4 simple steps to capture UTM parameters in eForms
Learn how to capture UTM parameters (and other lead source data) in eForms so you can track where your leads are coming from.
If you're struggling to figure out the number of people who convert into customers after clicking on your Google Ads, you're not alone. While Google Analytics is effective for monitoring website traffic, it doesn't always provide a clear picture of the conversion rate from visitors to leads and sales.
However, there's good news! In this article, we'll introduce you to a solution called Attributer. We'll explain how you can utilize Attributer to capture UTM parameters within eForms, enabling you to accurately track the source of each lead. With this information, you can gain valuable insights into your marketing campaigns and optimize your strategies accordingly.
4 steps for capturing UTM parameters in eForms
Using Attributer to capture UTM parameters in eForms is easy. Here's how to do it in 4 easy steps:
1. Add UTM parameters to your ads
To begin, it is crucial to ensure that you have included UTM parameters in your paid advertising campaigns. This is applicable to advertisements on various social media platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, as well as search engines such as Bing and Google. By incorporating UTM parameters across these channels, you can effectively track and analyze the performance of your campaigns, enabling you to make informed decisions and optimize your advertising strategies.
2. Add hidden fields to your forms
The next step involves integrating hidden fields into your eForms on your website. Hidden fields, as the name implies, are not visible to site visitors but are still included in the form structure. These fields enable tools like Attributer to incorporate information such as UTM parameters without visitors being aware.
Fortunately, eForms simplifies the process of including hidden fields in your forms. Just drag and drop a "Hidden" field to the bottom of your form.
To utilize Attributer effectively, you will need to include the following hidden fields:
- Channel
- Channel Drilldown 1
- Channel Drilldown 2
- Channel Drilldown 3
- Landing Page
- Landing Page Group
By incorporating these hidden fields, you can gather important data about the sources and landing pages of your leads, providing valuable insights for analyzing and optimizing your marketing efforts.
3. Attributer automatically completes the hidden fields with UTM data
Once the hidden fields have been set up, Attributer takes over the task of monitoring the origins of your website visitors. When visitors complete the eForm on your site, Attributer automatically populates the hidden fields with the relevant information.
Let's consider an example where you are the marketing lead at Olmo Software. Suppose someone searches for your company name on Google, clicks on one of your ads, explores your site, and fills out a demo request form.
Attributer utilizes the UTM parameters you added to your ads to populate the hidden fields. Here's how it may look:
- Channel: Paid search
- Channel Drilldown 1: Google
- Channel Drilldown 2: Brand campaign
- Channel Drilldown 3: Olmo Software
In addition to this, Attributer keeps track of the visitor's initial landing page and includes it in the hidden fields. For Olmo Software, it might appear as follows:
- Landing Page: www.olmosoftware.com/landing-pages/brand
- Landing Page Group: Landing Pages
By capturing this information, Attributer empowers you with comprehensive data about the sources, channels, and landing pages associated with each form submission. This valuable insight enables you to evaluate the effectiveness of your marketing efforts and make data-driven decisions to optimize your strategies.
4. UTM parameters are captured in eForms
Upon form submission, eForms not only captures the lead's provided information, such as name, email, and company, but also records the UTM parameters included in the hidden fields by Attributer.
This captured data holds significant value and can be seamlessly integrated into your customer relationship management (CRM) system. Additionally, it can be included in eForms' email alerts for new submissions, saved in a spreadsheet, or effortlessly transferred to a variety of other tools through the use of Zapier.
By including this data in your CRM, leveraging email alerts, or exporting it to compatible platforms, you can effectively manage and utilize the UTM parameter information collected through eForms. This enables you to gain deeper insights into your leads, track the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns, and streamline your overall data management process.
What is Attributer?
Attributer is an easily implementable piece of code that can be added to your website. When a visitor arrives on your site, Attributer examines various technical details about their origin (similar to Google Analytics) to determine the source of the visit.
By analyzing this information, Attributer categorizes visitors into distinct channels like Paid Search, Paid Social, and Organic Search, and stores this data in a cookie within their browser. This ensures that details like UTM parameters and other information are retained as visitors navigate through your site.
When a visitor completes an eForm on your site, Attributer automatically populates the form's hidden fields with the relevant UTM parameters and attribution data. This valuable data, combined with the lead's provided information (such as name, email, and company), is captured and stored for analysis.
