📚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.

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1. What Works Automatically (No Action Needed)

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

Paid Advertising (via Click IDs)

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, gbraid, wbraid	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.

What are gbraid and wbraid? These are Google's privacy-focused click IDs used when traditional cookies are restricted. gbraid tracks iOS app campaign conversions, while wbraid tracks web conversions on privacy-restricted browsers. Ring Tonic automatically detects both.

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

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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.

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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, gbraid, wbraid, 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.

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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.

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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

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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