How to Set Up Onchain Attribution

This guide covers every attribution source Formo supports, how the SDK captures each one, and how to connect acquisition touchpoints to onchain conversions. Use it to compare referrers, referral codes, ad networks, UTM campaigns, and builder codes across wallet connects, transactions, volume, and revenue.

What you’ll learn

Understand what Formo and its SDK capture automatically
Track referrers, referral codes, ads, UTM campaigns, and builder codes
Understand first-touch vs. last-touch attribution
Measure performance by source through wallet connects and transactions
Optimize budget allocation based on conversion data

Part 1: The Attribution Challenge in Crypto

Why traditional attribution fails

Traditional analytics measure clicks and visits. For crypto apps, this misses what matters:

What traditional tools measure	What actually matters
Page views	Wallet connects
Time on site	Transactions completed
Form submissions	Volume/revenue generated
Bounce rate	User quality (net worth, labels)

The crypto user journey

A typical onchain user touches multiple channels:

Discovery: Sees your tweet, ad, or mention
Research: Reads about you on Discord, docs, or DeFiLlama
First visit: Lands on your site (often without converting)
Return visit: Comes back from a different source
Conversion: Connects wallet and transacts

Each touchpoint matters. The question is: which one gets credit?

Part 2: How Formo Captures Attribution Sources

The Formo SDK captures attribution context from landing URLs, browser referrers, and onchain transaction data. You do not need UTMs for every attribution method:

Source	What Formo captures	Setup
Referrers	Previous site and referring URL when the browser provides them	Automatic; configure `Referrer-Policy` for full URLs
Referral codes	`ref` and supported referral parameters	Add the referral code to links you control
Ads	Click IDs such as `gclid`, `fbclid`, and `twclid`	Keep ad-platform auto-tagging enabled
UTM	Source, medium, campaign, content, and term	Add UTMs to links you control
Builder codes	ERC-8021 attribution embedded in EVM transaction calldata	Add a builder code when constructing transactions
Mobile links and installs	UTM and referral data from deep links; Android Play Install Referrer data	Enabled by default; Android install attribution requires its native module

Each source remains independently useful. For example, one visit can carry a browser referrer, a referral code, UTM campaign details, and an ad click ID at the same time.

Mobile deep links and install referrers

The React Native SDK parses UTM parameters and referral codes from deep and universal links. On Android, the optional Google Play Install Referrer integration connects the website or campaign that led to an install with the first app launch. Apple does not expose an equivalent install-referrer API, so iOS supports deep-link attribution but not SDK-only install attribution. See Deep link attribution and Web-to-mobile attribution.

Part 3: How to Set Up UTM Tracking

UTM parameter basics

UTM parameters let you track where users come from:

https://yourapp.xyz/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=launch_2024

Parameter	Purpose	Examples
`utm_source`	The platform	twitter, discord, newsletter, defillama
`utm_medium`	The channel type	social, email, paid, referral
`utm_campaign`	The campaign name	launch_2024, airdrop_promo, partnership_xyz
`utm_content`	The creative variant	banner_a, thread_1, video_ad
`utm_term`	Keywords (for paid)	defi, swap, yield

Where to add UTMs

Add UTM parameters to every link you control: Social media:

https://yourapp.xyz/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=daily_content

Email campaigns:

https://yourapp.xyz/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=weekly_update

Partner/referral links:

https://yourapp.xyz/?utm_source=partner_name&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=collab_jan

Paid ads:

https://yourapp.xyz/?utm_source=twitter_ads&utm_medium=paid&utm_campaign=retargeting&utm_content=banner_v2

You can use this free UTM link generator to generate UTM links.

UTM naming conventions

Use consistent naming to make analysis easier:

Bad	Good
`twitter`, `Twitter`, `tw`	Always `twitter`
`paid ad`, `paid_ad`, `paidAd`	Always `paid`
`Launch`, `launch2027`, `jan-launch`	`launch_2024_jan`

Recommended format:

Lowercase only
Underscores for spaces
Include date/month for campaigns: campaign_name_mmyy

Part 4: How to Set Up Referral Tracking

Formo automatically captures referral codes alongside UTM parameters.

