customer and revenue source attribution not working

[WGallo]

Hi, we have a wordpress subscription website and whenever someone checksout we use the hubspot API to create a contact and deal on hubspot. The problem is that 90% or more of the contacts get created with a source of "offline sources".

I know that when contacts get created via the API they always get the source "offline sources" but after reading this post, we added the "identify" javascript function passing in the customer's email before the API gets a chance to create the contact. This improved the source attribution but only by a very small amount, we are still seeing most of the contacts going into "offline sources".

Does anybody have any other insight as to why most of our contacts dont get the correct source or any of the other additional properties like page view, etc.?

Thanks

[RealGB]

Hi @Jaycee_Lewis,

We're in exactly the same position - but getting almost no attribution (maybe 2%). 
There is no timing issue for us either, the confirmation call is virtually instant. 

We're not worried about ad blockers or the small-end misses in attribution. 

Its the 99% that is missing, which we're hoping to have addressed. 

This is the sort of function why people purchase Hubspot.

Surely there must be a way this attribution should be assigned, or something is broken. 

Perhaps there should be a confirmation call, that identifies the revenue was attached and linked to the website. Our website is just basic HTML, so there is no complexity in the setup. 

[RealGB]

Hello - I too have this issue and no path to resolution. 

The API is by far the best way to track, as the form has so many limitations, particularly if you're collecting payment and other meta-data.

@WGallo Did you ticking this box solve the problem, or introduce a range of new problems?
@Jaycee_Lewis Is there a way to have this resolved/reviewed fully?

We particularly want to see revenue in this model, but 90% is showing the same data "offline". 

[WGallo]

Hey @RealGB, sadly we have not been able to find any solution yet. We decided to stop looking into it ourselves and are instead looking to hire some sort of hubspot specialist to see if they have better luck.

We tried the Forms API and every other possible solution with the same results, we did not try ticking the box I mention in my previous post. It looks like hubspot just decides to not take into account the customers latest cookie information that is being sent. And the cookie is being sent, because we decided to log the hubspot cookie for every customer just before the API is fired to create/update the contact and its saving 99% of the cookies, the ones that are not being set we can assume are the users that have some blocker or privacy setting.

[Jaycee_Lewis]

Hi, @WGallo 👋 Welcome to our community. Thanks for your post!

Tracking down root causes for issues like this can be challenging because of the complexity and various factors that can cause issues. Here are a few troubleshooting items to consider:

• Timing of the Identify Call: Ensure that the identify call is fully executed before you make the API call to create the contact. This timing is crucial for proper source attribution.
• Tracking Code Implementation: Double-check that your HubSpot tracking code is correctly implemented across your WordPress site, especially on crucial pages like the checkout page. This ensures that visitor behavior is accurately captured.
• Manual TrackPageView Calls: After using the identify function, try manually calling trackPageView to make sure that the page view is linked with the identified contact. This can sometimes improve the accuracy of source attribution.

Regarding the impact of ad blockers or privacy software:

• Ad Blockers and Privacy Tools: These can interfere with tracking scripts and cookies, leading to issues in tracking and attribution. It's worth conducting tests from different browsers, clearing cache and cookies, or using incognito mode to see how these variables affect tracking. Additionally, experimenting with scenarios where cookies are declined can offer insights into how ad blockers or privacy settings might be impacting your data.
• Testing Across Environments: Testing submissions from various environments can help identify if the issue is consistent across different user settings. This can include different devices, browsers, and networks.
   

We'll also leave this thread open in case other community members have more specific or targeted troubleshooting steps for you based on their experiences.

Best,

Jaycee

[WGallo]

Hi @Jaycee_Lewis and thanks for your reply.

The identify call fires once the user lands on the confirmation page which is when we are able to get their email. On the confirmation page, the user is forced to fill out a form and only once they submit that form is their user created/updated on hubspot via the API. So I think the timing should be ok. I also just implemented the manual trackpageview call right after the identify call yesterday to see if that makes a difference, so far it hasn't but maybe it just needs time.

Its very weird because some customers do get updated correctly with all the details but the majority dont. What is also weird is that when looking at the traffic report the sessions per source there seem more accurate, the only thing that doesnt seem accurate at all are the conversions/customers per source.

I noticed an option in the tracking & analytics section of the settings page called "Allow tracked events to update contact properties" should this be enabled? it is currently disabled on our account but Im not sure if I should enable it or not.

I also read in another post that it would be best to use the forms API to update/create the contacts instead of the regular API like we are doing now as this would improve the accuracy of the data being transfered to hubspot. I was hoping to avoid switching to the forms API but it looks like we wont have a choice.

Thanks.