Typeform guide

How to track the source of your leads in Typeform

Two methods work. Build Hidden Fields by hand, or connect your account and let every response match its visit. Both are here, side by side, so you can pick.

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Both methods, honestly compared Works for organic and direct, not just paid Free to start, no card
By Steven Morey, Co-founder
app.leadsource.co · lead record
Tom Whitcombe
Tideway Builders
Channel
Google Ads
Campaign
cyber-security-audit
Landing page
/pricing
Typeform
Book a consultation
Page journey
  1. /pricing
  2. /blog/managed-it-costs
  3. /contact
Salesforce
HubSpot
Pipedrive
Gmail
Google Ads
Gravity Forms
Jotform
Webflow
Wix
Typeform

Carry the visit into Typeform

The ad, the search and the pages read all happen before the form opens. Both methods bring them along.

Typeform Hidden Fields, by hand

Four steps per form. Free, and it works inside its limits.

Typeform matched in one tick

One snippet on your site, one connect in Forms. There is no step three.

Both Typeform methods, side by side

Seven questions, two columns of answers. Pick the one that fits.

The job

Carry the visit into Typeform

Typeform is a very good form tool, and it records everything that happens inside the form. The ad somebody clicked, the campaign that paid for them and the pages they read all happened earlier. Tracking the source means joining the two. Carry the visit data into the response, or match the response back to the visit afterwards.

  • Method one carries it in: Hidden Fields.
  • Method two matches it back: the Lead Source connect.
  • Either way, the answers and the source end up together.
one response, two halves
Before the Typeform opened
Channel
Google Ads
Campaign
cyber-security-audit
Pages read
3, pricing twice
Inside the Typeform
Name
Tom Whitcombe
Form
Book a consultation
Answers
All of them
carry it in, or match it back.
typeform builder · hidden fields
Declared on this form
Field 1
utm_source
Field 2
utm_medium
Field 3
utm_campaign
Field 4
utm_term
Field 5
utm_content
repeat for every form you build.
Method one

Typeform Hidden Fields, by hand

This is the method every other guide describes. It works, and you build and maintain every part of it.

  1. Declare the Hidden Fields. In the Typeform builder, add a key for each value you want: utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign, utm_term, utm_content.
  2. Capture the values on your site. A script reads the UTMs from the landing URL and stores them in a cookie or session storage until the form opens.
  3. Append them to the Typeform link. Every button, link and embed URL that opens the form carries the stored values as query parameters.
  4. Send it onward. Map each Hidden Field through your integration or Zapier into your CRM, once per form.
Method two

Match each Typeform response to its visit

Lead Source works the other way around. It identifies the visitor on your website, then matches the Typeform response back to them when it arrives. The form stays exactly as you built it.

Setup

Typeform matched in one tick

  1. Install the tracking code on your website once. One snippet, whole site, all forms. It records source, campaign, landing page, referrer and pages viewed.
  2. Connect Typeform in Forms. Sign in, authorise, tick the forms you want tracked. Lead Source creates and manages the webhooks.
  3. There is no step three.

Nothing to declare in the builder, nothing appended to any link. The full walkthrough is on the Typeform lead tracking page.

Your real code is in the dashboard 
<script async src="https://app.leadsource.co/ft.js" data-site="YOUR_SITE_KEY"></script>
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5-minute install · no card

One tick per form, free to run. See the plans.

Side by side

Both Typeform methods, side by side

Same seven questions, asked of each method. Hidden Fields suit one Typeform, paid traffic only and a developer who already maintains the capture script. Lead Source suits more than one form, organic and direct traffic that matters, and wanting to know what somebody read before they converted.

Hidden Fields

method one
Setup per form
20 to 40 minutes
A link added without parameters
Breaks it
Organic and direct
Not captured
Visitor leaves, returns later
Source lost
Page journey
Not recorded
First and last touch
Not recorded
Hosted typeform.com links
Only with parameters appended

Lead Source

method two
Setup per form
One tick
A link added without parameters
Still tracked
Organic and direct
Captured
Visitor leaves, returns later
Source kept
Page journey
Recorded
First and last touch
Both, on one lead
Hosted typeform.com links
Tracked

Hidden Fields you already built can stay. Lead Source runs beside them and leaves them alone.

Which Typeform tracking method should I use?

Hidden Fields, if you run one Typeform on paid traffic and already have a developer maintaining the capture script. The Lead Source connect, if you run several forms or care about organic, direct and referral leads. You can run both at once.

What does the Typeform connect rely on?

The Lead Source tracking code on your website. It identifies the visitor, so it stays installed after you connect Typeform. A response from someone who never visited your site has no visit to match, and its attribution is limited or unknown.

From the blog

Tracking and UTMs

Every post in Tracking and UTMs →
Tracking and UTMs
How to set up Google Ads conversion tracking
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How to track where your leads came from
7 min read
Tracking and UTMs
Offline conversion tracking: sending phone and CRM closes back to Google Ads
7 min read
Common questions

Typeform tracking questions, answered.

Will this work if my Typeform is embedded rather than linked?

Yes, both methods work on embedded forms. The manual method needs the parameters on the embed URL. Lead Source needs nothing extra.

What happens to leads who arrive with no UTMs at all?

With Hidden Fields, the values come back empty and the lead has no source. Lead Source still identifies the visit, so you get the referrer, the landing page and the channel even when there is no campaign attached.

Do I need to keep the tracking code if I connect Typeform?

Yes. The code is what identifies the visitor. Without it there is no visit to match the response back to, and attribution on that lead will be limited or unknown.

One tick per Typeform. Every source attached.

Connect Typeform in a click and every response arrives with its real source, campaign and page journey. Free to start.

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