Start Here 👋
Before diving into the setup steps, we recommend taking a moment to understand how Cometly works. This quick overview will give you a high-level understanding of what Cometly does and how it helps you track and optimize your marketing efforts.
1. Build Tracking Plan
Decide which events you want to track (e.g., leads, purchases, sign ups, deals created, closed won). This plan will help guide your setup process. We have a variety of tracking plan templates designed specifically for your business type.
2. Install & Verify Cometly Pixel
The Cometly base code pixel automatically tracks the source of webpage visitors and automatically captures information from form opt-ins (first name, last name, email, and phone number). To begin, place the Cometly Pixel on every website or domain you want to track, including your main domain, subdomains, and any additional domains.
This pixel must be placed in the <head> section of every website that you want to track. This includes your main domain (e.g., cometly.com) and subdomains (go.cometly.com, blog.cometly.com, academy.cometly.com, etc.).
If you are a SaaS company, please visit our SaaS Pixel Implementation Guide.
Install Pixel
Visit the Space Setup page and click Install & Verify Cometly Pixel.
In Step 1, install Cometly tracking script on your site, click Copy Code to copy the Cometly Pixel and add to in the <head> section of your website(s).
Test & Verify Pixel Installation
In Step 2, under Add and verify domains, you will add your domains where you have the Cometly Pixel installed on and verify the pixel has been installed.
Enter your domain. Learn how to ensure you are using the correct domain URL:
Open your website in a browser.
Check if your domain includes "www." when the page loads.
Click Add Domain
After your domains have been added, click < > Test Script
You will see a pop up open that says "The verification process will open your website in a pop-up window to begin the process. Please do not close the pop-up window until the test is finished. We'll update you with the results as soon as the verification process is finished, this normally only takes a few seconds."
It is optional to test a specific page URL. This is typically used for SaaS companies that are only adding the Cometly Pixel to the login and registration page only. You may enter a specific URL to only test that specific page URL.
Click Confirm to test your domain to ensure the Cometly Pixel is installed.
In the Added domains section, you will either see Verified or Failed.
Verified indicates your domain has the Cometly Pixel installed correctly.
Failed indicates your domain does not have the Cometly Pixel installed correctly.
If your test has failed, visit our Cometly Pixel Troubleshooting Guides.
Automatic Cross Domain Tracking (Required For SaaS Companies)
Example: If traffic flows from cometly.com to app.cometly.com, cross-domain tracking ensures users are properly tracked across both domains.
Ensure seamless tracking for users navigating across your main domain, subdomains, or other domains by enabling Automatic Cross-Domain Tracking. This feature ensures proper handling of cross-domain traffic, allowing all user activities to be accurately tracked, regardless of the domain they interact with. Once enabled, your verified domains will automatically leverage the comet_token for precise and reliable tracking.
To enable, simply toggle on Automatic Cross Domain Tracking.
You have two options for setting up Cross-Domain Tracking with Cometly:
Automatic setup (Recommended)
Form Tracking
Cometly automatically tracks the following fields on your forms: Full Name, First Name, Last Name, Email, and Phone Number. This data is captured in real-time as users type into the fields. Among these, email is the most important field as it connects events to the correct buyer journey, ensuring accurate marketing attribution and insights.
If you are using third-party embedded forms (or iframes), special setup steps are required. Please refer to the Form Tracking for Third-Party Embedded Forms article.
Add Events
Events track actions like form submissions, lead qualification, call scheduling, deal creation, or purchases on your website, funnel, CRM, or payment processor.
To keep everything organized, set up one event at a time based on your tracking plan.
How to Add Events
Go to the Space Setup page.
Click Add Events to start sending event data.
Choose where to send your event data from. If your integration isn't listed, use Webhooks or Zapier.
Using Webhooks
Cometly Webhooks let you send event data from any app to Cometly. You can map the data to Cometly fields and set up filters for events.
Example: Even without a direct integration with Stripe, you can send events like New Payment, New Trial, Converted Trial, or Canceled Subscription to Cometly using webhooks.
Using Zapier
Zapier makes it easy to send event data to Cometly from apps without direct integration.
Example: Even without a direct integration with HubSpot, you can send events like Moving a Deal Stage to Cometly using Zapier.
How to Test Events
After setting up your events, it's important to test them to ensure everything is working correctly in Cometly.
Testing Your Server Event Setup
Go to the Events Manager:
Navigate to the Events Manager in Cometly and click Events Log.Trigger a Test Event:
Process a test event using your Webhook or Zapier.Reload the Events Log Page:
Refresh the Events Log page in Cometly.Check for the Event:
Verify that the test event appears in the Events Log.
Review Event Details:
Confirm that all the event information you sent is displayed correctly.
By following these steps, you can verify your events are firing and being tracked properly.
Setup URL Parameters
Add URL parameters to your ads, emails, SMS, and custom sources to improve attribution accuracy and enhance your tracking in Cometly.
Connect Ad Platforms
Connect Your Profile to Cometly
Connecting your personal profile allows Cometly to access the ad accounts you have permission to use. Once your profile is connected, you can link those ad accounts to your space for tracking and reporting.
Go to Integrations:
On the left side menu, click Integrations.Select an Ad Platform:
Click the icon for the ad platform you want to connect (e.g., Facebook, Google, TikTok, LinkedIn).Sync Your Profile:
Follow the prompts to sync your profile and link your accounts.
Connect Ad Accounts & Sync Ad Data to Your Space
After connecting your profile, click on the ad platform icons (Facebook, TikTok, Google, LinkedIn) to see the ad accounts you have access to. These accounts are linked to your personal profile, so only you can see and manage them.
Click Connect next to the ad account you want to add to the space.
Once an ad account has been connected:
The ad account will immediately appear under Connected Ad Accounts and be visible to all team members in the space.
Cometly immediately starts pulling ad data for all active campaigns. It takes 30-60 minutes for the data to appear in your space as the system processes updates.
During this time, active campaigns won’t show in the Cometly Ads Manager. Once the data refreshes within the 60-minute window, all active campaigns will automatically appear.
Ad and event conversion data will begin displaying from the moment tracking is enabled. Past data cannot be retrieved retroactively.
If you are generating leads using Meta Instant Forms (formerly Meta Lead Forms), make sure you have the necessary permissions to automatically track leads in Cometly.
Activate Conversion API
Set up the Conversion API to help Cometly send data to Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, and TikTok, improving ad performance.