Lead Source Tracking

We begin by listing every way a lead can reach you: website forms, phone calls, WhatsApp, Meta and Google lead forms, walk-ins, events, referrals, marketplaces and partner introductions. For each, we ask how the record is created and where the source could be captured. Then we agree a source list for the CRM or sheet. The list should be short, consistent and mutually exclusive, for example Google Search, Google Ads, Meta Ads, Instagram organic, Facebook organic, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, Direct, Referral, Event, Marketplace and Other. Alongside the main source, we keep a detail field for campaign or referrer name. Next we set up the web side. We create a UTM naming scheme and teach your team to tag links consistently; we add hidden fields to forms that store UTM values, click IDs, the landing page and the referrer, and we set small scripts so these values persist across pages in a visit, because visitors rarely fill in a form on the first page; see form submission tracking. For phone calls, we choose between tracked numbers by source, call tracking software, or a required “how did you find us” field in the call log; see phone call conversion tracking. For WhatsApp, we use pre-filled messages or page-specific links so the first message identifies the page; see WhatsApp click tracking. For ad lead forms, we map form fields and campaign names into the CRM; see Meta lead form integrations. We set rules for the CRM: the source fields are filled automatically where possible, are required where manual, and are locked from casual editing afterwards, so a salesperson cannot change Google to Referral by accident. We add a first-touch and last-touch source if your CRM allows it, and explain the difference. We prepare clean-up for existing data, mapping old, inconsistent labels to the new list. Finally, we build reports: leads by source, qualified leads by source, cost per lead where spend is known, and wins by source with value. We test with sample leads from each route, checking that the source arrives correctly, and we repeat after any website or form change. We train your team on tagging links and logging calls and walk-ins. We cannot track what a visitor does in a private browser or after blocking all scripts, and platforms limit data in some cases, but a consistent system gives far better information than memory. See lead conversion analysis for what to do with the results.