If you have been involved in digital marketing for more than a day, you will have come across this word too many times….Tag or tagging. Whether it’s SEO guys talking about Meta Tags, Web developers talking about Alt Tags, or your social media manager debating about what hashtags to use. So why have we decided to write a blog about it? Because they are very important and not everyone uses them to their full potential.
Modern marketing is all about delivering relevant and personalised experiences to your audience. To tailor your messages and offers effectively, you first need to understand how each contact engages with your business and what piques their interest. This is precisely where tagging comes in.
Tagging is the practice of assigning specific labels (or “tags”) to a contact, prospect, or customer based on their behaviours, demographics, or interests. By adding—or sometimes removing—these tags, you can track how people interact with your brand and which content resonates with them the most. Ultimately, this helps you deliver the right message to the right person, exactly when they need it.
In this article, we will look at various types of tags and offer practical steps for creating an effective tagging strategy that will transform your marketing campaigns.
Why Tagging Matters
- Personalisation
Knowing an individual’s behaviour—such as which emails they open or which products they browse—enables you to tailor your marketing campaigns to suit their preferences.
Tip: To learn how personalisation can boost your marketing success, you might want to read this guide by Campaign Monitor on email personalisation. - Segmented Marketing
Properly tagged contacts can be grouped into specific segments. For instance, you could create a list of contacts who have clicked multiple ads for “winter gear” or those who have visited product pages for “running shoes.” - Better Data Analysis
Tags help you compare how different groups behave. By tracking their performance, you can learn which campaigns work best for each type of customer. - Efficient Resource Allocation
With tagging, you’ll focus your marketing efforts exactly where they matter, rather than sending generic promotions to everyone.
Common Types of Tags
When you start using tags, it’s important to establish a consistent naming convention to keep your system organised and scalable. Tags are invaluable tools in marketing and customer relationship management (CRM) systems, helping to categorise and track your audience’s behaviour, preferences, and journey. Let’s dive into the main types of tags, their purposes, and how to use them effectively.
1. Interest-Based Tags
What They Are:
Interest-based tags highlight what a prospect or customer is specifically interested in. They are ideal for segmenting users based on their preferences for products, topics, or categories.
Examples:
- “Interest: WinterGear”
- “Interest: RunningShoes”
- “Interest: EmailMarketingTips”
When to Use Them:
Apply these tags when someone interacts with content or pages that suggest a clear interest. For instance, if a user frequently visits certain product pages, clicks specific links in emails, or downloads a lead magnet tied to a category, they should receive an interest-based tag.
Best Practices and Implementation:
Automation: Use marketing platforms like HubSpot or ActiveCampaign to automatically tag users based on link clicks or page visits. For example, if someone downloads a guide on “Email Marketing Tips,” tag them accordingly.
Tracking: Pair your CRM with website analytics tools like Google Analytics. If a user repeatedly visits product-related pages, trigger a corresponding tag.
Consistency: Use descriptive and intuitive tag names that make it easy for your team to understand their purpose at a glance.
2. Engagement or Behaviour-Based Tags
What They Are:
These tags focus on tracking how users interact with your brand. Engagement could include opening emails, clicking links, attending webinars, or responding to surveys.
Examples:
- “Engaged: WebinarAttendee”
- “Action: FilledOutSurvey”
- “Action: RequestedDemo”
When to Use Them:
Use these tags to identify highly engaged users, retarget inactive ones, or measure the effectiveness of your outreach campaigns.
Best Practices and Implementation:
Email Automation: Create workflows that tag users after they’ve opened a certain number of emails or clicked on a specific link.
Webinar Integration: Connect your webinar platform (e.g., Zoom or GoToWebinar) to your CRM. Automatically tag attendees, non-attendees, or those who registered but didn’t show up.
Action Tracking: For key actions like requesting a demo or downloading a whitepaper, set up automatic tagging so you can segment these leads for personalised follow-ups.
3. Lifecycle or Stage Tags
What They Are:
Lifecycle tags categorise users based on their stage in the customer journey, from prospect to repeat customer or VIP client.
Examples:
- “Stage: Lead”
- “Stage: FirstPurchase”
- “Stage: RepeatBuyer”
- “Stage: VIP”
When to Use Them:
These tags help you manage your sales funnel, identify where users need extra nurturing, and decide when it’s time to upsell or provide specialised care.
Best Practices and Implementation:
Pipeline Integration: Use your CRM’s pipeline stages to apply tags as prospects move through the sales process. For instance, when a lead becomes a customer, update their tag to “Stage: Customer.”
eCommerce Syncing: Platforms like Shopify or WooCommerce can automatically update tags. For example, when a user makes their first purchase, remove the “Stage: Lead” tag and add “Stage: FirstPurchase.”
