Hi everyone!
I am setting up programs to place leads in specific campaigns based on where they came from. My first thought was Referrer URL -- I could attribute the lead to a channel. However, I'm noticing that my Referrer URLs are not matching my first-touch Referrer URLs.
For example, today a lead came in organically via Google. I know this because the referrer URL in his first touch (website visit) had a Referrer URL of google.com. But, on his form-fill activity, the Referrer URL reads marcom.com/request-demo (the page on which he filled out the form). I thought Referrer URL was supposed to populate with the page URL previous to the form fill?
My end goal is to say "if came from [Organic search], add to this campaign". The channels will vary...direct, paid, social, etc.
Sarah Mayer Referrer URL isn't widely used any more because it's entirely reliant on the website the lead is coming from to pass that data along during navigation, and most websites just don't bother any more. If the original website they're coming from doesn't pass along the Referrer URL data, there's nothing to pick up in that hidden form field, so you could get very inconsistent results.
A more consistent method would be to use URL parameters. That allows you to get full control over tracking your leads and how they get to your page. Check out the doc here: Tracking Lead Sources Using UTM Parameters