How to Connect Visitor Identification to Your CRM

Buying a visitor identification tool is the easy part. The work is wiring Leadfeeder, RB2B or Leadinfo into HubSpot or Salesforce so identified companies and people land on the right records, with the right owner and no duplicates.

These steps apply to the native HubSpot and Salesforce integrations of Leadfeeder, RB2B and Leadinfo as their own help documentation describes them. Other CRMs usually connect through Zapier or a separate native connector with different settings. Whatever match key a tool uses, set the CRM-side duplicate rule as well.

What Do You Need Before Connecting Visitor Identification To Your CRM?

Before connecting a visitor identification tool to HubSpot or Salesforce, confirm three things on both sides of the sync, namely the record level the tool returns, the plan that unlocks its CRM integration (Leadinfo limits its Salesforce integration to the Pro package), and the CRM edition, since Salesforce enables API access by default on Enterprise, Performance, Unlimited and Developer editions.

Connecting the tool is the step that turns website visitor identification into CRM records a sales team can work. Settle these points before anyone clicks Connect:

• Record level. Leadfeeder and Leadinfo return companies, while RB2B returns people with their company attached.
• CRM objects the tool may touch, from companies or accounts to contacts, leads, deals or opportunities, tasks and notes.
• Plan gate on the tool side. Leadinfo puts its HubSpot integration in the Scale and Pro packages and its Salesforce integration in Pro, and Leadfeeder needs a Web Visitors subscription to send visit data.
• Edition gate on the CRM side. Salesforce Professional Edition adds API access as an add-on.
• A named integration user with the role the connection needs.
• A default record owner, so new accounts never land unassigned.
• The short list of fields sales will actually filter, route or report on.

The record level decides most of what follows. If the choice between company-level and person-level identification is still open, settle it before mapping a single field, because a person-level sync writes contacts and leads while a company-level sync writes accounts and companies.

The CRM objects matter just as much. A tool allowed to create deals or opportunities puts records into the pipeline that sales forecasts from, so give it that right only once the first synced records have been audited.

How To Connect Visitor Identification To Your CRM, Step By Step

Connecting a visitor identification tool to a CRM follows the same nine steps in Leadfeeder, RB2B and Leadinfo, which are to check plan and edition, set up an integration user, authorise the connection, decide what it may create, map fields, filter visitors, wait for the first sync, test a small segment and widen automation.

Authorise the connection. All three tools use the same sign-in pattern. Leadfeeder's HubSpot setup starts from Account settings, then Integrations. RB2B connects from Integrations, then Salesforce CRM, where the admin clicks Allow. Leadinfo connects from its settings, then integrations, and asks the admin to grant access.

Decide what the tool may create. Leadinfo triggers take the action create new, connect existing or both. RB2B lets you set new companies and new contacts to create or ignore. Leadfeeder lets you create a company or connect a visit to an existing one.

Wait for the first sync. Leadfeeder says the initial HubSpot sync can take several hours. Leadinfo says its initial data retrieval from HubSpot takes a few minutes to a few hours, and advises disconnecting and reconnecting if it fails. If Leadinfo visits do not appear on a HubSpot record, select Leadinfo in that record's Activity filter.

Test, then widen. Start with a filter that lets a small, known segment through, such as one country or one company size band. RB2B applies settings changes going forward only, so records created under a loose setting stay in the CRM after you tighten it. A narrow first week keeps that clean-up small.

How Leadfeeder, RB2B And Leadinfo Write Into HubSpot And Salesforce

Leadfeeder and Leadinfo push identified companies into HubSpot as company records with visits logged as notes, while RB2B sends both contact and company records and, in Salesforce, can create a Contact under an existing Account, a new Account, or a Lead. The three tools differ most in what they create, not in how you connect them.

Read the table by record level first. Leadfeeder's HubSpot integration does not create or update contacts, so its main risk there is duplicate companies. A person-level tool such as RB2B adds contacts, so its risk is weak or duplicate contact records as well as duplicate companies. The tool sections below give the detail behind each cell.

How Leadfeeder Connects To HubSpot And Salesforce

Leadfeeder, part of Dealfront, connects identified companies to HubSpot as company records with each visit logged as a Note, and to Salesforce as Accounts, Leads, Tasks or Opportunities, with CRM data syncing once a day so a day's visits arrive the following day.

Record level: Company-level. The CRM integration does not create or update HubSpot contacts.

HubSpot objects written: Companies, deals, tasks and visit Notes with visit time, pages and source. Leadfeeder also creates two properties, "Latest Leadfeeder visit" and "View in Leadfeeder".

