch-all rules like:

utm_medium=social with any source maps to Social Media > Other Social.
utm_medium=email with any source maps to Email Marketing > Other Email.
Missing UTM data maps to Direct Traffic > Unknown.

Account for naming variations: create multiple rows for common UTM variations, such as:

utm_source=fb maps to Social Media > Facebook.
utm_source=facebook maps to Social Media > Facebook.
utm_source=Facebook maps to Social Media > Facebook.

Step 5: test and validate your UTM mapping

Review your mapping configuration: ensure all critical UTM combinations are covered, verify that channel hierarchies make sense for your reporting needs, and check that colors and buckets create clear visual organization.
Test sample UTM combinations: use the preview functionality, if available, to test your mapping logic, and verify that edge cases and variations are handled properly.
Activate and monitor: check the boxes for mappings you want to activate, click Save to apply your UTM mapping configuration, then monitor attribution reports to ensure UTM data flows correctly into channels.

Key concepts and best practices

Marketing Channels fundamentals:

Marketing channels represent the various touchpoints and platforms where your marketing activities occur.
External data source integration lets you combine Sona's tracking with platform-specific data for complete attribution.
Channel and subchannel mapping creates hierarchical organization of your marketing efforts for detailed analysis.

Standard UTM parameters:

utm_source: identifies where traffic originated, such as "google", "facebook", or "newsletter".
utm_medium: identifies the marketing medium, such as "cpc", "social", "email", or "display".
utm_campaign: identifies the specific campaign, such as "summer-sale" or "product-launch".
utm_content: identifies specific ad content or placement (optional).
utm_term: identifies keywords for paid search (optional).

FAQs

Should I use Input Channel Mapping or External Data Source?

Use External Data Source when you already have spreadsheets or reports containing UTM parameter data you want to import. Use Input Channel Mapping when you want to directly create channel mapping rules by hand, without an external file. Either option works for UTM mapping, depending on where your data lives.

Why should I set up fallback rules for UTM mapping?

Fallback rules catch UTM combinations that do not match a specific mapping, such as an unrecognized utm_source with utm_medium=social, and route them to a general bucket like "Other Social" instead of leaving them unclassified. This keeps your attribution reporting complete even as new campaign variations appear.

Why do I need multiple rows for the same channel, like Facebook?

Different campaigns often use inconsistent UTM values for the same source, such as "fb", "facebook", and "Facebook". Creating a separate mapping row for each variation ensures all of them roll up correctly into the same standardized marketing channel instead of being split across several different channel names.

Path to Conversion: Marketing Channels