Referral code basics

Add a ref parameter to your referral links:

https://yourapp.xyz/?ref=alice

When a user lands with a ref parameter, Formo captures it and associates it with the user’s session. You can then trace connect sessions, events, and users back to specific referral codes. The Web SDK also recognizes referral, refcode, af, and referrer by default. If your program uses another convention, configure custom query parameter names or a URL path pattern; see Web SDK referrals.

Where to add referral codes

User-generated referral links:

https://yourapp.xyz/?ref=0x1234...abcd

Partner referral links:

https://yourapp.xyz/?ref=partner_name

Influencer referral links (combine with UTMs for full attribution):

https://yourapp.xyz/?ref=influencer_handle&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=influencer_jan

Referral naming conventions

Bad	Good
Mixed case (`Alice`, `alice`, `ALICE`)	Always lowercase (`alice`)
Spaces or special characters (`my ref`)	Underscores only (`my_ref`)
Generic names (`partner1`)	Descriptive names (`uniswap_collab`)

Analyze referral performance

The Overview page has a dedicated referral chart, and the Users page and Wallet Profiles show you which referral code acquired each user. Use Ask AI or the Explorer to query referral data:

“Show me wallet connects and transactions grouped by ref parameter for the last 30 days”

SELECT
  JSONExtractString(properties, 'ref') AS referrer,
  countDistinct(address) AS wallets,
  count(*) AS transactions
FROM events
WHERE JSONExtractString(properties, 'ref') != ''
  AND timestamp >= now() - INTERVAL 30 DAY
GROUP BY referrer
ORDER BY wallets DESC

Part 5: Referrer Attribution

Formo automatically records the referring site when the browser sends it. Referrers are useful for links you do not control—such as editorial coverage, search results, community posts, or directory listings—where no UTM or referral code was added. By default, browsers may send only the referring origin. To capture the specific referring page URL, configure your site’s Referrer-Policy header. See Referrer URL tracking for the recommended setup and privacy tradeoffs. Same-domain referrers are removed before channel classification so internal navigation does not appear as a new acquisition source. See Referrers for counting details.

Part 6: Ad Attribution

Ad platforms append click IDs to landing URLs. The Formo SDK captures supported IDs automatically and attributes the session and user to the acquiring network—even when an in-app browser does not provide a referrer. Keep auto-tagging enabled in your ad platforms. Add UTMs when you also want campaign, creative, or keyword detail; the click ID identifies the network while UTMs provide your naming taxonomy. Formo supports Google, Meta, Microsoft, TikTok, X, LinkedIn, and Reddit click IDs, plus paid utm_medium values without a known click ID. See Ad attribution for the complete parameter list, attribution behavior, and dashboard surfaces.

Part 7: Builder Code Attribution

Builder codes attribute EVM transactions directly to the app that built them by appending an ERC-8021 code to transaction calldata. Unlike referrers, referral codes, ads, and UTMs, builder codes describe transaction-level onchain provenance rather than the user’s landing source. Use builder codes when your app constructs transactions and you want durable attribution that survives wallets, RPC providers, and aggregators. Formo detects supported codes from transaction data and makes them available as breakdowns for wallets, transactions, volume, and revenue.

Part 8: Understand Attribution Models

Formo supports multiple attribution models. Each gives credit differently.

First-touch attribution

How it works: 100% credit to the first channel that introduced the user. Best for: Understanding discovery channels. Example:

User finds you via Twitter (first touch)
Returns via Discord link
Converts via direct visit

→ Twitter gets 100% credit

Last-touch attribution

How it works: 100% credit to the last channel before conversion. Best for: Understanding what drives final conversions. Example:

User finds you via Twitter
Returns via Discord link
Converts via direct visit (last touch)

→ Direct gets 100% credit

Which model to use?

