No cookie survives forever. No tracking link catches the person who heard your name on a podcast, searched it in a private browser, and bought. For that traffic — “dark social” — the best tool is embarrassingly simple: ask.
Why it works
Self-reported attribution captures intent and memory, not just the last click. Someone who types “your Twitter thread on churn” is telling you something no pixel can: which content actually stuck.
How to do it right
- Ask once, after the sale — never before (it hurts conversion).
- Make it optional and open-text, not a dropdown you wrote.
- Tally answers monthly and look for patterns, not precision.
Use it alongside link-based tracking, not instead of it. Tracking gives you precision on the clicks it can see; the “how did you hear about us?” box catches the rest. Together they cover far more of reality than either alone.