Salesforce objects written: Accounts and Leads from identified companies, plus Tasks and Opportunities created from within Leadfeeder. Contacts sync only when the contact sync setting is on.

Match to existing records: Leadfeeder syncs at least the Account name, domain and owner from Salesforce, and a User Matching tab maps its users to Salesforce users. In HubSpot you can connect a company to an existing record instead of creating one.

Field mapping control: Mappings take custom fields, hard-coded values and default values for fields with validation rules. The Salesforce destination field list refreshes daily, so run a manual sync after adding fields or pipelines.

Sync timing: CRM data syncs once a day and a day's visits arrive the next day.

Plan or edition gate: Sending visits and identified companies needs a Web Visitors subscription.

Limitation: Mapped HubSpot properties whose names start with "IP" must be excluded, "send visits to your HubSpot" must be enabled per company, and the HubSpot marketing integration is one-way.

Leadfeeder suits account-based teams that work companies, deals and tasks rather than individual contacts. Teams that expect a visit to reach the CRM the same day should plan their alerts around the daily cycle.

How RB2B Connects To HubSpot And Salesforce

RB2B sends person-level contacts and their companies to HubSpot, creating missing records and, on existing contacts, updating only its own RB2B properties, while in Salesforce it can add a Contact to an existing Account, create a new Account, or create a Lead, with page views logged as Tasks.

Record level: Person-level, with company data attached.

HubSpot objects written: Contacts and companies. New contacts get name, title, business email, industry, location and page view history, and arrive labelled Non-marketing Contact by default. On existing contacts RB2B changes only its RB2B Properties, such as Captured URL, Source, Hot Page Visitor and Last Logged Activity. Activity shows on the timeline as "RB2B for CRM".

Salesforce objects written: A Contact under an existing Account, which RB2B recommends, a new Account with its Contact, or a Lead for early-stage prospects. Page views land as Tasks. Contacts show "RB2B" as Lead Source and Accounts show "RB2B" as Account Source.

Match to existing records: RB2B uses HubSpot's export permission to read a limited set of fields (name, email, company and lifecycle stage) and checks existing records locally before creating new ones.

Field mapping control: HubSpot settings decide whether new companies, new contacts, contacts without a company and contacts without an email are created or ignored. Salesforce has no manual mapping interface, and Leads carry only the company name.

Sync timing: Only activity after the connection syncs automatically. A visitor seen earlier needs a manual Re-Sync from the profile.

Plan or edition gate: On the Salesforce side, the connection needs an edition with API access, which Professional Edition adds as an add-on.

Limitation: Settings changes apply going forward only, company-only visitors sync only on their first page view, and one RB2B account connects to one HubSpot portal, although several RB2B accounts can push into the same HubSpot.

In Salesforce, every Account needs an owner, and by default the user who set up the integration owns all RB2B-created Accounts. Reassign them through your routing rules rather than leaving one admin as the owner of record. For a wider view of RB2B's fit, features and limitations beyond the CRM sync, the full review covers the rest.

RB2B suits teams whose sales motion works named contacts rather than accounts. Teams that need full control of Salesforce field mapping will find the fixed mapping tight.

How Leadinfo Connects To HubSpot And Salesforce

Leadinfo connects identified companies to HubSpot or Salesforce either manually from a company profile or automatically through triggers, and before creating a record it checks data points such as domain, phone number and chamber of commerce number to find a company that already exists in the CRM.

Record level: Company-level data.

HubSpot objects written: New or connected companies, deals and tasks, with website visits sent as notes on the company profile.

Salesforce objects written: Companies linked as Accounts or Leads. Tasks, opportunities and notes are created only on Accounts.

Match to existing records: Leadinfo checks data points such as domain, phone number and chamber of commerce number before it creates a record.

Field mapping control: You choose which fields to send and can overrule the account source.

Sync timing: When a company is connected, Leadinfo sends its most recent visit and then shares future visits. Nothing is sent for a company until it is connected.

Plan or edition gate: The Salesforce integration is in the Pro package and the HubSpot integration is in Scale and Pro. The Salesforce API connection is not available on every Salesforce subscription.

Limitation: A company connected as a Lead cannot take tasks or opportunities.

Triggers can use rules such as country, employee count or pages visited. A rep can also send a single company with "Link to Salesforce" from its profile, which suits a manual pilot before triggers go live.

Leadinfo suits company-level teams that want automatic sending gated by firmographic rules. Teams that work Salesforce Leads rather than Accounts lose the tasks and opportunities Leadinfo can attach.