Goal	Model	Why
Grow awareness	First-touch	Shows which channels introduce new users
Optimize conversions	Last-touch	Shows what pushes users to convert

Part 9: How to Analyze Attribution in Formo

View attribution in Overview

Go to Overview in the Formo Dashboard

Find the Channels, Referrers, Referrals, Ads, and UTM tabs

These sit alongside your other traffic breakdowns (Pages, Countries, Devices).

Select different units (users, volume, revenue)

You can apply filters on the overview page to see attribution by different segments.

Each tab answers a different attribution question:

View	Shows
Channels	Traffic auto-classified into one of 13 acquisition channels (Paid Search, Organic Social, Direct, etc.)
Referrers	The specific referring domain (twitter.com, google.com, defillama.com)
Referrals	Traffic from `ref` codes, plus `affiliate`/`referral` UTM traffic
Ads	Paid sessions and visitors grouped by the acquiring ad network
UTM	Breakdown by `utm_source`, `utm_medium`, `utm_campaign`, `utm_content`, and `utm_term`
Builder codes	Wallets, transactions, volume, and revenue attributed through ERC-8021 transaction calldata

Formo automatically classifies every session into a channel at ingestion time, using a priority-ordered ladder over the referrer domain, utm_medium, and ad-platform click IDs. See the full channel classification table for how each of the 13 channels is detected.

Key metrics by source

For each acquisition source, the Channels, Referrers, Referrals, Ads, and UTM tabs show raw counts. Builder codes are available as a breakdown for onchain metrics:

Metric	What it tells you
Visitors	Reach/awareness
Wallet connects	Engagement quality
Transactions	Conversion performance
Volume	Revenue contribution

These tabs show one metric at a time, not a percentage. To see an actual connect rate (visitor → wallet) or transaction rate (wallet → transaction) by source, build a funnel with a breakdown dimension, covered below.

Create custom attribution charts

Beyond the built-in tabs, build custom charts to track attribution over time. Use Ask AI for quick answers, or the SQL editor for full control. See Charts for the full guide to creating, organizing, and sharing charts. Ask AI examples:

“Compare wallet connects by utm_source for the last 30 days”

“Show me transactions and volume by utm_campaign this month”

“What are the top 5 first-touch sources for users who transacted?”

“Compare transactions by ad network and referral code”

“Which referrer or builder code generated the most transaction volume?”

Attribution chart ideas:

Chart	Query
Visitors by Source	Daily visitors grouped by referrer or UTM source
Conversion by Source	Transaction rate by first-touch channel, referral, or ad network
Revenue by Campaign	Revenue grouped by UTM campaign
Onchain Attribution	Transaction volume grouped by builder code

Attribution funnel:

Go to Dashboards, click Add Chart, and select the Funnel chart type

Add steps: Visit → Connect → Transaction

Add a breakdown dimension: Referrer, Referral, Ads, UTM Source/Medium/Campaign/Content/Term, Builder Codes, Device, Country, Browser, or OS

Compare conversion rates across each value

Calculate true ROI

For paid campaigns, calculate cost per conversion:

Cost per Transaction = Campaign Spend / Transactions from Campaign

Example:

Channel	Spend	Transactions	Cost/Transaction
Influencer	$5,000	100	$50
Discord Ads	$2,000	80	$25
Twitter Ads	$3,000	150	$20

In this example, Twitter Ads has the best ROI.

Part 10: How to Optimize Your Marketing

Identify your best channels

From your attribution data, categorize channels: High-volume, high-conversion:

Scale these immediately
Allocate more budget
Test similar channels

High-volume, low-conversion:

Improve landing pages
Refine targeting
Test different messaging

Low-volume, high-conversion:

Increase investment
Find ways to scale
Understand what makes them work

Low-volume, low-conversion:

Reduce or cut spend
Test improvements before continuing
Consider audience mismatch

Optimize by user quality

Don’t just measure conversions. Measure user quality:

Filter users by referrer, referral code, ad network, or UTM source
Compare average net worth by source
Compare retention by source
Compare volume per user by source

Example insight:

Twitter drives more users, but Discord users have 3x higher average net worth and 2x better retention.

