If you’re using Insightly as your CRM and running an affiliate program, chances are you’ve faced a frustrating blind spot: You can see the traffic affiliates drive, but you can’t track how many leads or customers they actually bring in.
This was a pain point for me a few years ago. Google Analytics told me affiliates were sending plenty of visitors. But once those visitors converted into leads, Insightly had no record of how they got there. I couldn’t confidently report affiliate-driven performance to my team. Sound familiar?
That’s why I started using a tool called Attributer, which completely changed the game. In this guide, I’ll walk you through a simple, four-step process to track and capture affiliate data in Insightly—so you can finally understand the real impact of your affiliate program.
Let’s dive in.
Table of Contents
4-Step
Step 1: Add UTM Parameters to Your Affiliate Links
To start tracking affiliate-driven leads, you first need to add UTM parameters to the links you provide to your affiliates.
For example, if you’re directing traffic to a landing page like:
attributer.io/integrations/insightly?utm_medium=affiliates&utm_source=bloggers&utm_campaign=john-smith
UTM parameters enable you to capture valuable information about where your leads are coming from. We recommend using a consistent structure to make tracking and reporting easier.
Here’s a basic template:
- UTM_Medium = Affiliates
- UTM_Source= Bloggers (or the type of affiliate this is, such as bloggers, podcasters, YouTubers, etc.)
- UTM_Campaign= John-Smith (or the name of the specific affiliate)
If you use affiliate management platforms like Trackdesk or Rewardful, they often include UTMs automatically in the links. Otherwise, try using a free UTM builder to manually create and manage your links.
Step 2: Include Hidden Fields in Your Website Forms
Next, you’ll need to modify your website forms to include a few hidden fields. These fields won’t be visible to the user, but they’ll silently capture and store UTM parameter data when a visitor submits the form.
The recommended hidden fields include:
- Channel
- Channel Drilldown 1
- Channel Drilldown 2
- Channel Drilldown 3
- Landing Page
- Landing Page Group
Most form builders like Gravity Forms, Typeform, or Jotform allow you to easily add hidden fields. We’ve created step-by-step instructions for over 50 different form tools—so implementation should be smooth no matter what platform you’re using.
Step 3: Automatically Capture UTM Parameters with Attributer
This is where the magic happens.
When a user clicks on an affiliate link with UTM parameters and lands on your website, Attributer saves those UTM parameters in the visitor’s browser. Whether they fill out the form right away or return days later, the tool remembers the original referral data.
When the visitor completes a form, Attributer automatically writes the UTM parameters into the hidden fields—seamlessly capturing the source of the lead.
Attributer would populate the hidden form fields like this:
- Channel = Affiliates
- Channel Drilldown 1 = Bloggers
- Channel Drilldown 2 = John Smith
This ensures your CRM receives detailed attribution data every time a form is submitted.
Step 4: Send Captured Data into Insightly
Once a form is submitted, all the UTM and referral data captured in the hidden fields is sent to Insightly, alongside the usual form inputs like name and email.
Now, your Insightly CRM will store comprehensive source information for every lead—including whether they came from an affiliate, which one, and what type.
What Data Can You Capture in Insightly?
With UTM parameters and Attributer working together, you can track the source of every lead and customer, not just from affiliates but from all channels.
Here’s how typical affiliate UTMs get mapped in Insightly:
- UTM_Medium = Affiliates
- UTM_Source= Bloggers (or the type of affiliate this is, such as bloggers, podcasters, YouTubers, etc.)
- UTM_Campaign= John Smith (or the name of the specific affiliate)
And here’s an example of data from an organic search visitor:
- Channel = Organic Search
- Channel Drilldown 1 = Google (or the name of the search engine they came from)
- Channel Drilldown 2 = http://www.google.com.au (or the Google domain they came from)
- Channel Drilldown 3 = Olmo Software (or whatever the keyword they used to find your business is, when available)
Whether it’s SEO, paid ads, social campaigns, or affiliates, you’ll now have full visibility into the source of your leads and customers.
3 Reports You Can Run in Insightly with Captured Affiliate Data
Once you’ve set this up, you’ll be able to create powerful reports that reveal exactly how your affiliate program is performing.
Here are three of my go-to reports:
1. Leads by Channel
This report gives you a big-picture view of where your leads are coming from—affiliate programs, organic search, paid ads, and more. It’s an invaluable tool for making data-driven decisions about your marketing spend.
2. Customers by Affiliate Type
Break down your customers by affiliate category (e.g., bloggers, YouTubers, podcasters). This helps you identify which type of affiliate partner is most effective at converting traffic into paying customers.
3. Revenue by Individual Affiliate
Measure how much revenue each specific affiliate has generated. This helps you:
- Identify top performers
- Spot underperformers
- Optimize your incentive structure
These insights are critical for scaling your affiliate strategy smartly.
Real-World Example: How William Russell Scaled with Attributer
Let me share a real success story.
William Russell, a global health and life insurance provider for expats, was struggling to connect affiliate traffic with actual customers in their CRM. Their affiliate tool tracked clicks, but not conversions.
By using UTM parameters in their affiliate links and capturing them with Attributer, they were able to push attribution data directly into Insightly whenever a form was submitted.
This allowed them to generate reports showing:
- Number of customers by affiliate
- Conversion rate from lead to customer
- Revenue per affiliate
- Comparison with other channels (e.g. Google Ads, Facebook Ads)
The result? They could finally make informed decisions, reward their top partners, and scale their affiliate program with confidence.
Final Thoughts
Tracking the source of leads and customers is no longer optional—especially if you’re investing in affiliate marketing. With tools like Attributer, capturing UTM parameters and pushing them into Insightly becomes seamless.
Whether you’re just getting started with affiliates or looking to maximize ROI, setting up a proper attribution system will empower you to make smarter, data-backed decisions.
Ready to take control of your affiliate tracking?
Start capturing the data that truly matters.
Wrap Up
Attributer is a fantastic tool for capturing UTM parameters from affiliate links and sending them to Insightly.
And once the data is in there, you’re able to use it to run reports that show things like;
- How many new customers are coming from bloggers vs podcasters
- How much revenue is being generated by each affiliate
- What leads to customer conversion rate is
- How does the average deal size of customers from your affiliate program compare to customers from your Google or Facebook Ads
The best part is that starting with Attributer is free and takes less than 10 minutes to set up. Don’t miss out – start your 14-day free trial today!
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