4 Simple steps to capture UTM parameters in Formspree

Learn how to capture UTM parameters (and other lead source data) in Formspree so you can track where your leads are coming from.

Formspree search

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.

In this article, we'll explain how you can utilize a tool called Attributer to capture UTM parameters within Formspree, 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 Formspree

Using Attributer to capture UTM parameters in Formspree is easy. Here's how to do it in 4 easy steps:

1. Add UTM parameters to your ads

UTM's on Google Ads

First and foremost, you need to include UTM parameters in your paid advertising campaigns. Whether you're advertising on popular social media platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, or utilizing search engines like Bing and Google, integrating UTM parameters across these channels is essential. By doing so, you'll be able to accurately track and analyze the effectiveness of your campaigns, enabling you to make data-driven decisions and optimize your advertising strategies accordingly.

2. Add hidden fields to your forms

Step 2

The next step involves integrating hidden fields into your Formspree forms on your website. Hidden fields, as the name suggests, are not visible to site visitors but are still incorporated into the form structure. These fields allow tools like Attributer to capture and include information such as UTM parameters without visitors being aware. By adding hidden fields to your Formspree forms, you ensure that valuable data is collected and utilized for accurate tracking and analysis purposes.

To effectively utilize Attributer, you will need to include the following hidden fields:

  1. Channel
  2. Channel Drilldown 1
  3. Channel Drilldown 2
  4. Channel Drilldown 3
  5. Landing Page
  6. 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

Step 5

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 a form 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:

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 Formspree

Step 4

Upon form submission, Formspree 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.

This captured data holds significant value and can be seamlessly integrated into your customer relationship management (CRM) system. Additionally, it can be included in Formspree's 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 Formspree. 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 solution 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 a Formspree 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 You Should Use Attributer to Capture UTM Parameters in Formspree

Attributer is the best way to capture UTM parameters in Formspree. Here's why:

1. Captures the source of all leads

Attributer unlocks comprehensive lead attribution in Formspree.

Attributer doesn't limit itself to tracking UTM parameters solely from paid ad campaigns. It goes the extra mile by providing comprehensive attribution information for all your leads, including those originating from organic channels like 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 truly drive valuable leads and customers to your business. This valuable knowledge enables you to make well-informed decisions when it comes to your growth strategies.

For instance, imagine you discover that your SEO efforts generate a higher number of leads compared to your Google Ads campaigns. Armed with Attributer's attribution data, you gain a clear indication of the potential benefits of reallocating some of your budget towards SEO initiatives. With this knowledge, you can optimize your marketing investments by leveraging the channels that demonstrate the most significant impact on lead generation and customer acquisition. Attributer empowers you to maximize the effectiveness of your marketing efforts and achieve optimal results.

2. Remembers the UTM parameters as visitors browse your site

Using the old methods of capturing UTM parameters in Formspree, the presence of parameters in the URL of the specific page where the form is filled out is relied upon. The problem is that this approach often leads to inaccurate data when it comes to measuring the number of leads generated from different campaigns.

Let's consider a scenario where a visitor clicks on one of your Google Ads and lands on your homepage. They then proceed to click the "Get A Quote" button and navigate to the Quote Request page to complete the form.

Without the aid of Attributer, the UTM parameters would go uncaptured because the page where the lead submits the form is different from the initial landing page.

Thankfully, Attributer operates in a different manner. It securely stores the UTM parameters in a cookie within the visitor's browser, ensuring their capture in Formspree regardless of the specific page where the form is completed. This innovative approach guarantees accurate and reliable attribution data, allowing you to gain a comprehensive understanding of your campaign performance and lead generation across various touchpoints on your website.

With Attributer, you can confidently rely on precise attribution data to make data-driven decisions, optimize your marketing strategies, and unlock the full potential of your campaigns.

3. Provides cleaner data

Utilizing alternative methods to capture UTM parameters in Formspree 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. With Attributer and Formspree, you can trust that your UTM parameter data is captured accurately and effortlessly, saving you time and ensuring the reliability of your reports.

4. Captures landing page data for enhanced analysis in Formspree

In addition to collecting Google Ads data, Attributer also captures the landing page URL (e.g., https://attributer.io/blog/capture-utm-parameters-formspree) and landing page group (e.g., /blog).

This comprehensive data empowers you to generate detailed reports showcasing the number of leads and customers generated from specific sections of your website, such as your blog.

Furthermore, Attributer's capabilities go even further, allowing you to delve deeper into your analysis by examining the number of leads and customers generated by each individual blog post. This level of granularity provides invaluable insights into the performance and effectiveness of your content, enabling you to optimize your strategies and focus on generating more leads and conversions from your blog.

With Attributer and Formspree, you have the tools to unlock a deeper understanding of your website's impact on lead generation and customer acquisition, helping you make data-driven decisions and drive greater success in your marketing efforts.

Wrap up

Attributer is an invaluable tool when it comes to capturing UTM parameters in Formspree. 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! With Attributer and Formspree, you can uncover valuable insights and maximize the effectiveness of your lead generation strategies.

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aaron-beashel

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.