How to Track Your Leads Once They Land on Your Website 

Have you ever wondered what happens to potential customers after they visit your website? It’s like having a store where you can see people walking in, but you’re not sure where they go or what catches their interest. That’s where lead tracking comes in.  

Why is lead tracking important? In a recent study, 91% of marketers said that lead generation is their number one goal, and it’s the same for every website selling products or services. Sadly, even though they generate new leads, 80% of these don’t convert into sales. You don’t want that to happen to your website.

Here’s another concern: how can you convert them into sales if you don’t even track where they are? In this article, you’ll learn simple yet effective ways to monitor and understand your website visitors’ behavior.  

Use Analytics Platforms 

Let’s start by learning analytics tools.

Traditional analytics platforms offer essential insights into your website traffic. They show you the basics: how many people visit your site, which pages they view, and how long they stay. Such tools capture fundamental visitor behaviors and provides standardized reports that help you understand traffic patterns.

That’s the reason why many websites rely on popular analytics tools like Google Analytics. In fact, according to the figure below, as of August 2024, there are more than 32 million live websites that use Google Analytics.

However, the analytics landscape is advancing. Modern tools, like Embeddable, are transforming how businesses interact with their data. Instead of just collecting and displaying metrics, they allow you to create custom analytics experiences that feel like a natural part of your platform.  

Leading companies like Stripe and Spotify have already demonstrated the power of this approach–their analytics are core features that provide value to their users. 

The key difference lies in how these tools approach data visualization and user experience. While traditional ones give you preset dashboards and standard reports, modern solutions let you craft analytics experiences that match your brand and serve your specific needs. This shift means your analytics can become more than just a reporting tool. They can be a fundamental part of your product’s value proposition too. 

Nevertheless, using analytics tools can be your first line of information about user behavior on your website, which will give you an idea of your leads.  

Capture Lead Data With Form Tracking 

Now, let’s talk about forms–they’re the digital equivalent of a conversation with your potential customers. Just as you’d remember important details from an in-person conversation, your forms should quietly collect valuable information about your leads. But to make the most of these interactions, you need a strategic approach to tracking.  

The magic of modern form tracking lies in hidden fields–invisible elements that gather data without creating friction in the user experience. Here’s what you can automatically capture:  

Traffic sources 

These will provide crucial insight into how leads discover your website. Your forms can automatically detect whether visitors arrived through social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram, found you through Google searches, clicked on specific ad campaigns, or followed partner referral links.

This information helps you identify your most effective marketing channels and optimize your promotional strategy.  

User journey information  

This information tells the story of how leads interact with your site before converting. By tracking their first and last pages visited, counting the total number of visits before they convert, measuring time spent on key pages, and monitoring resource downloads, you can understand the path that leads to conversion.

This knowledge helps you optimize your website’s structure and content to guide future visitors more effectively. 

Technical context 

This gives you valuable information about how leads access your site. Your forms can capture details about their device type and browser choice, pinpoint their geographic location and time zone, and even record their screen resolution. This technical data helps you ensure your website performs well for all visitors and allows you to tailor content based on regional preferences. 

Campaign attribution 

This connects submissions to specific marketing efforts. By tracking UTM parameters, marketing campaign identifiers, A/B test variations, and various content performance metrics, you can directly link leads to the campaigns that brought them in. This clearly shows which marketing investments deliver the best returns and helps you make data-driven decisions about future campaigns. 

Build Visitor Profiles With Cookie Tracking 

Remember Hansel and Gretel leaving breadcrumbs to find their way home? Cookies work similarly in the digital world. They’re small pieces of data stored in your visitors’ browsers that help you recognize them when they return to your site. This digital trail allows you to build visitor profiles and understand their journey with your brand over time.

Here’s what you can track: 

• Visit patterns: Track how frequently visitors return to your site, which times of day they’re most active, and how their engagement changes over time. This helps you understand their buying cycle and time your communications accordingly. 
• Content preferences: Monitor which topics, products, or services consistently interest specific visitors. By understanding their preferences, you can personalize their experience and make more relevant recommendations. 
• Interaction history: Keep a record of past form submissions, downloads, and page views. This historical data helps you avoid redundant messaging and build upon previous interactions. 
• Cross-device behavior: Recognize the same visitor across different devices, giving you a more complete picture of how they interact with your brand throughout their day. 

While this is found to be effective, you must be responsible with this approach. Your website should always display a clear cookie consent banner and provide visitors with easy opt-out options. As a result, you’ll build trust with your visitors and create a transparent relationship with your potential customers. 

Implement Effective Leads Scoring 

Not all leads are equally interested in your products or services. In fact, as per a recent study, 56% of leads aren’t willing to buy yet. That’s where lead scoring comes in. With it, you can measure how “hot” or interested a lead is.

While the basic concept is simple–assigning points to different actions–the real power lies in creating a scoring system that accurately reflects your unique sales cycle and customer behavior patterns. However, not every company has an effective lead-scoring system. In fact, as per a survey by DecisionTree, only 44% of companies have it.

Here’s how you can build an effective lead-scoring system:  

Behavioral scoring 

Actions speak louder than words, and certain behaviors indicate stronger purchase intent: 

• Visiting your pricing page (3 points) 
• Reading blog posts (1 point per post) 
• Downloading whitepapers or guides (5 points) 
• Filling out a contact form (10 points) 
• Viewing product demos (7 points) 
• Returning to your site multiple times (2 points per return visit)   

However, not all leads that show interest are equally qualified to buy. What to do then? Consider demographic factors while scoring.  

Setting up scoring thresholds 

Understanding what different scores mean helps your team prioritize their efforts.

Cold leads (0-10 points)  

These leads are still in the awareness stage, exploring options and gathering basic information. At this stage, your focus should be on providing educational content and nurturing them with valuable information that helps them understand their challenges better.

It’s important to resist the urge to push for sales at this point. Instead, concentrate on building trust and establishing your expertise. 

Warm leads (11-20 points) 

These represent a promising middle ground. While they show genuine interest in your offerings, they’re not quite ready to make a purchase decision.

This is the perfect time to provide more detailed product information and share relevant case studies and success stories that demonstrate your value. You can begin light sales outreach but keep it focused on understanding their needs rather than closing a deal. 

Hot leads (21+ points)  

These are your highest-priority prospects. These leads demonstrate high purchase intent and should be prioritized for immediate sales follow-up.

Focus on providing personalized solutions that address their specific needs and challenges. Your team should be ready to move quickly with these leads, offering detailed proposals and maintaining close communication to guide them through the final stages of their buying journey. 

Putting It All Together  

The key to successful lead tracking is using these tools in combination. Start with an analytics platform as your foundation, add form tracking to capture specific lead information, use cookies to understand visitor behavior over time, and implement lead scoring to prioritize your follow-up efforts. Remember, the goal is to understand your potential customers better and provide them with a more personalized experience.