Question from user:
I think I am missing something simple, but I have created a LinkedIn Lead Gen Form, and when submitted a lead is created in Salesforce. I have Google Analytics UTMs that correctly update on fields on the Lead Object. However, when opening the Prospect record page, the Google Analytics fields are blank
I need this figured out because I have an Account Engagement Email that I want to send based off a dynamic segmentation list.
Answer from Nabil:
You are definitely running into a common issue where fields populated on the Lead object aren’t automatically carried over to the subsequent Contact or Account objects when the Lead is converted to a Prospect, which is typically represented by a Contact and potentially an Account in Salesforce.
When you convert a Lead, Salesforce uses a standard process to map fields.
If your Google Analytics fields (UTMs) are custom fields on the Lead, you need to ensure they are also created as custom fields on the Contact object (and potentially the Opportunity object if you’re tracking that way) and that a specific field mapping is set up.
Salesforce’s standard Lead Conversion mapping doesn’t automatically know to transfer custom fields unless you configure it.
If you don’t map your custom Lead fields to custom Contact fields, the data is simply dropped upon conversion, leaving your Prospect record (the Contact) with blank UTM fields.
You need to go into your Salesforce Setup under “Lead” and then “Fields” to find the “Map Lead Fields” button and explicitly map the Lead UTM fields to their corresponding custom Contact UTM fields.
Regarding your larger strategy for data passing and segmentation, relying solely on this Lead conversion field mapping for critical marketing data has limitations, especially in modern data ecosystems where user journeys cross multiple platforms and need more robust, real-time tracking.
A more reliable and comprehensive solution involves integrating your data platforms using APIs and specialized tools.
Using the Salesforce API, the Account Engagement API, the LinkedIn Conversions API, Google Tag Manager (GTM), and a server-side tagging solution like Stape or Google Cloud Platform (GCP) offers a better way to handle this.
This setup ensures data fidelity and real-time synchronization.
First, the current setup of passing UTMs via GTM (client-side) to the LinkedIn Lead Gen Form and then into the Lead record is prone to data loss and browser restrictions.
By implementing a server-side solution, you leverage Stape or GCP to host a server-side GTM container.
This allows you to process data and send it directly to various APIs without being reliant on the user’s browser, which improves data accuracy and resilience against ad blockers.
Second, the LinkedIn Conversions API can be used to send conversion and marketing data (including your UTMs) directly from your server environment (GTM server container) to LinkedIn.
This bypasses the dependency on client-side tracking for conversion events and provides richer data to LinkedIn for better ad optimization, but also centralizes data processing.
Third, the combination of the Salesforce API and Account Engagement API offers superior data integration.
Instead of relying on the native Salesforce Lead conversion logic to move a few fields, you can use these APIs, often orchestrated by a service or custom middleware, to ensure that once a Lead is created or converted, all relevant data including UTMs is synchronized or updated across Salesforce and Account Engagement (Pardot) in real-time.
This is essential for your dynamic segmentation list in Account Engagement, as it guarantees the data is available for segmentation immediately.
Finally, this robust server-side setup with API integrations ensures a single source of truth for your lead data, makes your tracking more durable, and provides the flexibility to enrich the Lead/Prospect record with more than just basic UTMs, facilitating more complex and accurate dynamic segmentation and personalized email sends.
It moves beyond a simple field-mapping fix to a scalable, future-proof data infrastructure.
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