The Simplest Method to Capture UTM Parameters in Zuora

Optimize Subscription Metrics by Tracking Lead Sources in Zuora

Subscription metrics like Churn, MRR, and ARR provide a high-level view of your business performance, but to truly optimize your marketing, you need to track which channels and campaigns drive your source of leads and source of customers.

Breaking down these metrics by marketing channel—such as Google Ads—reveals which strategies generate your best customers and which need refinement.

To do this, you must capture UTM parameters and send them into Zuora.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to use our SaaS tool, Attributer, to captureUTM parameters in Zuora, enabling you to analyze subscription metrics by channel and campaign for smarter, data-driven decisions.

What Is Attributer?

Attributer is a powerful script that runs on your website, tracking visitor origins by analyzing UTM parameters and other technical data.

Similar to Google Analytics, it categorizes traffic into channels like Paid Search, Paid Social, Organic Search, and Direct, storing this data in a browser cookie.

When a visitor submits a form—such as a signup or registration form—Attributer sends the attribution data to Zuora alongside user details, allowing you to break down key subscription metrics like MRR and Churn by source of customers.

Four Steps to Capture UTM Parameters in Zuora

With Attributer, UTM parameter tracking in Zuora is simple. Follow these four steps to capture the source of leads from your marketing campaigns:

1. Add UTM Parameters to Your Campaigns

Begin by embedding UTM parameters into the URLs of all your marketing campaigns, including YouTube Ads, social media ads (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn), search engine ads (Google, Bing), and custom campaigns like trade publications or influencer partnerships. These parameters allow Attributer to capture UTM parameters and identify the source of customers.

For example, if your campaign directs users to attributer.ai/integrations/zuora, the URL with UTM parameters might look like:

attributer.ai/integrations/zuora?utm_medium=paidsocial&utm_source=youtube&utm_campaign=saas-promo

For consistency, we recommend this UTM structure:

• UTMMedium: paidsocial
• UTMSource: youtube
• UTM Campaign: [Your campaign name]
• UTM Term: [Your ad name]

Adding UTM parameters to all inbound links ensures comprehensive tracking of the source of leads. Free tools like Google’s URL Builder can streamline this process.

2. Attributer Stores UTM Parameters in a Cookie

Once you install Attributer’s script on your website, it automatically scans for UTM parameters in visitor URLs. When detected, these parameters are stored in a browser cookie, ensuring the data persists across page views and sessions. This step is critical for capturing the source of customers even if visitors navigate away from the initial landing page before submitting a form.

3. Send UTM Parameters to Zuora

When a visitor submits a form—such as a signup form for your SaaS product—Attributer sends the UTM parameters to Zuora along with user-provided details like name, email, and company name. There are two ways to achieve this:

• Hidden Fields in Forms: Add hidden fields to your forms to store attribution data. Include these fields:
  • Channel
  • Channel Drilldown 1
  • Channel Drilldown 2
  • Channel Drilldown 3
  • Landing Page
  • Landing Page Group Attributer populates these fields, and upon form submission, the data is sent to Zuora. Most form builders (e.g., Gravity Forms, Jotform) support easy hidden field integration.
• Retrieve from Cookie: Add a simple JavaScript snippet to your form to extract UTM parameters from the Attributer cookie and send them to Zuora. This is ideal for non-form signups, like “Sign Up with Google” or “Sign Up with Facebook” buttons.

For example, if a user clicks a YouTube Ad for a project management tool and signs up, the hidden fields might be populated as:

• Channel: Paid Social
• Channel Drilldown 1: YouTube
• Channel Drilldown 2: Productivity Campaign
• Channel Drilldown 3: Team Plan Ad
• Landing Page: projecttool.com/plans/team
• Landing Page Group: /plans

4. Run Subscription Reports in Zuora

Why Attributer Outshines Raw UTM Tracking Tools

While other tools can capture UTM parameters in Zuora, Attributer offers unique advantages for UTM parameter tracking:

1. Captures All Traffic:

Attributer tracks all website visitors, not just those with UTM parameters.

For organic channels (e.g., Organic Search, Organic Social), it assigns attribution data, ensuring every signup in Zuora has a clear source of leads.

2. Persistent Data Across Sessions:

Unlike tools that require UTM parameters on the form submission page, Attributer stores data in a browser cookie.

This ensures UTM parameters are captured even if a visitor browses multiple pages or returns later to sign up, overcoming a common limitation in tools like Google Analytics.

3. Cleaner Data:

Inconsistent UTM naming (e.g., “Facebook” vs. “facebook” vs. “fb”) can clutter reports.

Attributer standardizes these variations, grouping them into a single channel (e.g., Paid Social) for accurate, actionable insights without manual cleanup.

4. Landing PageInsights:

Attributer captures the landing page (e.g., example.com/blog/saas-tips) and its group (e.g., /blog), enabling you to analyze which content drives signups.

This is critical for evaluating the ROI of time-intensive content like blog posts.

Wrap Up

Attributer goes beyond capturing UTM parameters in Zuora. It provides comprehensive, clean, and persistent data for all traffic sources, including Google Ads and organic channels, empowering you to optimize subscription metrics like MRR and Churn.

Ready to gain deeper insights into your source of customers?

Sign up for Attributer’s 14-day free trial and set it up in just 10 minutes!

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