Attribution and UTM basics

Knowing your overall opt-in rate is useful, but knowing which channel actually produced those opt-ins is what lets you spend your time and ad budget where it works. Attribution and UTM parameters are how you connect a contact back to the exact link, campaign, or channel that brought them in. This article covers the basics of both.

#What UTM parameters are

UTM parameters are small tags added to the end of a URL that tell you where a click came from. They don't change what the visitor sees — they're just extra information carried in the link. A tagged link looks like this:

https://example.com/offer?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=paid-social&utm_campaign=fall-promo

The standard parameters are:

#How the platform captures attribution

When a visitor arrives through a tagged link and then converts — submits a form or survey, books an appointment, uses the chat widget, or completes an order form — the platform records the UTM data, referring domain, and page URL against that new contact.

Warning: Attribution is only captured when a contact converts through a native form, survey, calendar, chat widget, or order form. If someone fills out a form hosted somewhere else entirely, their attribution data won't be captured unless that page is set up with external tracking.

#First-touch vs. latest-touch attribution

Every contact record keeps two separate attribution snapshots:

• First Attribution — the source recorded the very first time this person interacted with you. This never changes, even as the contact converts again later through a different channel. It answers "how did I first find this person?"
• Latest Attribution — the source recorded on their most recent interaction. This updates every time they convert again. It answers "what brought them back this time?"

Both matter for different questions. If you're evaluating which channel is generating brand-new leads, look at First Attribution across your contact list. If you're trying to understand what convinced someone to finally buy after being in your database a while, Latest Attribution on that contact is more useful.

#Finding attribution on a contact record

Open the contact, and look under the Activity tab — attribution details appear there, showing the UTM values, referring domain, and campaign information tied to that interaction.

#Hidden fields: passing extra context through a form

Beyond standard UTM parameters, you can capture additional context by adding hidden fields to a form or survey — fields that aren't shown to the visitor but get filled in automatically (from the URL, from a custom value, or from a fixed value you set) and saved to the contact record when they submit.

Common uses for hidden fields:

• Passing a specific utm_content variant when you're running several versions of the same ad
• Recording which funnel step or landing page variant the visitor started on
• Tagging leads from a specific offline source (a QR code on a flyer, for example) with a fixed value like source=print-flyer

To use a hidden field for UTM capture, set its value to reference the corresponding URL parameter so that whatever value is in the link gets pulled into the field automatically when the page loads.

#A simple UTM naming convention

Inconsistent tagging is the most common reason attribution reporting turns into a mess. Pick a convention and stick to it:

• Lowercase everything. Facebook and facebook will show up as two different sources in some reports.
• Use hyphens, not spaces, in multi-word values. paid-social, not paid social.
• Keep utm_source to the platform name only. facebook, not facebook.com or Facebook Ads.
• Keep utm_medium to a small, repeatable set of values across your whole business — email, paid-social, organic-social, cpc, referral — so you can roll up performance by channel type later.
• Never tag internal links (like a link from one of your own pages to another). UTM parameters are for tracking where outside traffic came from; tagging internal navigation just overwrites real attribution data with noise.

Tip: Write your naming convention down somewhere your whole team can see it — a shared doc, a pinned note, whatever. The value of UTM tracking compounds over time, but only if everyone tags links the same way.

#What done looks like

You should be able to build a correctly tagged link for a new campaign without having to think twice about capitalization or which parameter goes where, and be able to open any contact's Activity tab and say, in one sentence, both where they first came from and what brought them back most recently.

#Related articles

• Funnel and website analytics overview
• Reading funnel step statistics
• Add Google Analytics, Tag Manager, and ad pixels to your pages

#Frequently asked questions

#Do UTM parameters affect SEO or how the page looks to visitors?

No. UTM parameters are purely informational — they don't change page content, and search engines generally handle URLs with tracking parameters the same as the base URL for indexing purposes.

#What if a visitor clicks a tagged link but doesn't convert right away?

If they return later without a UTM-tagged link (typing your domain directly, for instance) and then convert, their attribution may reflect that later, untagged visit instead of the original tagged click — unless a cookie or session window is still active linking the two visits together. This is one reason First Attribution can occasionally look different from what you expected the original click to produce.

#Can I use UTM parameters on links inside my own emails?

Yes — email is one of the most common uses. Just keep utm_medium consistent (email is the standard convention) so all your email-driven traffic rolls up together in reporting, regardless of which specific email or campaign sent it.