Assisted journey analysis

Identify common multi-touch paths
Ensure each touchpoint is optimized
Don’t cut discovery channels just because another source received last-touch credit

Example path: Twitter (awareness) → DeFiLlama (research) → Direct (conversion) All three channels contributed. Cutting Twitter would reduce DeFiLlama traffic.

Part 11: Advanced Attribution Tactics

Cross-channel attribution

Track users across marketing channels:

Use consistent UTM naming
Track first-touch and last-touch separately
Compare referral, referrer, ad, and UTM properties together
Analyze common paths with Flows

Cohort-based attribution

Compare user quality by acquisition cohort:

Create segments by first-touch source
Measure retention for each segment
Calculate LTV by acquisition source

Example:

Source	30-day Retention	Avg LTV
Twitter	15%	$50
Discord	25%	$120
DeFiLlama	35%	$200

Attribution checklist

Summary

You’ve learned how to:

Use automatic attribution capture from the web and mobile SDKs and Formo’s onchain data
Set up controlled links with referral codes and UTM parameters
Measure referrers and ad networks without relying on UTMs alone
Attribute onchain activity with builder codes
Compare first-touch and last-touch models across users and sessions
Analyze and optimize sources through conversions, volume, revenue, and user quality

FAQ

Does Formo capture attribution parameters automatically?

Yes. When a user lands on your app, Formo automatically captures UTM parameters, browser referrers, supported referral parameters, and ad click IDs, then associates them with the session and user. Formo also detects supported builder codes from EVM transaction calldata.

What happens if a user visits from multiple sources before converting?

Formo records both first-touch and last-touch attribution. You can view either model on the Users page to understand the full user journey.

Can I use both UTM parameters and ref codes on the same link?

Yes. Combine them for full attribution: ?ref=alice&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social. Both are captured independently.

​What you’ll learn

​Part 1: The Attribution Challenge in Crypto

​Why traditional attribution fails

​The crypto user journey

​Part 2: How Formo Captures Attribution Sources

​Mobile deep links and install referrers

​Part 3: How to Set Up UTM Tracking

​UTM parameter basics

​Where to add UTMs

​UTM naming conventions

​Part 4: How to Set Up Referral Tracking

​Referral code basics

​Where to add referral codes

​Referral naming conventions

​Analyze referral performance

​Part 5: Referrer Attribution

​Part 6: Ad Attribution

​Part 7: Builder Code Attribution

​Part 8: Understand Attribution Models

​First-touch attribution

​Last-touch attribution

​Which model to use?

​Part 9: How to Analyze Attribution in Formo

​View attribution in Overview

​Key metrics by source

​Create custom attribution charts

​Calculate true ROI

​Part 10: How to Optimize Your Marketing

​Identify your best channels

​Optimize by user quality

​Assisted journey analysis

​Part 11: Advanced Attribution Tactics

​Cross-channel attribution

​Cohort-based attribution

​Attribution checklist

​Summary

​FAQ

What you’ll learn

Part 1: The Attribution Challenge in Crypto

Why traditional attribution fails

The crypto user journey

Part 2: How Formo Captures Attribution Sources

Mobile deep links and install referrers

Part 3: How to Set Up UTM Tracking

UTM parameter basics

Where to add UTMs

UTM naming conventions

Part 4: How to Set Up Referral Tracking

Referral code basics

Where to add referral codes

Referral naming conventions

Analyze referral performance

Part 5: Referrer Attribution

Part 6: Ad Attribution

Part 7: Builder Code Attribution

Part 8: Understand Attribution Models

First-touch attribution

Last-touch attribution

Which model to use?

Part 9: How to Analyze Attribution in Formo

View attribution in Overview

Key metrics by source

Create custom attribution charts

Calculate true ROI

Part 10: How to Optimize Your Marketing

Identify your best channels

Optimize by user quality

Assisted journey analysis

Part 11: Advanced Attribution Tactics

Cross-channel attribution

Cohort-based attribution

Attribution checklist

Summary

FAQ