Are you using Zoho Forms to collect leads, but don’t know which channels the leads are coming from? As the founder of a marketing agency, I’ve heard this question often.
The approach I describe below will help you identify the source of your leads in Zoho Forms. Meaning: do your leads come from your SEO efforts, Google Ads campaigns, Facebook posts, newsletters,…?
When you can identify the source of your leads, you have the power to adjust your marketing budget based on the most effective sources. I’ll also show you how.
Let’s dive in!
How to track the source of lead in Zoho Forms
1. How LeadSources collects the lead source data
When a visitor browses your website, their browser generates a cookie that contains details about their visit, including the originating site.
As your visitors complete a form on Zoho Forms, they input information into the form’s visible sections (name, email, etc.). Simultaneously, Leadsources.io adds data about the lead’s source into your Zoho Forms as hidden fields (for instance, channel, source, etc.).
Once a visitor submits the form, this lead source data is transmitted along with the visitor’s responses into Zoho Forms’ submission records. You can then access the lead source, together with the lead’s name, email, etc., within the same Zoho Forms entry.
2. How LeadSources passes the lead source data into Zoho Forms
Register at leadsources.io and insert the provided script into your site. You’ll receive a precise step-by-step guide upon your subscription.
Next, proceed to embed the hidden fields into your Zoho Forms form. We’ve crafted a tutorial specifically to assist you in incorporating these hidden fields.
Whenever a visitor submits a form on your website, LeadSources automatically fills it with specified lead source information in the hidden fields established:
- Channel
- Source
- Campaign
- Term
- Content
- Landing page
- Landing page subfolder
Upon submission of the form, this lead source information is concealed within the hidden fields and is transmitted into Zoho Forms. You can then locate this data in the submissions log, right alongside the lead’s details (such as name, email, etc.).
Consequently, this process enables precise tracking of the lead source at an individual lead level.
How to analyze the lead source data
What data is tracked in Zoho Forms?
As we just demonstrated, tracking the source of your leads on Zoho Forms extends beyond simply knowing where they came from; it involves capturing detailed information about each source.
LeadSources efficiently tracks 7 specific types of data for each lead, which are outlined below:
- Channel: Identifies the traffic type. LeadSources organize your leads across 10 different channels, including Paid Search, Organic Search, Email Campaigns, Paid Social, Organic Social, Referrals, Direct Traffic, Affiliates, Display Advertising, and Other UTM-tagged efforts.
- Source: Specifies the exact source or platform directing the visitors. For instance, for a lead coming from the channel “Organic Social,” the sources might be Facebook, Instagram, etc.
- Campaign: The specific name of the marketing initiative. For example, if you are executing multiple campaigns on Google Ads, it allows you to identify which particular campaign attracted your leads.
- Term: Targets the specific keyword associated with a campaign. For instance, if there’s a Google Ads campaign labeled “Search campaign for house insurance,” LeadSources will classify your leads by the specific keyword targeted, like “House insurance in New York,” “House insurance in Miami,” etc.
- Content: The precise element of your advertisement that was interacted with by the audience.
- Landing Page: The web address of the landing page where the lead initially arrived, like domain.com/services/house insurance-miami.
- Landing Page Subfolder: Distinguishes the specific subfolder of the landing page URL, offering more detailed tracking. For example, if a visitor lands on domain.com/services/house-insurance-miami, the “services” subfolder is what gets tracked.
How to create performance reports?
Leads source reports
Make informed decisions about your marketing strategy by analyzing detailed lead source reports.
To start, sort your leads by the Channel they came from to identify which channels are generating the most leads. Is it “Search Paid”, “Email Marketing”, etc.?
Next, focus on a particular channel. Let’s take Paid Search as an example (also known as Google Ads). Then, break down your Google Ads leads by the campaign to determine which Google Ad campaign is most effective in generating leads.
Lastly, for an in-depth evaluation of a specific campaign’s success, you can further analyze the leads with reports on the “Number of leads by keyword” and the “Number of leads by advertisement.”. A law firm in the US could get a report such as:
Sales source reports
Now you’re familiar with which advertisements and keywords are behind the bulk of your lead generation. However, does this necessarily mean these elements are contributing significantly to your revenue?
Connecting your Zoho Forms with a CRM system, you can generate comprehensive sales reports similar to those created using traditional sales tools. If you don’t use any CRM yet, I advise going for GoHighLevel.
Imagine the following example:
| Channels | Search Paid (Google Ads) | Social Paid (Facebook Business) |
| Leads | 50 | 75 |
| Sales | 5 | 6 |
| Average order value | $150 | $100 |
| Revenue | $750 | $600 |
In your Google and Facebook advertising campaigns, the initial assessment of the “Leads by Channel” report showed that Paid Social ads produced more leads than Paid Search ads
Several weeks later, upon reviewing which leads converted into paying customers, it was determined that the Paid Search channel was more effective at generating revenue, despite attracting fewer leads than the Paid Social channel. This analysis led to the decision to allocate a larger portion of your budget to Paid Search advertising.