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Personal words get attention. With a variable, a headline can say “Thanks, Sofia, we will call you tomorrow” or “Your Facebook offer” instead of the same words for everyone. A variable is a small placeholder in your text, such as @Name. On your live funnel, AskFunnel swaps it for the real value for each visitor. If the value is missing, AskFunnel shows a fallback text that you choose, so a sentence never has a hole in it. With variables, you can:
  • Use the visitor’s details. Insert the name, email or phone they typed into your form earlier.
  • Repeat an earlier answer. For example “You said you want to Buy a home. Here is how we help” after a quiz question.
  • Match your ad. Insert a campaign tag from the link the visitor clicked, such as the UTM source or campaign.
  • Use your own link tags. Create a custom tag, such as ps_city, and fill it from the link.
Before you start, you need:
  • A funnel open in the builder. See Launch your first funnel.
  • A role that can edit funnels: Global Admin, Workspace Admin or Content Editor.
  • For details from your form or quiz, the form field or question must already exist in the funnel, and the text must sit on a later page than the one the visitor answers it on.

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Important to note

  • Variables work in Text blocks (headlines and text) and in the question of a quiz. They do not work in button labels or in answer options.
  • A visitor’s answer is only known after they give it. Put a variable on a page after the page that asks the question, for example “Thanks, @Name” on your thank you screen.
  • Always choose a good fallback, such as “there” for a name. Visitors who skip a question, or who open your link without the tag, see the fallback.
  • Only the five UTM tags and tags that start with ps_ can come from a link. Other parameters in a link are ignored.
  • A value is always shown as plain text, so nothing a visitor types can change how your page looks or runs.

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Insert a variable

1

Click into your text

In the builder, click the headline or text where the variable should go. The text toolbar appears above it. Quiz questions work the same way.
2

Open the variable list

Type @ where you want the variable, or click “Personalize” in the toolbar. A list opens. It has these groups:
  • Contact: the details from your form, such as Name, Email and Phone, and any other contact field.
  • Answers: your quiz questions and the other fields of your form.
  • URL parameters: UTM Source, UTM Medium, UTM Campaign, UTM Term and UTM Content, from the link the visitor opened.
Keep typing after the @ to narrow the list. If two fields have the same name, a small label next to each helps you tell them apart.A headline being edited in the builder with the @ list open below the cursor, showing the groups Contact with Name, Email and Phone, Answers with two quiz questions and URL parameters starting with UTM Source, the open list with its group names highlighted
3

Choose the fallback

Click a detail. A small box asks Fallback for and the name of the detail, with the hint that the fallback is shown when the field is empty. Type the words to show instead, for example “there”, then click “Insert”. For a name, AskFunnel suggests “there”. Click “No fallback” to show nothing when the value is missing.The variable appears in your text as a pill, such as @Name.The small box titled Fallback for Name with the text there typed in the box and the hint that it shows when the field is empty, and the buttons No fallback and Insert, the fallback box highlighted
4

Add your own link tag (optional)

To use a tag that is not a UTM tag, click Create custom URL parameter at the bottom of the list.
  1. Type a name, for example “city”. AskFunnel shows what it will look for in your link, here ps_city. Letters, numbers, underscores and hyphens are kept.
  2. Type a fallback. It is required for a custom tag.
  3. Click “Insert”.
Then add the tag to the end of your funnel link, for example https://summit-realty.askfunnel.com/home-valuation-x7k2m9p4qa?ps_city=Austin. The visitor sees “Austin”. See Track campaigns with UTM links for how to build links.
5

Publish and test it

Click “Publish Funnel”, then open your live funnel. Test the real value and the fallback: go through your funnel and give your details, then open the link again in a private window and skip the question. See Publish, unpublish and restore an earlier version.

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What each group shows

  • Contact shows what the visitor typed into your form, for example their name. It is empty until they have filled in the form, and the details are forgotten if the visitor reloads the page.
  • Answers shows the visitor’s answer to a quiz question or a form field on an earlier page, as text. Quiz answers are remembered on the visitor’s device, so they still work after a reload. Details typed into a form field are not.
  • URL parameters shows the value from the link the visitor opened. AskFunnel remembers it for the whole visit, so it still works on later pages even though the address of those pages has no tags. It is forgotten when the visitor closes the browser tab.
Do not put personal details, such as an email address, in link tags. Links are copied, shared and saved by other tools, and anyone who sees the link sees the tag.

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How do I know it is working?

  • In the builder, the variable shows as a pill with an at sign, such as @Name. This is normal. The real value only appears on the live funnel.
  • On your live funnel, the pill is replaced by the visitor’s value, or by your fallback.
  • For a UTM variable, open your link with the tag, for example ?utm_source=facebook, and check that the text shows facebook.

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Troubleshooting

Click inside a Text block or a quiz question first, so you see the cursor in the text. Variables are not available in button labels, answers or other fields. Then type @, or click “Personalize”.
The value was not known yet. Check that the variable is on a page after the question or form it comes from. For a link tag, check that your link really has the tag, with the exact name, and that a link shortener or an app did not cut it off. The visitor must open your funnel through the tagged link. If they open the plain funnel address, there is no tag to read.
Answers lists the quiz questions and form fields that are in this funnel. Add the question first, then try again. If you see No matching fields, clear what you typed after the @.
The link must carry the same name with the ps_ start, for example ?ps_city=Austin. A tag without ps_, such as ?city=Austin, is ignored.
Click just after the pill in the text and press the backspace key.
Yes. Emails have their own @ list, which offers contact fields and answers. See Send automated emails to new leads.

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What to do next

Track campaigns with UTM links

Build links with tags that you can use as variables.

Pass UTM and custom URL parameters on

Keep the tags when a button opens another page.

Customize your thank you screen

Thank visitors by name after they submit.
Need help? Email support@askfunnel.com.