📚How to Ensure 100% Attribution Accuracy

Ring Tonic automatically tracks where your website visitors come from (Source) and how they found you (Medium). To get the most accurate data, follow these rules for your different marketing channels.

Ring Tonic uses a smart attribution system that automatically detects traffic sources from multiple signals: click IDs from ad platforms, referrer URLs, and UTM parameters. Here's what works automatically and when you need to add tracking parameters.

1. What Works Automatically (No Action Needed)

You do not need to do anything for these sources. Ring Tonic automatically detects them.

When visitors click your ads, the ad platform adds a special click ID to the URL. Ring Tonic automatically detects these:

Platform
Click ID
Attribution

Google Ads

gclid

google / cpc

Facebook/Instagram Ads

fbclid

facebook / cpc

Microsoft/Bing Ads

msclkid

bing / cpc

TikTok Ads

ttclid

tiktok / cpc

LinkedIn Ads

li_fat_id

linkedin / cpc

Important: For Google Ads, ensure "Auto-Tagging" is enabled in your Google Ads settings. This is on by default for most accounts.

Organic Search

Visitors coming from search engine results are automatically detected:

Search Engine
Attribution

Google

google / organic

Bing

bing / organic

Yahoo

yahoo / organic

DuckDuckGo

duckduckgo / organic

Baidu

baidu / organic

Yandex

yandex / organic

Social Media (Organic Posts)

Visitors clicking links from social media posts are automatically detected:

Platform
Attribution

Facebook

facebook / social

Twitter/X

twitter / social

Instagram

instagram / social

LinkedIn

linkedin / social

YouTube

youtube / social

TikTok

tiktok / social

Pinterest

pinterest / social

Reddit

reddit / social

Threads

threads / social

Note: This works for organic social posts. For paid social ads, the click ID detection (Section above) takes priority.

Webmail Clicks

If someone clicks a link in your email from a webmail interface, Ring Tonic detects it:

Webmail Provider
Attribution

Gmail (mail.google.com)

gmail / email

Outlook

outlook / email

Yahoo Mail

yahoo_mail / email

AOL Mail

aol / email

ProtonMail

protonmail / email

Note: This only works when emails are opened in a web browser. Desktop and mobile email apps (like Apple Mail or Outlook desktop) typically don't send referrer data - see Section 2.

Google Maps / Google Business Profile

Visitors clicking your website link from Google Maps are detected:

Source
Attribution

Google Maps (web)

google_maps / organic

Important Caveat: The Google Maps mobile app often does NOT send referrer data. Clicks from the app may appear as "Direct" traffic. See Section 2 for the recommended solution.

Referral Sites

Visitors clicking a link on another website (e.g., Yelp, a local blog, a news article):

  • Attribution: {domain} / referral

  • Example: yelp.com / referral

Direct Traffic

Visitors typing your URL directly into the browser, or when no tracking data is available:

  • Attribution: direct / none

2. When to Use UTM Parameters (Recommended)

For these channels, referrer data is often missing or unreliable. Adding UTM parameters ensures accurate attribution.

Email Newsletters (Desktop/Mobile Apps)

Email clicks from apps (Outlook desktop, Apple Mail, Gmail app) almost always show up as "Direct" traffic because email apps don't send referrer data.

Your Link:

https://yoursite.com/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=october_update

Google Business Profile (Mobile App)

While web clicks from Google Maps are detected automatically, the Google Maps mobile app usually doesn't send referrer data.

Recommended: Add UTMs to your GBP website link:

https://yoursite.com/?utm_source=google_business_profile&utm_medium=organic

This ensures mobile app clicks are properly attributed instead of appearing as "Direct."

QR Codes (Flyers/Mailers)

A QR code scan is just a direct link visit with no referrer. To track which flyer or mailer worked:

Your Link:

https://yoursite.com/?utm_source=mailer&utm_medium=qr_code&utm_campaign=zip_98101

SMS/Text Message Campaigns

Links in text messages have no referrer data:

Your Link:

https://yoursite.com/?utm_source=sms&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=appointment_reminder

Custom Campaign Tracking

If you want human-readable campaign names in your Ring Tonic dashboard (rather than relying on click IDs), you can add UTM parameters to any link:

Example for Facebook Ads:

https://yoursite.com/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=summer_promo

Note: When UTM parameters are present, they take priority over automatic detection.

3. Attribution Priority Order

Ring Tonic uses this priority order to determine source/medium:

  1. Explicit UTM Parameters - If utm_source or utm_medium are in the URL, they are used directly

  2. Click IDs - gclid, fbclid, msclkid, ttclid, li_fat_id are detected and mapped to their platforms

  3. Referrer URL - The browser's referrer is parsed to identify the source

  4. Direct - If no data is available, traffic is marked as direct/none

This means you can always override automatic detection by adding UTM parameters if you need more specific tracking.

4. Offline Sources (Static Tracking Numbers)

If there is no link to click (e.g., Billboard, Radio Ad, TV Commercial, or the physical phone number on your Google Business Profile), UTM parameters don't apply.

Strategy: Purchase a unique Static Tracking Number inside Ring Tonic.

Setup:

  1. Buy a dedicated phone number in Ring Tonic

  2. Assign it to a Static Campaign named after the source (e.g., "Billboard I-95")

  3. Use that number exclusively on that marketing material

Attribution: Any call to that number is automatically attributed to that campaign.

Quick Reference: UTM Parameter Format

https://yoursite.com/?utm_source=SOURCE&utm_medium=MEDIUM&utm_campaign=CAMPAIGN_NAME
Parameter
Purpose
Examples

utm_source

Where the traffic came from

google, facebook, newsletter, billboard

utm_medium

How it reached you

cpc, email, social, qr_code, organic

utm_campaign

Specific campaign name

summer_sale, october_newsletter, zip_98101

Common Medium Values:

  • cpc - Cost per click (paid ads)

  • organic - Unpaid/natural traffic

  • email - Email campaigns

  • social - Social media

  • referral - Links from other websites

  • qr_code - QR code scans

Summary

Channel
Action Required
Notes

Google Ads

None

Enable Auto-Tagging in Google Ads

Facebook/Instagram Ads

None

Click ID auto-detected

Bing Ads

None

Click ID auto-detected

TikTok Ads

None

Click ID auto-detected

LinkedIn Ads

None

Click ID auto-detected

Organic Search

None

Referrer auto-detected

Social Media Posts

None

Referrer auto-detected

Webmail (Gmail, Outlook web)

None

Referrer auto-detected

Google Maps (web)

None

Referrer auto-detected

Google Maps (mobile app)

Add UTMs to GBP

Mobile app has no referrer

Email (desktop/mobile apps)

Add UTMs

Email apps have no referrer

QR Codes

Add UTMs

No referrer data

SMS/Text Messages

Add UTMs

No referrer data

Offline (Billboard, Radio, TV)

Static Number

Use dedicated tracking number

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