Capturing Lead Source Using UTM Fields

Grégoire_Miche2
Level 10

Re: Capturing Lead Source Using UTM Fields

Hi Christine,

Sanford Whiteman​ or Courtney Grimes​ will probably be the most skillful persons on this matters.

-Greg

Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Capturing Lead Source Using UTM Fields

Thank you, Gregoire.

Sanford Whiteman and Courtney Grimes do either of you have any helpful information you could send me about capturing lead source using JavaScript?

Courtney I have read your post about integrating Google Analytics and Marketo, which has been extremely helpful in outlining the relationship between the two systems, thank you for that.  If I am understanding correctly, integrating Google Analytics and Marketo may address my original question about capturing lead source. Also upon further reading, it looks like some Marketo users use Google Tag Manager to tie lead source back to Marketo ID, is that correct?

I feel like I am asking a lot of questions and trying to tie numerous scenarios together, any other advice or definition around the integration would be helpful.

Thank you!

Christine

Dan_Stevens_
Level 10 - Champion Alumni

Re: Capturing Lead Source Using UTM Fields

Google Tag Manager has nothing to do with integration with Google Analytics.  GTM is way for you to efficiently deploy various tracking code across specific pages (or quickly across all pages) of your site (and Marketo LPs).  For example, we use GTM to centrally manage the deployment of Munchkin, DemandBase, Google Analytics, and any temporary paid advertising tracking code.

Casey_Grimes
Level 10

Re: Capturing Lead Source Using UTM Fields

Not quite, Dan—GTM's real power lies in its data layer, which can theoretically do this.

However, that's a little bit of engineering overkill in this particular instance. The simpler solution in most instances is to record the parameters as separate web page visits (which realistically are the only thing you can use as data storage for anonymous records) and then use that to record the initial UTM parameter upon conversion. In the Gist I link in that article, you just need to do some modification upon first fire.

Dan_Stevens_
Level 10 - Champion Alumni

Re: Capturing Lead Source Using UTM Fields

True, Courtney, but I just wanted to provide the high level overview on how GTM is primary used and that it shouldn't be confused with what being asked here in this thread.  I suspected there was some confusion, thinking there was a distinct relation between GTM and UTM parameters, from a GA perspective.

Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Capturing Lead Source Using UTM Fields

Hi All,

While I was trying to solve a different issue - I think this video gives an excellent breakdown of how to achieve what you are trying to achieve.

Also - it should be noted (as mentioned in the video clip) that the utmz cookies from Googel Analytics are no longer supported in analytics.ja (Universal Analytics) ... this video describes how to achieve something similar to the utmz cookie using GTM and the follow up video covers how to get the info into your form.

It's not Marketo specific, but the principles hold.

_UTMZ Cookie Alternative with Google Tag Manager - Universal Analytics - GTM Training

SanfordWhiteman
Level 10 - Community Moderator

Re: Capturing Lead Source Using UTM Fields

I originally had our team append the URL with ?source=website...

Christine, there's a cool trick in this area that (I think) almost nobody knows about.

If you want to transfer one data point from the URL to a lead field, like lead source in your case, and you don't know the possible data values (or don't want to manage them), add that data point as the s -- just the letter "s" -- query parameter.  (Like how you were trying to use the source param.)

    http://landing.example.com?param1=whatever&s=linkedin

On the page, fire a simple Munchkin event. In the url include the name of the lead field you want to update to the value of s. Here, Munchkin is signaling that you're setting the lead field utm_source to the current value of s ("linkedin").

     Munchkin.munchkinFunction('visitWebPage', { url: '/dataValueTransfer/utm_source'  });

Your Smart List watches for any visit to /dataValueTransfer/...

pastedImage_11.png

... and your Flow sets data values accordingly:

pastedImage_14.png

The advantage of this quick-and-dirty method should be easy to see: the value you're putting on the lead is available as a special trigger token {{trigger.Search Query}}!  (The s query param is the old-school way that search engines would tell you the search terms the user entered, back when they didn't care if you knew.)  Since you have the token, you don't need to know the possible values, so it's a lot like a form post with a single field.  It could contain any value at all (s=blee, s=blah, s=somethinganoutsideagencydidnttellyouaboutbutthatsokay) and that value will get popped into the corresponding value on the lead.

Anyway, food for someone's thought, I hope... not a fit for more complex situations but I thought I'd share it!

Note: You can actually adapt this same technique for multiple values per page view, though in uplevel browsers only.  Since that excludes IE 8-9 I won't include the method here to make sure everything is compatible.

Nicholas_Manojl
Level 9

Re: Capturing Lead Source Using UTM Fields

Hi Sanford - great post.

Why wouldn't you just do a "Change data value" on Lead Source to {{trigger.search query}} when a fills-out-form is completed?

I think I'm having trouble understanding what the query paramater ?s is all about.

Edit: because the Trigger.Search Query only works on a 'Visits web page' trigger right?

SanfordWhiteman
Level 10 - Community Moderator

Re: Capturing Lead Source Using UTM Fields

Edit: because the Trigger.Search Query only works on a 'Visits web page' trigger right?

Right! Specifically, in this case, the manual call to Visit Web Page sets the referrer to the current document (as opposed to the previously navigated document), so the s of the current doc becomes the {{trigger.search query}}.

And of course the reason this is cool is that you don't need to wait for a form fillout or other moment to save the information to the lead, or more properly with Munchkin 2.0, "prepare the information to be saved to the lead at the moment it is promoted from anonymous."

Grégoire_Miche2
Level 10

Re: Capturing Lead Source Using UTM Fields

Hi Sanford Whiteman

could we use this technique especially to set the email address and therefore to promote a lead to become known ?

-Greg