Understanding Page Targeting and URL Parameters in A/B Testing

Many users have questions about how page targeting works, especially when it comes to URLs with parameters like UTM tags. This article aims to clarify some common concerns and explain how our A/B testing platform handles these scenarios.

1. Page Targeting and URL Parameters

By default, our page targeting feature uses simple matching, which ignores URL query parameters such as UTMs. For example, if you target "example.com/product-page", it will match both:

• example.com/product-page
• example.com/product-page?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc

2. Advanced Targeting Options

For more specific targeting needs:

• Use the Advanced URL Targeting option to target specific URL query parameters. Below we'll discuss each type of rule:
  • Simple match: exactly the same as above. It will match the URL and ignore any URL query parameters (anything after '?')
  • Exact match: it will match the exact URL. Be sure to double check the URL to ensure there are no typos!
    • E.g.: match with www.example.com/product-page and NOT www.example.com/product-page?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc
    • Be sure to include the full URL including 'www'.
  • Contain word: will target the word entered. This includes URL parameters.
    • E.g.: product-page will target all pages with product-page in the URL
    • E.g.: funnel-page will target pages with funnel-page as a URL parameter
  • Regular expression (regex): for advanced users. A string of characters to produce an expression that can target any page. This site provides a handy way to produce regex easily: https://regex101.com/

When you're using these advanced rules, note that any page included will only target that page. For example, if you enter contain word product-page as a rule, this will only look for pages with product-page. 

Therefore, you do not need to exclude any pages as the inclusion rule is the de facto rule per se.

3. Using the Wildcard (*) Function for Multi-Page Targeting

Our system supports wildcards (represented by an asterisk *) for targeting multiple pages at once. For instance:

• https://www.example.com/* would target all pages on example.com
• https://www.example.com/products/* would target all pages under the "products" section

Note the trailing slash after '*' will affect the targeting as well:

Targeted URL pattern: https://www.mida.so/*/

Actual URLs:

• https://www.mida.so/pricing (matches)
• https://www.mida.so/about-us (matches)
• https://www.mida.so/blog/article-1 (doesn't match)

The wildcard is also useful when the default simple match targeting rule is not needed. In this scenario, you can use * to target all pages on your website, then use any other advanced targeting rule to target the page you need. 

For example, if you only want to target a page with specific UTM parameters:

Page Targeting: = *

Advanced URL: Exact match = www.example.com/product-page?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc

Note: The wildcard only works under the default page targeting rule and not advanced targeting rules.

4. Other Advanced Targeting Options

You can also use other advanced rules to target specific users and/or pages. Below is a brief description of the most common rules used:

• Referrer rules: Used when you want to target users who previously visited a page before your target URL. For example:

• https://example.com/ as a homepage for a referrer, before users enter the test on a product page: https://www.example.com/products/*

• URL parameter rules: Used when you want to target a specific campaign or UTM parameter. For example:
  • utm_campaign is equal to holiday-sale
  • utm_source is not equal to bing
  • utm_medium is equal to social
• Google analytics audience: Used when you want to target a specific audience set up in GA4. To use this, you must integrate GA4 with Mida: https://mida.freshdesk.com/a/solutions/articles/154000090813
  

5. Tracking and Visibility of UTM Parameters

While UTM parameters aren't directly visible in our dashboard, they are still tracked in visitor profiles. This data can be used to filter test data under the Summary tab such as:

• Segmentation filtering
• A/B test report filtering
• Report breakdowns and segmentation

Remember, the key to effective A/B testing is understanding how these targeting options work and choosing the right approach for your specific use case.