Tracking External Forms with GoHighLevel

Modified on: Thu, 6 Nov, 2025 at 4:09 PM

External Tracking lets you place one lightweight script into external websites (WordPress, Wix, Squarespace or custom built sites) to capture form submissions and page views directly into HighLevel. This article walks you through setting up external tracking, troubleshooting the installation and viewing submissions in HighLevel.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

What is External Tracking?

What is External Tracking?

External Tracking collects activity from websites you don’t host in HighLevel. After you add a small script to those website pages, HighLevel records page views and captures supported form submissions. Each submission apprears in the forms submissions dashboard and syncs to a contact record with attribution details, making it easier than ever to understand where leads come from and take action with automation.

Key Benefits of External Tracking

Keep your Current Forms: Capture leads from existing third-party forms without rebuilding in HighLevel.
Automatic CRM Sync: Submissions create or update Contacts so your team can follow up immediately.
Attribution Visibility: UTMs and source details are attached to contacts for easy tracking.
Page Views + Forms Together: Track both page visits and form submissions in one place for more complete context.
Combined Analytics: Consolidate analytics for both HighLevel and non-HighLevel forms

Contact & Attribution Details

HighLevel attaches events and attribution data to contact records so you can see what pages were visited, what form was submitted, and what drove the visit.

Timeline events: You’ll see Page Visited and Form Submitted entries for tracked pages/forms.
Activity details: Open a submission in the contact’s activity to view captured fields and page metadata (page title, URL, medium/source if available, etc.).
Tagging: Contacts may be tagged with the external form name (e.g., external form: {form_name})

How To Set Up External Tracking

Follow these steps end-to-end to install the script, confirm that page views and forms are being tracked, and see the data arrive in HighLevel.

Step 1: Open External Tracking

From within your sub-account:

Navigate to Settings → External Tracking

Under the Installation tab, click CopyScript

The script will look like this:

<script 
  src="https://link.gohighlevel.com/js/external-tracking.js"
  data-tracking-id="tk_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx">
</script>

Important: The data-tracking-id is unique to your account. Do not edit it.

Step 2: Add the Script to Your Website

Paste the script into the footer, just before the closing </body> tag.

Examples

Custom HTML Site

...
<!-- Paste GoHighLevel tracking script here -->
<script 
  src="https://link.gohighlevel.com/js/external-tracking.js"
  data-tracking-id="tk_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx">
</script>
</body>
</html>

WordPress

Go to Appearance → Theme Settings → Footer (if available), or
Install a plugin like Insert Headers and Footers and paste into the Footer Scripts box

Wix / Squarespace / Webflow

Go to Site Settings → Custom Code → Footer Code Injection and paste the script.

Step 3: Make Sure Your Form is Compatible

Your form must:

Use a <form> tag
Include an email input field:
```
<input type="email" name="email" />
```

Include a submit button:
```
<button type="submit">Submit</button>
```

Not be inside an <iframe>
Not block submission with custom JavaScript (unless it re-triggers a standard submit)

Example Minimal Form

<form action="#" method="post">
  <input type="email" name="email" placeholder="email@example.com" required />
  <button type="submit">Submit</button>
</form>

Step 4: View Submissions

Once the script is installed and your form is compatible:

Go to Sites → Forms → Submissions
Use the filter External: “Form Name”
Review and export submissions as needed

Advanced Troubleshooting & Diagnostics

If submissions are not showing or tracking isn’t working, use these checks.

Enable Debug Mode

Add data-debug="true" to your script:

<script 
  src="https://link.gohighlevel.com/js/external-tracking.js"
  data-tracking-id="tk_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
  data-debug="true">
</script>

Reload your page, open the console (Cmd/Ctrl + Option/Alt + J), and look for [LC Tracking] logs such as:

Tracker initialized successfully
SessionId stored in cookie
Event sent successfully: external_script_page_view

If logs do not appear:

Confirm the script is on the page
Verify the data-tracking-id value
Check for ad blockers or CSP errors

Network & API Checks

In the browser Network tab, check:

Page view requests succeed with 2xx status
No CORS errors
Response shows success acknowledgement

Cookies & Session

The script sets a cookie with a session ID.

Look in Application → Storage → Cookies
Confirm a session cookie is created
If missing, check browser privacy settings or third-party iframe restrictions

Common Issues

No console logs → Add data-debug="true", confirm script placement
CORS errors → Verify endpoint and server CORS config
Form not tracked → Ensure it uses <form>, has email input, and a submit button
Tracking ID errors → Confirm data-tracking-id matches your account
Single Page Apps → Initial load is tracked, but route changes may require manual hooks

Quick Diagnostic Checklist

Script tag has a valid data-tracking-id
Debug mode enabled for testing
Console shows [LC Tracking] logs
Network requests succeed (2xx)
Session cookie is present
Forms meet structure requirements

Example Setup With Extra Fields

<form name="abc">
  <label for="first_name">First Name</label>
  <input type="text" name="first_name" id="first_name" />

  <label for="last_name">Last Name</label>
  <input type="text" name="last_name" id="last_name" />

  <label for="email">Email</label>
  <input type="email" name="email" id="email" />

  <label for="phone">Phone</label>
  <input type="tel" name="phone" id="phone" />

  <label for="company_name">Company Name</label>
  <input type="text" name="company_name" id="company_name" />

  <input type="submit" value="Submit">
</form>

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Do I have to rebuild my forms in HighLevel?
No. External Tracking captures information from compatible existing forms on your site. If you’d prefer, you can also embed a HighLevel form instead.

Q: How do I automate follow‑up?
Use the Form Submitted workflow trigger to send notifications, apply tags, and kick off campaigns once external submissions sync in.

Q: Why don’t I see UTMs on some contacts?
Attribution depends on cookies and URL parameters being present. Strict browser privacy settings or missing UTMs can limit available data.

Q: What types of forms are compatible with external tracking?

With external tracking, you can track activity from HTML forms and Formspree.