--- title: "Server-side tracking and cost per customer, by channel | Link & Impulse" description: "We set up server-side tracking on your own domain, so every form, call and booking reaches your CRM with its source attached, then match it to what you spend. You see what each customer cost, by channel, without hiring a data team." url: "https://linkandimpulse.com/" --- # Every customer, traced back to the ad that found them See what each customer cost you, by channel. We make sure every form, call and booking reaches your CRM with the ad that brought it in, then match it to what you spend. No data team needed. [Book a call](https://linkandimpulse.com/contact) [How it works](https://linkandimpulse.com/how-it-works) Where a customer’s source goes - Search ads - Social ads - Organic search - TV, radio and mail - Referrals Server-side trackingTags in the browser On your own domainLost along the way - Forms - Calls - Bookings * Your CRM The source on every recordA source field nobody trusts * Your ad platforms Counting real inquiriesCounting clicks and page views * Your database Customers, by sourceMost say “Google” or nothing A diagram. Customers arrive from search ads, social ads, organic search, TV, radio and mail, and referrals. After the fix, server-side tracking on your own domain records the source of every form, call and booking and passes it to your CRM, your ad platforms and your database, so every customer is credited to the channel that brought them in. Today, tags in the browser lose most of those sources on the way, and most records say “Google” or nothing. ## The field your CRM already has Most CRMs have a field for where each customer came from. Too often it says “Google”, “Internet” or nothing, so any cost per customer based on it is wrong. [How the tracking fix works](https://linkandimpulse.com/tracking) Example Illustrative One customer record, before and after the tracking fix | Field | Today | After the fix | | ---------------- | ----------------- | ---------------------------------------- | | Received | Sep 18, 9:42 pm | Sep 18, 9:42 pm | | Arrived by | Phone call | Phone call | | How did you hear | “saw u on google” | Internet search (chosen from a picklist) | | Channel | not recorded | Paid search | | Campaign | not recorded | Core services | | Click ID | not recorded | EAIaIQob… | | Landing page | not recorded | /services | | First visit | not recorded | Sep 14 | | Status | Won | Won | Same customer, same outcome. Only the record on the right can be matched to what the ad cost. ## There are five places a customer’s source can get lost. Lose it at any one, and your CRM is left guessing. 1. ### The click The ad platform knows what the click cost, and tags the visit with a click ID. The ID is only in the address of the first page they land on. gclid=EAIaIQob… 2. ### The visit People land on one page and get in touch from another, often days later. Unless something stores the click ID, it’s gone by the contact page. /services 3. ### The call Plenty of customers phone rather than fill in a form. A call to the number on your site carries no source unless the number does. Sun 9:14 pm, 6 min 4. ### The record Someone on your team types where the customer heard of you. Free text, spelled differently every time. “saw u on google” 5. ### The customer Your CRM knows they signed or booked. It has no idea what the click cost. Won $1,184 per customer from paid search When the source survives every step, working out the cost is simple. We do it for every channel you pay for. Illustrative. ## Your spend, sources and results in one place Right now these live in three systems that don’t talk to each other. Every night we bring them together in a database you own, and your dashboard and monthly report run from it. 1. Your ad accounts ### Spend What each channel cost, read from your ad accounts every night, plus a monthly sheet for TV, radio, mail and events. 2. Your website and phones ### Source The ad, campaign and search behind every form, call and booking, once your tracking is fixed. 3. Your CRM ### Results Whether they became a customer and what they were worth, from the system your team already uses. Updated every night Cost per customer, by channel, in a database you own ## Four steps, one at a time Everything starts with an audit, and you can stop after any step. 1. Step 1 ### [The audit](https://linkandimpulse.com/audit) $5,000 We find where the source gets lost between your website, phones and CRM, and compare what your ad platforms count with the customers you actually won. You get a written report on what’s broken and what fixing it takes. Fixed price, paid up front. Takes about two weeks once we have access. 2. Step 2 ### [The tracking fix](https://linkandimpulse.com/tracking) $5,000 Server-side tracking on your own domain, so every form and call carries its source into your CRM. We measure the share of new inquiries arriving with a source, before and after. Fixed price, paid up front. Takes about two weeks once we have access. 3. Step 3 ### [The build](https://linkandimpulse.com/build) Priced after the audit A database of your own, updated every night, with a dashboard on top. Once 60 to 90 days of clean data build up, it shows what a customer cost you, by channel. 4. Step 4 ### [The retainer](https://linkandimpulse.com/build#retainer) Monthly, priced with the build We keep it all running. Each month you get a report on cost per customer by channel, missed calls and tracking health, with one recommendation. The first call is free. [Book a call](https://linkandimpulse.com/contact) ## Built for businesses without a data team You don’t need an analyst, a developer or someone who understands your tag manager. You need the source recorded on every customer, and someone to keep it that way. - ### You spend real money on ads Search, social, TV, mail, directories or events. Enough that a wrong number is an expensive mistake. - ### Customers get in touch by form, phone or booking They decide days or weeks after the first click, and the result lands in a CRM, booking or practice system. - ### Your source field is a guess Whatever the dropdown defaulted to, or nothing at all. - ### Nobody owns the tracking Your agency runs the ads and your team runs the CRM. The gap between the two is nobody’s job. See it for your industry - [Professional services](https://linkandimpulse.com/professional-services) - [Law firms](https://linkandimpulse.com/law-firms) - [Home services](https://linkandimpulse.com/home-services) - [Med spas](https://linkandimpulse.com/med-spas) ## Questions owners ask Have a question that isn’t here? Ask us on the call. [Book a call](https://linkandimpulse.com/contact) What is server-side tracking, and why does it matter? Tracking normally runs in the visitor’s browser, where ad blockers, privacy settings and short-lived cookies can stop the source being recorded. Server-side tracking runs on a subdomain of your own website instead. Browsers are less likely to block it, and you control exactly what each ad platform receives. Do we have to change our CRM? No. The source is added to fields on the records your team already uses. If a field or dropdown is missing, we add it. Nothing gets moved. Do you run our ads? No. We don’t manage campaigns, bidding, ad creative, landing pages or SEO. We work alongside whoever runs your ads, and our reports compare what the ad platforms counted with what actually reached your CRM. Who owns the data? You do. It sits in a database of your own, and if you stop working with us, we hand it over with its full history. The software that fills it remains ours. Does it work for our kind of business? If customers find you through ads, get in touch by form, phone or booking, and the result is recorded somewhere, yes. The terms differ from one industry to the next, but the problem is the same. ## Start with a call We’ll talk through how your inquiries come in and where their source gets lost. If it makes sense, the next step is an audit of your tracking and data, before anything is changed or built. [Book a call](https://linkandimpulse.com/contact) [How it works](https://linkandimpulse.com/how-it-works) If an audit wouldn’t be worth it for you, we’ll tell you on the call.