How To Plan Visitor Identification Field Mapping

Good visitor identification field mapping writes only the fields a sales team routes, filters or reports on, tags every record with a source value such as RB2B's own "RB2B" Lead Source, and never lets the tool overwrite master data, which matters because Validity's analysis of 264 billion CRM records found 47 percent of email addresses invalid or risky.

Use this template to agree the map with sales before go-live. Each row is a documented field from at least one of the three tools.

Keep tool data separate from master data. The tool's own properties, such as Leadfeeder's "Latest Leadfeeder visit" or RB2B's Last Logged Activity, can update on every visit. Name, owner and lifecycle stage belong to your CRM and should never sit under an always-update rule.

Set a source value. RB2B writes "RB2B" as Lead Source on Contacts and as Account Source on Accounts. Leadinfo lets you overrule the account source. A source value lets you report on synced records and remove them in bulk if a setting goes wrong.

Handle validation rules. A Salesforce field with a validation rule rejects a record that leaves it empty. Leadfeeder supports default and hard-coded values for exactly this case. RB2B needs write access to Title and LeadSource on Contacts and Leads and to Account Description.

Gate person-level fields. RB2B recommends Ignore for contacts without an email. Its company-only setting, on by default, creates one "Anonymous Visitor" contact under each company, so decide whether those records belong in your database. Validity also split the email problem into 13 percent invalid and 34 percent risky addresses, so a new contact source deserves the same email checks as any purchased list.

How Identity Matching Works Between Visitor Tools And Your CRM

Identity matching between a visitor tool and a CRM happens twice, once inside the tool, which checks records it already knows (Leadinfo looks at domain, phone number and chamber of commerce number), and once inside the CRM, where HubSpot matches contacts on email and companies on their primary domain and Salesforce applies matching rules.

The first layer is the tool's own check before it writes:

• Leadinfo checks domain, phone number and chamber of commerce number to find an existing company.
• RB2B reads a limited export of HubSpot names, emails, companies and lifecycle stages and checks it locally before creating a contact.
• Leadfeeder pulls Account name, domain and owner from Salesforce, and lets you connect a company to an existing HubSpot record.

The second layer is the CRM's match. HubSpot deduplicates contacts on email and companies on the primary company domain name. Salesforce matching rules return match candidates for business accounts, contacts, leads and person accounts, and the standard contact and lead rules use fuzzy methods such as Jaro-Winkler distance and first-name variants, plus title and mailing street.

Matching also depends on timing. Leadfeeder syncs CRM data once a day, so an account created in Salesforce this morning may not be known to Leadfeeder until the next sync. RB2B checks existing records locally, against the limited set of HubSpot fields it reads, before it creates a contact. RB2B also does not backfill visitors seen before the connection.

Decision rule: If many companies in your CRM have no domain, fix the domains before switching on automatic creation. HubSpot deduplicates companies on the primary company domain name, so it cannot match a company that has none, and Leadinfo checks the domain, alongside phone number and chamber of commerce number, before it creates a company.

How To Prevent Duplicate Records When Visitor Data Syncs To Your CRM

To prevent duplicate records from a visitor identification sync, set rules on both sides, because HubSpot's own documentation says companies created through the API, including third-party sync apps, are not deduplicated by company domain name, while Salesforce duplicate rules do check records created or updated through the API.

In the visitor tool, prefer connect-to-existing, and allow creation only for visitors that pass a filter:

• Set the Leadinfo trigger action to connect existing, or to both only behind rules such as country and employee count.
• Set RB2B's new companies setting to Ignore when you want it to enrich known accounts only.
• In Leadfeeder, connect visits to existing HubSpot companies rather than creating one for every match.

In HubSpot, clean company domains before go-live and review potential duplicates each week. Imports behave differently from the API, matching on primary and secondary domains or on a custom unique value property, of which each object can hold up to ten. That helps when you bulk-load accounts, not when a sync app creates them.

In Salesforce, activate matching rules and duplicate rules for accounts, contacts and leads. Salesforce checks records created, updated or upserted through the REST API against duplicate rules. The Duplicate Rule Header's allowSave option, which lets a caller save a duplicate when an alert is enabled, defaults to false. On the first day, send a known duplicate through the tool and confirm the duplicate rule catches it.

Decision rule: If a tool can only create, gate it with a filter or trigger so it creates records for qualifying visitors alone.

What Permissions Does A Visitor Identification CRM Integration Need?