Initially developed by a marketing consultant seeking a more accurate understanding of the channels that generated the highest number of leads and customers for clients, Attributer offers a superior alternative to simply tracking the number of visitors from each campaign.
Today, Attributer is trusted by thousands of websites, providing attribution data for over 7 million monthly visitors. Its widespread usage underscores its effectiveness in delivering valuable insights into visitor sources and enabling informed marketing decisions.
Why using Attributer is the best way to capture UTM parameters in eForms
Attributer is the best way to capture UTM parameters in eForms. Here's why:
1. Captures the source of all leads
Attributer provides comprehensive attribution information for all your leads, going beyond those solely originating from paid ad campaigns with UTM parameters. This includes leads from various organic channels such as Organic Social, Organic Search, Direct, Referral, and more.
By offering insights into the complete spectrum of lead sources, Attributer equips you with a holistic understanding of the channels that generate valuable leads and customers for your business. This empowers you to make well-informed decisions regarding your growth strategies.
For instance, if you uncover that your SEO efforts generate a higher number of leads compared to your Google Ads campaigns, it suggests the potential benefits of reallocating some of your budget towards SEO initiatives. With Attributer's attribution data, you can optimize your marketing investments by leveraging the channels that demonstrate the most significant impact on lead generation and customer acquisition.
2. Remembers the UTM parameters as visitors browse your site
Alternative methods of capturing UTM parameters in eForms typically rely on the parameters being present in the URL of the specific page where the form is filled out. However, this approach can lead to inaccurate data concerning the number of leads generated from different campaigns.
Consider a scenario where a visitor clicks on one of your Google Ads and arrives at your homepage. From there, they proceed to click the "Get A Quote" button and navigate to the Quote Request page to complete the form.
In the absence of Attributer, the UTM parameters would not be captured because the page where the lead submits the form is different from the initial landing page.
Fortunately, Attributer operates differently. It securely stores the UTM parameters in a cookie within the visitor's browser, ensuring their capture in eForms regardless of the specific page where the form is completed. This method guarantees accurate and reliable attribution data, enabling you to gain a comprehensive understanding of your campaign performance and lead generation across various touch points on your website.
3. Provides cleaner data
Utilizing alternative methods to capture UTM parameters in eForms may result in unreliable and convoluted data within your reports.
For example, let's say you have labeled some of your Google Ads campaigns with UTM_Source=google ads, others with UTM_Source=google, and a few with UTM_Source=adwords (which is common when different individuals or agencies manage your ads over time).
If you were using a different method to capture these raw UTM parameters, your reports would display three separate lead sources. Consequently, you would need to manually consolidate them to determine the total number of leads originating from your Google Ads campaigns.
Fortunately, Attributer was specifically developed to address this issue. It accounts for potential inconsistencies in your UTM parameters, such as variations in capitalization and different naming conventions. By doing so, Attributer accurately assigns leads to the appropriate channel, such as Paid Search in this case. This ensures that your reports are precise, cohesive, and easily understandable, providing you with valuable insights into the performance of your marketing campaigns.
4. Captures landing page data as well
In addition to collecting Google Ads data, Attributer also captures the landing page URL (e.g., https://attributer.io/blog/capture-utm-parameters-eforms) and landing page group (e.g., /blog).
This comprehensive data enables you to generate detailed reports showcasing the number of leads and customers generated from specific sections of your website, such as your blog.
Furthermore, with Attributer's capabilities, you can delve even deeper into your analysis by examining the number of leads and customers generated by each individual blog post. This level of granularity provides valuable insights into the performance and effectiveness of your content, allowing you to optimize your strategies and focus on generating more leads and conversions from your blog.
Wrap up
Attributer proves to be an invaluable tool when it comes to capturing UTM parameters in eForms. However, its capabilities extend far beyond that. It also provides essential insights into leads originating from organic sources such as Organic Search, Organic Social, Referral, Direct traffic, and more.
This comprehensive view allows you to gain a broader perspective on the origins of your leads and customers, empowering you to make informed decisions when it comes to growing your business.
Curious to experience its benefits firsthand? Attributer offers a generous 14-day free trial, enabling you to evaluate if it's the right tool for your needs. Take advantage of this opportunity and kick-start your trial today!
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About the Author
Aaron Beashel is the founder of Attributer and has over 15 years of experience in marketing & analytics. He is a recognized expert in the subject and has written articles for leading websites such as Hubspot, Zapier, Search Engine Journal, Buffer, Unbounce & more. Learn more about Aaron here.