Understanding attribution source
Attribution classifies which channel or source a contact came from, so you can compare how well different channels — such as Facebook Ads and Google Ads — generate new contacts. JourneyCARE stores two attribution values on every contact: the first source that brought them in and the most recent source they interacted with before converting.
First vs. Latest Attribution
Every contact stores both a First Attribution and a Latest Attribution value.
First Attribution records the contact's first interaction with the system. For example, a visitor who fills out a Contact Us form gets the source of that first session recorded.
Latest Attribution records the most recent recorded interaction. For example, after submitting a Contact Us form, the same contact later purchases through a Two-Step Order Form, and that most recent session is recorded as the latest attribution.
The latest attribution always changes based on the last recorded interaction; the first attribution does not.
Where to view attribution
Open Contacts, select a contact record, and open the Activity tab. The attribution data appears in the bottom-right column of the record.
For a contact at the moment they are created, first attribution is the contact's first interaction with the system — usually their first website visit or an interaction with any of the sources below. Latest attribution is the contact's last interaction before they were converted into a contact.
Source categories
Every contact's First or Latest Attribution value is one of the following categories:
Paid Search – paid search campaigns such as Google AdWords.
Paid Social – paid social campaigns, including Facebook Ads.
Direct Traffic – no source indication, commonly someone typing a URL directly or removing query parameters before entering the site.
Organic Search – non-paid search traffic from Google, Bing, Yahoo, or DuckDuckGo.
Social Media – traffic from social websites or apps, including shared links that followers click.
Referrals – external websites that link to your site, excluding search engines and social sites.
Others – leads from incoming calls, SMS, email, WhatsApp, Facebook messages, or other unclassified channels.
CRM UI – contacts manually created in the CRM.
Third-Party – contacts created by a third-party tool such as Zapier.
What events capture attribution
Attribution is captured when, within the same session, a contact submits a form or survey, makes a calendar booking, submits contact information through a Chat Widget, or submits a one-step or two-step order form.
These must be native JourneyCARE Forms, Surveys, Calendars, Chat Widgets, or Order Forms. Events from non-platform tools do not capture attribution data, including UTM parameter data.
How the source is determined
JourneyCARE checks the full page URL and the referring domain, when available, against a set of rules applied in order. The first rule that matches assigns the source:
utm_source contains "adwords" → Paid Search.
gclid, wbraid, or gbraid (Google click IDs) or msclkid (Microsoft/Bing/Yahoo click ID) is present → Paid Search.
utm_source, utm_medium, or utm_campaign is present and the referring domain is google.com → Paid Search.
utm_source contains fb_ad (facebook is deprecated; linkedin_ad, twitter_ad, and reddit_ad are supported; ctwa_clid identifies WhatsApp) → Paid Social.
The referring domain is a social media site → Social Media.
The referring domain is a search engine → Organic Search.
The referring domain is neither a social media site nor a search engine → Referral.
No referring domain or tracking URL → Direct Traffic.
The lead came from an incoming call, SMS, email, WhatsApp, Facebook message, or another uncovered source → Others.
The lead was manually created in the CRM → CRM UI.
The lead was generated by a third-party integration such as Zapier → Third-Party.