A visitor identification integration needs an installer with HubSpot Super Admin or App Marketplace access, or in Salesforce a user with the API Enabled permission on an edition that includes API access, which Salesforce enables by default on Enterprise, Performance, Unlimited and Developer editions and sells as an add-on for Professional Edition.

Leadfeeder asks for a HubSpot Admin, or a user with write, read, update and append rights that field-level security and validation rules do not restrict. HubSpot's "Request for Integration Permissions" error means the connecting user lacks a role the app's scopes need. HubSpot names Edit property settings as the permission most often missing. Each app listing's Requirements section shows the HubSpot plan and account permissions it needs.

RB2B's Salesforce setup grants write access to Title and LeadSource on Contacts and Leads, and to Account Description, on the "Minimum Access - API Only Integrations" profile. It also needs visible field-level security on Task fields. RB2B does not update the Salesforce user list automatically, so use Refresh after adding reps. Its HubSpot app shows an unverified warning because it has not completed HubSpot's review.

Plan for the admin leaving. Leadfeeder advises choosing another HubSpot admin and reconnecting if the connecting admin leaves. RB2B makes the setup user the default owner of every Account it creates in Salesforce. Both risks point the same way, so connect through a dedicated integration user that no one leaves, not a person's own login.

How To Build The Visitor Identification Workflow After The Sync

A visitor identification workflow starts after the sync, with a filter that decides which visitors reach the CRM, an owner rule such as Leadinfo's trigger-level company owner, and a task or deal created only for accounts that fit, so reps work the visits that matter rather than every match.

Build it in this order:

• Filter what syncs. Use RB2B tag filters such as company size or industry, or Leadinfo triggers on country, employee count and pages visited.
• Assign an owner. Pick a company owner in the Leadinfo trigger, set the owner in Leadfeeder's deal and task automations, and replace RB2B's default Account Owner through your routing rules.
• Create a task or deal only for qualifying accounts, with a due date, so the rep's queue holds real work.
• Use the last-visit property for repeat-visit workflows, such as RB2B's Last Logged Activity or Leadfeeder's "Latest Leadfeeder visit".
• Check for active deals and existing owners before outreach, so a rep never cold-contacts an account a colleague is already working.

A synced visit is a signal, not a request for a call. Bots, customers, candidates and early researchers all appear in the data, which is why a website visit does not always mean buying intent.

Repeat visits are where the workflow earns its keep. A rule on the last-visit property can raise a task when a known account returns within a set window, which separates a single stray visit from an account that keeps coming back.

Decision rule: Route an account to an owner only when it fits your ICP and visited a page that signals evaluation, such as pricing, integrations or a comparison page. Everything else stays in the CRM as context, without a task.

How To Measure Whether A Visitor Identification Integration Works

Measure a visitor identification integration by the share of synced records that matched an existing CRM record, the duplicates it created, the share of contacts with a valid business email and the share routed to an owner, starting from a realistic baseline, since Validity found 81 percent of the CRM records it assessed needed improvement.

That baseline comes from Validity's 2024 evaluation of 264 billion records from over ten thousand CRM orgs. It also found that over half of Account and Contact records lacked critical customer data, so judge the sync against your own CRM, not against a clean ideal. Run this check every week for the first month:

• Share of synced records matched to an existing record versus newly created.
• Duplicate companies created since go-live, found by domain.
• Share of synced contacts with a valid business email.
• Records with an owner within the response time you set.
• Tasks or deals created, and how many reps worked.
• Profiles that failed to sync, which RB2B traces mostly to creation settings, a Hot Lead filter or identity matching failures.

A high share of new records in the first week usually means the match is failing, not that the tool found new accounts. Check domains and the create setting before blaming the data.

If the audit shows thin records, it is often cheaper to enrich the CRM records you already hold before widening the sync to every visitor.

Is Sending Identified Visitors To Your CRM GDPR Compliant?

Sending identified visitors to a CRM is lawful under UK GDPR only when the processing passes the ICO's three-part legitimate interests test of purpose, necessity and balancing or rests on another lawful basis, and a person-level record carries more risk than a company record because a business email address that identifies a person is personal data.

The ICO points organisations to document that assessment. A company-level sync of firmographic records is the lighter case. A person-level sync that adds named contacts with business emails brings the full weight of data protection law.

Emailing those contacts is a second question. The ICO says electronic mail marketing to corporate subscribers falls under PECR rules on consent or the soft opt-in, and people should get a clear opt-out.

The same applies across the website visitor identification tools covered on this site. The tool documents its position, and the controller decides the lawful basis.

This section is general information, not legal advice.

Frequently Asked Questions

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