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Why applicant source gets lost between the post and the application (and how to keep it)

Updated 2026-11-10

You post a job with a tracked link. Someone taps it, reads your page, and applies. When you open the application, the source is blank, or it says “direct”. The click happened. The label got lost on the way. This guide explains where it goes and how to stop that.

How the label travels

A tracked link ends up as a landing page address with labels at the end, called UTM codes (see what UTM codes are). The labels exist only in that one address. The moment the visitor goes somewhere else, the label is not automatically carried along.

Where it gets lost

1. The visitor clicks to another page

Your careers page lists ten jobs. The visitor lands on the list with the labels in the address, then clicks into one job. That second address has no labels. When they apply there, the form has no way to know about the first page.

2. The visitor comes back later

Many people read a post, close it, and apply a day or two later. They find your site again by typing it in or searching. The original address is gone.

3. The application form is elsewhere

Some sites send applicants to a separate applicant system on a different address. The labels stay behind on the first site.

4. The form has nowhere to put the source

Even if the labels reach the page, the form has to have a field to receive them. If it does not, they are thrown away.

5. The post opens in an app

Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and other apps often open links in their own built-in browser. If the visitor later switches to their normal browser to finish applying, anything remembered in the first browser is not there.

6. Someone shares your page address

A visitor copies the long address, labels included, and sends it to a friend. The friend arrives with the first person's label. This is rare, but it is one reason to treat source numbers as a strong signal, not an exact count.

How to keep it

Remember the source in the visitor's browser

The Quill Tracker snippet saves the labels and the click ID in the visitor's own browser the moment they arrive. They stay there for 30 days. So when the visitor clicks to another page, or comes back tomorrow in the same browser, the source is still known.

Add hidden fields to the form

Ask whoever manages your form to add hidden fields named utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign, utm_content and qlid. The snippet fills any fields with those names. Then the source goes in with the application, like any other answer.

Make sure your applicant system keeps them

This is the step people miss. If your applicant system receives the hidden fields but has no place to store them, they vanish. Look for custom fields, hidden fields or a UTM or source field in its settings. Whether it can store them depends on the system. If it cannot, you still get applications counted per post in Quill Tracker.

Count the application, too

When a form is submitted, the snippet also tells Quill Tracker, so the application is counted against the link that brought the person in. If your form leads to a thank-you page, you can have the page itself count by adding data-goal="Application" to the snippet.

What this cannot fix

• A visitor who switches device or browser takes nothing with them.
• A third-party application page that does not carry the snippet cannot be counted.
• If a visitor's browser sends the Global Privacy Control signal, the snippet records nothing, except filling hidden fields from the current address.

Think of source tracking as a strong signal, not a perfect record. For the rest, a simple question on the application, “How did you hear about us?”, remains a good back-up.

New to all this? Read how to track which social post a job applicant came from.

Quick answers

Why does my applicant system show "direct" or "unknown"?

Usually because the visitor browsed to another page first and the labels were dropped, or because the form has nowhere to store them. Keeping the source in the browser and adding hidden fields addresses both.

Is a hidden field the same as a secret field?

No. It is a form field the visitor does not see. It is filled in by code and sent with the form like any other field.

Will this work if the visitor applies on another site?

Only if that site also has the snippet and the same hidden fields. If your applications happen on a third-party site you do not control, you may only see clicks.