How to Properly Track Returning Visitors with Custom UTM or Forms?

[JAdam5]

I run a fuel consumption calculator site and I’ve been trying to improve how I track returning visitors and segment them inside HubSpot.

The problem: a lot of my traffic is organic or from social shares, and I use HubSpot forms to capture emails. But when someone returns — especially after clearing cookies or using a different browser — HubSpot often treats them as a new contact. I’ve tried tweaking UTM parameters and enabling cookie tracking, but I’m still struggling with proper attribution and continuity in the contact timeline.

I wonder if there’s a better way to set up tracking for users who visit frequently but don’t always convert on the first visit. Also, is there a way to tie a session or form submission back to an existing contact using custom logic or a hidden field?

Would love to hear how others solved this without jumping to a full custom-coded solution.

[himanshurauthan · Accepted solution]

Hi @JAdam5 

I believe you're finding it tricky to track returning visitors within HubSpot across browsers or after the cookies are cleared.

Have you tried to use the HubSpot tracking script and email links to solve this? Start by ensuring that the HubSpot tracking code is active on all relevant pages. Whenever you send emails, remember to include the tracked links. When you do so, HubSpot will associate that click with the correct contact and go on to update the cookie.  

Hope I got your question right and my response will help.  

Best Regards, 

Himanshu

[Balaji_Mavlers1 · Accepted solution]

Hi @JAdam5 
As Himanshu made a good point about using the HubSpot tracking script and tracked links to help identify returning visitors.

To add on:

Add the user’s email to your links like this:
yourwebsite.com?email=user@example.com

Include a hidden email field in your HubSpot form to capture that value.

Make sure the HubSpot tracking code is active on all relevant pages.

This helps HubSpot connect the visit to the correct contact, even if cookies are cleared or the user is on a different browser. No custom coding needed.

[himanshurauthan · Accepted solution]

Hi @JAdam5 

I believe you're finding it tricky to track returning visitors within HubSpot across browsers or after the cookies are cleared.

Have you tried to use the HubSpot tracking script and email links to solve this? Start by ensuring that the HubSpot tracking code is active on all relevant pages. Whenever you send emails, remember to include the tracked links. When you do so, HubSpot will associate that click with the correct contact and go on to update the cookie.  

Hope I got your question right and my response will help.  

Best Regards, 

Himanshu