Prioritise High-Value Customers: Tag repeat buyers or VIP clients for targeted loyalty campaigns or premium offers.
4. Source/UTM Tags
What They Are:
Source tags indicate where a contact originated, such as from a specific ad, blog post, or referral link. They are vital for tracking the effectiveness of your marketing channels.
Examples:
- “Source: FacebookAdCampaign1”
- “Source: Google: KeywordX”
- “Referral: PartnerXYZ”
When to Use Them:
Use source tags to track and measure the ROI of different channels, campaigns, and keywords.
Best Practices and Implementation:
UTM Parameters: Always append UTM parameters to your URLs (e.g., ?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=KeywordX) to identify traffic sources.
Automation: Set up your CRM or marketing automation platform to apply tags based on the UTM values captured when a user interacts with your content.
Campaign-Specific Insights: Use source tags to refine underperforming campaigns or double down on successful ones.
5. Event-Specific Tags
What They Are:
Event-specific tags help you track interest in or attendance at specific events like webinars, sales, product launches, or workshops.
Examples:
- “Event: BlackFridaySale2025”
- “Event: Webinar_SocialMediaBasics”
- “Event: LaunchWeekInterested”
When to Use Them:
These tags are perfect for post-event follow-ups, nurturing leads, and evaluating event performance.
Best Practices and Implementation:
Automatic Tagging: Use registration forms or sign-up pages to apply event tags. For instance, attendees who register for a webinar could automatically receive a tag like “Event: Webinar_SocialMediaBasics.”
Post-Event Updates: After the event, update tags to differentiate between registrants and attendees. For example, “Event: WebinarAttended” for participants and “Event: NoShow” for non-attendees.
Time-Sensitive Tags: Remove or update expired event tags to keep your CRM tidy and relevant.
Practical Steps to Implement a Tagging Strategy
1. Define Your Objectives
Decide what you want to achieve with tagging. Do you need better lead qualification? Are you aiming to identify your top spenders? Clarity on your goals will guide which tags to create.
2. Choose a Tagging Structure and Naming Conventions
- Keep tag names concise and meaningful.
- Use prefixes like “Interest:”, “Action:”, “Stage:”, or “Source:” so you can easily spot the tag’s purpose.
- Consider keeping a master document or spreadsheet that lists all your tags and outlines when each one should be applied or removed.
3. Set Up Tracking and Automation
- Website Tracking: Install your marketing automation or CRM’s tracking code (for instance, HubSpot’s tracking code) on your site to trigger tags based on page visits.
- Email Integrations: Configure link tracking in your email service provider so that whenever a subscriber clicks on a specific link, the correct tag is added.
- UTM Tagging: Consistently use UTM parameters in your URLs and integrate them with your platform. For instance, if you’re using Google Analytics, ensure you’ve linked it properly to your CRM to track these parameters.
4. Regularly Review & Update Tags
- Schedule routine audits to remove or merge outdated tags. For example, if you had an event tag for a webinar in 2022, consider whether it still serves a purpose in 2025.
- Update your tagging strategy if your marketing or business objectives change.
5. Use Tags to Segment & Launch Campaigns
- Segmentation: Build segments based on key tags. For example, a campaign might target those who are tagged “Stage: Lead” and “Interest: RunningShoes.”
- Personalised Messaging: Use dynamic content in your emails or on your website to display messages tailored to a specific tag.
- Automation: Set automations that trigger whenever certain tags are added or removed. For example, if a lead is tagged “Stage: Customer,” automatically remove “Stage: Lead” and launch a welcome sequence.
6. Measure, Optimise, and Scale
- Monitor key metrics such as conversion rates and engagement for each tag or segment.
- If certain tags correlate with higher conversions, you might tailor more content around those topics.
- Keep experimenting with new tags and refine your strategy as you learn more about your audience’s behaviours.
Conclusion
A well-organised tagging system can be a game-changer for your marketing campaigns. By effectively tagging your contacts according to their behaviours, interests, lifecycle stage, and source, you’ll have the insights you need to create targeted, personalised messages.
For the best results, maintain consistency and invest time in planning your tagging approach. Clearly define your objectives, keep a close eye on your tags, and let your data guide you towards continuous improvements. By doing so, you’ll develop a marketing strategy that feels tailor-made for each contact—boosting engagement, conversions, and long-term loyalty in the process.
Ready to put your tagging strategy into action?
- Explore HubSpot’s knowledge base for CRM and lead management tips.
- Use Google’s free Campaign URL Builder to create UTM links.
With the right tags and a thoughtful approach, you’ll be well on your way to maximising every opportunity your marketing campaigns have to offer!
- Tagging Strategies: How They Maximise Your Marketing Campaigns - January 7, 2025
- First Step to Creating Killer Content – Know Your Reader! - January 7, 2025
- Social Media Marketing – In Reality - November 28, 2024