Marketing and measurement
Generator lead sources: keep first touch and buyer answers apart
Keep first touch, last touch and the buyer’s own answer apart. Build a source log that can show what is unknown.
Track a generator lead source in separate fields: first known touch, last known touch before the request, the buyer’s own answer and how the request arrived.
Keep the date and evidence for each. A form is a contact route. It does not, by itself, say what led the buyer to want your help.
On this page
Give each source field a job
First known touch means the earliest visit or contact you can support. It may not be the first time the person heard of you.
Last touch before the enquiry means the latest known step before they asked for help. Their own answer to “How did you find us?” is a third clue. Keep it in its own field.
Also record where the enquiry arrived, such as a phone call or website form. A form is a contact method. It is not always the source of the demand.
Try this sample record
This example is invented. A homeowner says a neighbor named your firm. The website record shows a Google visit before a form fill. There is no earlier visit record.
Keep “neighbor” as the buyer’s answer. Keep the Google visit as the last known site source. Mark the first exposure unknown. Do not erase the referral just because the web tool saw Google.
Join records with care
Use a real contact or job record to connect the steps. Check the date order. A site visit after a booking cannot explain the booking’s earlier source.
Keep duplicate forms under the same person where the match is sound. Save both visits if useful. Do not count the same person as two new buyers just because they asked twice.
Check the order of events
A page viewed after a request may help a later choice. It cannot be the earlier visit that led into that request. Keep the later visit without moving it back in time.
A missing tracking tag is not proof of no source. Record the source evidence that exists, and leave the rest open.
Review the unknown rows
A rise in unknown sources is a reason to check the path. It is not proof those leads came from direct visits or word of mouth.
Ask one neutral source question on a real call. Keep tracking within the choices the buyer made. A useful report can admit a gap and still guide better work.
Watch and learn
A buyer can take more than one path
Garrett describes an ad, a site visit and a phone call. Keep the observed path apart from the buyer's account of how they found you.
Selected section: 4:39–5:15.
This is a clip from an earlier client interview. The speaker shares their own results and views. It is not an audit or a forecast for your firm. The full video may mention old offers.
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Sources and further reading
Sources checked .
