URLs in Print Pieces
If you are creating content for a print product and would like to send people to a specific URL, please request a GO URL at
go.depaul.edu/request.
For instance, instead of printing http://offices.depaul.edu/student-affairs/student-life/student-organizations/Pages/default.aspx (a long URL that a viewer is unlikely to remember or want to type into their mobile browser), you could request go.depaul.edu/studentorgs.
When typed into a browser, go.depaul.edu/studentorgs would redirect users to http://offices.depaul.edu/student-affairs/student-life/student-organizations/Pages/default.aspx. This is good for both the user experience and the design of your poster, flyer, merchandise, etc.
URLs in Email Marketing
It's best practice to create a "link mask" when adding a link to an email.
For instance, instead of including a sentence like this: "To reserve a racquetball court, please visit
http://resources.depaul.edu/campus-recreation/the-ray/registration-reservations/Pages/default.aspx" it'd be better to say "Reserve a court today!" and link the text to the registration page.
Tracking Links in Print and Email Campaigns
If it's important to be able to track how many people are visiting the link on your print product or clicking the link in your email, you'll want to add what's called a "UTM parameter" to the link. This simply means a code will be added to the end of the URL so you can track the link via your Google Analytics account. (If you don't have direct access to your site analytics, your site owner can provide the results for you.)
For instance, this URL includes UTM parameters: http://www.depaul.edu? utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=FallActivities16.
Please read our UTM Parameters document to learn more about how to build a URL with UTM parameters, what the different parameters mean and common use cases for UTM parameters. If you have questions about UTM parameters, please email
DXA.