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Want to Run a Last Touch Source Report

Question asked by Brian Whipple on Apr 18, 2018
Latest reply on Apr 19, 2018 by Sanford Whiteman

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Hello! I'm new to the Marketo Nation and am looking for guidance.

I want to run a last touch source report on new leads. Specifically, I want to know the last known external site/place that they came from before they came a lead. In the end, it would look like the Channels in Google Analytics (Organic Search, Direct, Social, etc.).

Even deeper, I would like to report on the next layer. So if Social is the primary channel, which social site did it come from? (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) Or if Referral, what URL did they come from?

What I Know

It seems like a popular way to do this is through UTM parameters. I am not opposed to doing this, but it doesn't help when you have no control over the link. For example, if a publication writes about our company and links to our site, I don't have control over the link and can't add the UTM parameters.

I also know about saving UTM parameter history within Marketo. I have setup UTM and UTM history fields in Marketo up to this point. It just seems like there is more that I'm missing, and would love to learn more about other best practices.

Thanks!

Sanford Whiteman Apr 19, 2018 6:42 AM

Correct Answer

Other MA platforms have analytics that is more inline with (i.e. duplicates more of) a Google Analytics, Clicky, et al. type of solution. Marketo's Munchkin analytics is focused on a single permanent session, rather than dynamically restarting sessions and logging those checkpoints (i.e. a new set of UTM codes or new external referrer) in a many-to-one setup. It could certainly use some expansion, but it's what we've got to work with. We always complement Munchkin with Clicky (not being a particular fan of GA).

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Sanford Whiteman Apr 18, 2018 10:01 PM

Source-tagging with UTMs is a necessary baseline. To track UTMs more deeply than Marketo alone allows, use a "touch history" JavaScript library on the browser side, since otherwise you'll lose the person's tracks if they don't fill out a form immediately.

As you point out, you can't make people link to you using UTMs. Unfortunately, you also can't guarantee that the referrer will be available: for one big example, unless configured specifically to do so, an HTTPS site will not send the referrer to a non-HTTPS site (I don't know if this applies to your Marketo LP domain, but it's a longstanding browser security measure). A robust touch history JS library will forward whatever referrer URLs it can, but it can't forward things it doesn't see.

Overall, there isn't a magic fix that you're missing within Marketo, it takes a more painstaking approach pairing Smart Campaigns, history fields, and client-side JS.

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Brian Whipple @ Sanford Whiteman on Apr 19, 2018 6:28 AM

Thanks for the reply. Sounds like I am on the right track.

I am curious, however, how Marketo's competition is solving this problem. I have seen reports from HubSpot that seems to have this reporting. Are they doing something that Marketo isn't? Are those reports not reliable?

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Sanford Whiteman @ Brian Whipple on Apr 19, 2018 6:42 AM

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Sanford Whiteman Apr 18, 2018 10:01 PM
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Correct Answer
Source-tagging with UTMs is a necessary baseline. To track UTMs more deeply than Marketo alone allows, use a "touch history" JavaScript library on the browser side, since otherwise you'll lose the person's tracks if they don't fill out a form immediately.

As you point out, you can't make people link to you using UTMs. Unfortunately, you also can't guarantee that the referrer will be available: for one big example, unless configured specifically to do so, an HTTPS site will not send the referrer to a non-HTTPS site (I don't know if this applies to your Marketo LP domain, but it's a longstanding browser security measure). A robust touch history JS library will forward whatever referrer URLs it can, but it can't forward things it doesn't see.

Overall, there isn't a magic fix that you're missing within Marketo, it takes a more painstaking approach pairing Smart Campaigns, history fields, and client-side JS.
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- Brian Whipple @ Sanford Whiteman on Apr 19, 2018 6:28 AM
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  Correct Answer
  Thanks for the reply. Sounds like I am on the right track.
  I am curious, however, how Marketo's competition is solving this problem. I have seen reports from HubSpot that seems to have this reporting. Are they doing something that Marketo isn't? Are those reports not reliable?
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  - Sanford Whiteman @ Brian Whipple on Apr 19, 2018 6:42 AM
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    Correct Answer
    Other MA platforms have analytics that is more inline with (i.e. duplicates more of) a Google Analytics, Clicky, et al. type of solution. Marketo's Munchkin analytics is focused on a single permanent session, rather than dynamically restarting sessions and logging those checkpoints (i.e. a new set of UTM codes or new external referrer) in a many-to-one setup. It could certainly use some expansion, but it's what we've got to work with. We always complement Munchkin with Clicky (not being a particular fan of GA).
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