Set up SourceTag with Pardot Forms

Pardot (now part of Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account Engagement) requires you to create custom prospect fields first, then add them as hidden fields in the form builder. The key is making sure the External Field Name matches the SourceTag field name.

What you need

• SourceTag installed on your website (where the Pardot form is embedded)
• A Pardot account with access to custom fields and forms
• Salesforce admin access (if custom fields need to sync to Salesforce)

Step 1: Create custom prospect fields in Pardot

1. In Pardot, go to Admin > Object and Field Configuration > Prospect Fields (or in Account Engagement: Setup > Object and Field Configuration > Prospect Fields)
2. Click Add Custom Field
3. For each SourceTag field:
   • Set the Field Label to a descriptive name (e.g. “ST First Click Channel”)
   • Set the External Field Name to the SourceTag field name exactly (e.g. st_fc_channel)
   • Set the Field Type to Text
   • Optionally set the Custom Field ID if you want to control the API name
4. Save

The External Field Name is the critical setting. This is what Pardot uses in the form HTML, and it is what SourceTag looks for.

[IMAGE: Screenshot of Pardot custom prospect field creation showing External Field Name]

Core fields (create these)

Field Label	External Field Name
ST First Click Channel	st_fc_channel
ST First Click Detail 1	st_fc_detail_1
ST First Click Detail 2	st_fc_detail_2
ST First Click Detail 3	st_fc_detail_3
ST First Click Detail 4	st_fc_detail_4
ST Last Click Channel	st_lc_channel
ST Last Click Detail 1	st_lc_detail_1
ST Last Click Detail 2	st_lc_detail_2
ST Last Click Detail 3	st_lc_detail_3
ST Last Click Detail 4	st_lc_detail_4
ST First Click Landing	st_fc_landing_page
ST Last Click Landing	st_lc_landing_page

Optional extended fields

Field Label	External Field Name
ST First Click ID	st_fc_click_id
ST Last Click ID	st_lc_click_id
TT Visits	st_visits
TT Days to Convert	st_days_to_convert
TT Device	st_device

[IMAGE: Screenshot of Pardot prospect fields list showing all SourceTag fields]

Step 2: Add hidden fields to your Pardot form

1. Go to Marketing > Forms (or Content > Forms)
2. Edit your form (or create a new one)
3. In the form builder, go to the Fields step
4. Click Add Field and select one of the custom prospect fields you created
5. In the field settings, set Type to Hidden (or tick the Hidden checkbox)
6. Repeat for all SourceTag fields

[IMAGE: Screenshot of Pardot form builder showing hidden field being added]

Step 3: Verify the External Field Name

For each hidden field in the form:

1. Click on the field
2. Check that the External Field Name matches the SourceTag field name exactly
3. Pardot uses this as the HTML name attribute in the rendered form

If Pardot has modified the external field name (added a prefix or changed case), update it to match.

[IMAGE: Screenshot of Pardot form field settings showing External Field Name]

Step 4: Embed the form

Pardot forms can be embedded on your site using the iframe embed code or the form handler URL:

1. In the form builder, go to the final step and copy the embed code
2. Paste it onto your website page

For best results, use the iframe embed and make sure SourceTag is on the parent page. SourceTag can interact with Pardot form iframes when they are on the same domain, or you can use the form handler approach with a custom HTML form.

Alternatively, use a Pardot Landing Page with the form, and install SourceTag on the landing page’s template.

[IMAGE: Screenshot of Pardot form embed code]

Step 5: Test

Visit the page with UTM parameters:

?utm_source=test&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=pardot-test

Submit the form. In Pardot, go to Prospects and find the test record. Check the custom fields. They should contain your attribution data.

If you have Pardot-to-Salesforce sync enabled, the data will also flow to the corresponding Lead or Contact fields in Salesforce.

[IMAGE: Screenshot of Pardot prospect record showing populated SourceTag fields]

Tips

• The External Field Name is the most important setting. Double-check it for every field.
• If you want the data to sync to Salesforce, create matching custom fields on the Lead and Contact objects in Salesforce, then map them in Pardot’s field sync settings.
• Pardot form handlers are an alternative to embedded forms. If you use a form handler, your front-end form needs the hidden inputs with names matching the External Field Names.
• Pardot’s completion actions can trigger automations based on form submissions. The attribution data is available for segmentation rules and automation logic.