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Adam_Vavrek1
Adam_Vavrek1
Level 8
December 29, 2014
Solved

Referrer Parameter

  • December 29, 2014
  • 3 replies
  • 12668 views
I have included a hidden field for Referrer Parameter on a form but it's not capturing any data. There's nothing to add in the URL Builder (like there would be if I had selected URL Parameter) so I don't know where to go from here. What steps (if any) am I missing to capture this data?
Best answer by Valerie_Armstro
Hi Adam,

The Referrer Parameter captures data from the previous page the lead visits before filling out the form.  

As to how to set this up, I would explain it this way
  • Create a form with a hidden referrer parameter field (i.e. source) 
  • Add the form to the page www.example.com/download-page.html
​Now, for any traffic that converts on that download page, you will capture the source parameter of the lead's previous web page visit.   So for instance, if the lead visited  www.example.com/test-page.html?source=adwords before visiting and converting on the download page, the source would be attributed to adwords.   

This can be a bit confusing to explain and understand, so I highly suggest building this out as a test and seeing it for yourself. Hope this helps!

3 replies

Valerie_Armstro
Valerie_ArmstroAccepted solution
Level 9
December 29, 2014
Hi Adam,

The Referrer Parameter captures data from the previous page the lead visits before filling out the form.  

As to how to set this up, I would explain it this way
  • Create a form with a hidden referrer parameter field (i.e. source) 
  • Add the form to the page www.example.com/download-page.html
​Now, for any traffic that converts on that download page, you will capture the source parameter of the lead's previous web page visit.   So for instance, if the lead visited  www.example.com/test-page.html?source=adwords before visiting and converting on the download page, the source would be attributed to adwords.   

This can be a bit confusing to explain and understand, so I highly suggest building this out as a test and seeing it for yourself. Hope this helps!
    J
    Community Advisor
    JDNelson1Community Advisor
    Community Advisor
    July 22, 2015

    is there a way to capture the entire referring url, not just a parameter?

    SanfordWhiteman
    SanfordWhiteman
    Level 10
    July 22, 2015

    Sure, you can write the whole document.referrer (same place Marketo gets the data) into a hidden field.

         form.addHiddenFields{ referrerURL: document.referrer }

    SanfordWhiteman
    SanfordWhiteman
    Level 10
    May 27, 2015

    Jessica Bledsoe​ if you're searching on this topic you should also read Re: Need to Track the reference URL ?

    A
    Anonymous
    May 31, 2015

    Thanks @Sanford Whiteman​!

    A
    Anonymous
    July 30, 2015

    I have a follow up question because I'm new to the URL and Referrer Parameter. I can see how to add the URL Parameter, but what value to I type in the field "Parameter Name"?

    We are using a field called "Lead Source Details" and I want that to capture which page of our website the form was filled out on. I included an image of the Support Documentation example.

    Thank you!

    J
    Community Advisor
    JDNelson1Community Advisor
    Community Advisor
    July 30, 2015

    This name must match the utm in the url.  If your url is   company.com/page1.html?product_interest=XYZ   then this example would work.

    A
    Anonymous
    July 30, 2015

    Thanks JD. Is there any where to simply pull the URL the person came from?

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