Understanding Fields, Formats, and Conventions

Imagine your team is launching a major product campaign. Without a system, you get inconsistent tracking URLs like Q4_Launch-Google from one person and product_launch_linkedin_2025 from another, making it impossible to analyze performance accurately.

Now, imagine every single URL for that campaign was perfectly structured by default, like this: product_launch-google-new_users-2025-09-15

This level of consistency is achieved by design using three tools working together: Fields, Formats, and Conventions. In this example:

Fields provide the approved vocabulary (e.g., a dropdown to select product_launch as the objective).
A Format acts as the blueprint, locking the structure to [Objective]-[Source]-[Audience]-[Date].
A Convention brings all of this together to define the building behavior for the entire marketing team.

Understanding how these tools work together is the key to transforming inconsistent tracking data into a reliable asset for analysis. Let’s explore the purpose of each component and how they build on one another to create a powerful and enforceable tracking taxonomy.

1. Fields: Your Standardized Vocabulary

At the most basic level, data becomes messy due to simple typos and inconsistent values (cpc vs. CPC, or facebook vs. Facebook). Fields solve this by creating a controlled, approved value that serves as a single source of truth.

You can begin building this standardized vocabulary by Creating and Managing Fields, which are the most fundamental building block of clean data for eliminating typos and guesswork.

Here are a few ways you can use Fields to enforce consistency:

Option Field: Create a dropdown menu for the utm_source parameter. Your team can only select from an approved list (e.g., google, linkedin, facebook), preventing them from typing freeform values.
Constant Field: Lock down a value that should never change. For all email campaigns, the utm_medium can be a Constant Field set to email, making it impossible to enter it incorrectly.
Date Field: Enforce a consistent date structure, like YYYY-MM-DD, for all campaigns. This ensures accurate and simple time-based reporting.
Text Field: Create a freeform text input for parameters. You can control it by setting character limits, restricting allowed characters, or adding a prefix/suffix. If left unrestricted, any text value can be entered. For example, you could set a 10-character limit for campaign codes or only allow numbers for coupon IDs.

2. Formats: Your Reusable Blueprints

It is common for campaign parameters to have an inconsistent structure. For example, one team member might name a campaign productlaunch-2025_09_15, while another uses 15-09-2025-launch. While the information is there, the lack of a shared structure makes the data impossible to sort or filter effectively.

A Format acts as a reusable template that defines the structure of your parameters. You can arrange your standardized Fields into a specific, repeatable order by Building and Managing Formats.

For example, a "Paid Campaign Format" can be set up to ensure consistency:

Decide on a logical naming structure, such as: [CampaignObjective]-[Audience]-[Date].
Combine your Campaign Objective Field, Audience Field, and Date Field in that exact order within the Format.
Define the separator, such as a dash (-).

Now, every campaign name created using this Format will follow an identical structure (e.g., brand_awareness-new_users-2025-09-15), making your data predictable and easy to analyze.

3. Conventions: Your Master Rule Set

Without overall governance, different teams can still create non-compliant tracking URLs. For instance, the social media team might forget to add utm_content, or the email team might use a different campaign naming Format.

A Convention is the final enforcement layer that brings your Fields and Formats together into a single rule set. Once your Fields and Formats are in place, you can enforce your taxonomy by Setting Up Your First Convention, which dictates which Format applies to which parameter for a specific marketing activity.

For example, an "Email Newsletter Convention" can automatically configure the URL builder for your email team. This Convention can be set to:

Enforce your "Email Campaign Format" on the utm_campaign parameter.
Lock the utm_medium to email using a Format with a Constant Field.
Require the utm_source parameter to be filled.
Disable the utm_term parameter, hiding it from the builder so it cannot be used.

When a team member selects this Convention, they are guided through a foolproof workflow that guarantees every URL they create is perfectly compliant with your taxonomy.

Best Practices

Start Small: Begin by standardizing your most important parameter, like utm_source, with a simple Field. Build out your taxonomy from there.
Collaborate: Work with your marketing teams to understand their needs and agree on standardized values and structures.
Think Logically: When designing Formats, place the broadest piece of information first (e.g., Region) and the most specific last (e.g., Creative Version). This makes sorting and filtering data much easier.

Summary

By using these three components together, you shift from reactive data cleanup to proactive data governance.

Fields standardize your raw values.
Formats structure those values into consistent patterns.
Conventions enforce the entire system for your team.

This ensures you produce clean, reliable, and analysis-ready data from the moment a tracking URL is created.