Are you acquiring leads through Cognito Forms but finding it challenging to identify their origins? As the head of a digital marketing agency, our clients must differentiate between leads coming from our SEO efforts as opposed to those from PPC campaigns, among others.
Therefore, I’ve created this guide to help you figure out the source of your leads in Cognito Forms, covering a range of sources from Organic Search, Paid Social, Email Campaigns, Referrals, and more, right next to your lead information. Ready to uncover these vital insights?
Let’s get started!
How to track the source of lead in Cognito Forms
1. How LeadSources collects the lead source data
As visitors navigate your site, their browser logs important details of their visit – such as where they came from, the initial page they arrived at, and the keywords they entered. This data is stored in a cookie.
LeadSources.io comes into play by interpreting this information and integrating it into your Cognito Forms in the hidden fields.
Thus, when an individual completes your Cognito Forms, they enter their details (name, email, etc.) into the form’s visible fields. At the same time, LeadSources.io populates the form with lead source data (such as source, campaign, etc.) in the hidden fields.
After the form is submitted, this comprehensive lead source information is sent along with the respondent’s answers into the Cognito Forms’ submission database. Consequently, you can view the source of the lead, together with their personal information, within a single Cognito Forms entry.
2. How LeadSources passes the lead source data into Cognito Forms
Sign up at leadsources.io and easily integrate our script into your site — it’s a simple process.
Next, add the hidden fields to your Cognito Forms. We’ve written a guide to assist.
Whenever someone completes a form on your website, LeadSources.io automatically fills these hidden fields with essential lead source information:
- Channel
- Source
- Campaign
- Term
- Content
- Landing page
- Landing page subfolder
As soon as the form is submitted, this comprehensive lead source information is sent straight to Cognito Forms. You can access this data, stored alongside the lead’s personal information (like name and email), within Cognito Forms’ submission logs.
This approach enables accurate tracking of the source of each lead within Cognito Forms.
How to analyze the lead source data
What data is tracked in Cognito Forms?
LeadSources.io monitors 7 distinct types of data for every lead:
| Lead source data | Definition |
| Channel | This indicates the type of traffic. LeadSources categorizes your leads across 10 varied channels: Paid Search, Organic Search, Email Campaigns, Paid Social, Organic Social, Referrals, Direct Traffic, Affiliate Programs, Display Ads, and a range of Other UTM-tagged initiatives. |
| Source | The specific source or platform guiding visitors to your site. For example, under “Organic Social,” sources could include Facebook, Instagram, and so forth. |
| Campaign | Pinpoints the exact marketing effort. For instance, when overseeing several campaigns via Google Ads, this enables you to identify the specific campaign responsible for generating your leads. |
| Term | The particular keyword a campaign focuses on. For example, in a Google Ads campaign named “Search campaign for corporate lawyers,” LeadSources categorizes your leads by the targeted keyword, like “Corporate lawyer in New York,” “Corporate lawyer in Miami,” and so on. |
| Content | Describes the specific part of your advertisement that captured the viewer’s attention. |
| Landing Page | Specifies the web address of the initial landing page where the lead landed. For instance: domain.com/services/corporate-lawyer-miami |
| Landing Page Subfolder | Identifies the subdirectory of the landing page URL, facilitating additional segmentation. For instance, should a visitor arrive at domain.com/services/corporate-lawyer-miami, “services” become the tracked subdirectory. |
How to create performance reports?
Leads source reports
Gain enhanced insights into where your leads are coming from with thorough lead analysis.
Begin by categorizing your leads according to their Channel to identify the most effective channels for generating leads.
Next, concentrate on a particular channel, such as Paid Search (commonly known as Google Ads), and analyze your Google Ads leads by campaign to ascertain which campaign is the most significant contributor to your lead generation efforts.
Finally, for an in-depth assessment of a campaign’s effectiveness, expand your analysis to include reports like “Volume of leads by keyword” and “Volume of leads by ad“.
Sales source reports
You’ve identified which advertisements and keywords are generating the most leads via Cognito Forms. However, the pivotal question remains: are these leads contributing to an increase in revenue?
By integrating your Cognito Forms responses with a CRM solution like GoHighLevel (available for a free trial here), you can create reports that focus on sales outcomes.
Consider this scenario:
| Channels | Search Paid | Social Paid |
| Leads | 50 | 75 |
| Sales | 5 | 6 |
| Average order value | $150 | $100 |
| Revenue | $750 | $600 |
You launched advertising efforts on Google and Facebook. An initial review of “Leads by Channel” showed that Paid Social advertisements were generating more leads than Paid Search.
However, a later evaluation of which leads converted into actual sales demonstrated that Paid Search was more effective, bringing in greater revenue with fewer leads compared to Paid Social. This finding suggests a strategic move to boost your investment in Paid Search campaigns.