If you run B2B marketing, sales, or just want to know who is actually looking at your company website, you’ve probably seen a pile of tools promising to reveal your “anonymous” visitors. Some, like Visitor Queue, are built just for this. Others say you can do it in Google Tag Manager (GTM) with the right recipe. But what actually works, what’s just smoke and mirrors, and which path makes sense for your team? This guide breaks it down—no jargon, no vendor hype, just the real differences.
What “Identifying Website Visitors” Really Means
Before you start comparing tools, let’s get clear on what’s possible—and what isn’t. When people talk about “identifying” visitors, they usually mean one of three things:
- Company-level identification: Matching IP addresses to businesses, so you see which companies are visiting (not individuals).
- Person-level identification: Tying a person’s name or email to their visit, usually after they submit a form or click a tracked link.
- Behavioral tracking: Seeing what visitors do on your site, but not who they are.
Most tools can only do company-level ID out of the box. If you’re looking for a list of people’s names who hit your homepage, you’re going to be disappointed (and likely break some privacy laws).
Quick Primer: How Do These Tools Actually Work?
Here’s the blunt reality: No tool can magically turn every anonymous visitor into a named lead. Here’s what’s really happening behind the curtain:
- IP Matching: Most tools use the visitor’s IP address to guess what company they’re coming from. This works for office networks, but falls apart with remote workers, coffee shop wifi, or mobile connections.
- Data Enrichment: They buy or scrape business databases to match IPs to company names, then show you a dashboard.
- Form Tracking: If someone fills out a form, you can tie their info to their session. But you need their consent for this.
- Cookies & Pixels: Some tools drop tracking cookies, but this is less useful for “identification” and more for retargeting or analytics.
Bottom line: Expect to see companies, not people. And expect gaps—especially as more people work remotely.
Visitor Queue: What It Does Well (and Where It Doesn’t Shine)
Visitor Queue is one of the better-known tools made specifically for turning anonymous web traffic into company leads. Here’s where it stands out:
Pros: - Purpose-built: The whole product is focused on showing you which companies are hitting your site, with filters for industry, location, etc. - Solid data enrichment: They pull from a big database and can often give you company size, industry, and even LinkedIn profiles of employees at that company. - Integrations: Plays nicely with CRM tools like HubSpot, Salesforce, and Slack notifications. - Simple setup: Copy their script onto your site and you’re collecting data in minutes.
Cons: - No magic on remote traffic: Like every IP-based tool, if someone’s working from home, you’ll usually see “Comcast” or “AT&T”—not their company. - Pricing can add up: They charge by the number of companies identified, not just by website traffic. - Overlaps with Google Analytics: If you just want basic visit tracking, you don’t need Visitor Queue. - Not for B2C: If you sell to consumers, skip this entirely.
Pro tip: If you’re a small team, use their free trial to see real results before committing. Don’t buy based on sample reports.
The GTM Option: Can You Just Do This in Google Tag Manager?
Short answer: Not really.
GTM is a powerful tool for firing scripts, tracking events, and customizing analytics. But it doesn’t do company identification out of the box. You’d have to:
- Plug in a third-party API that does IP-to-company matching.
- Write custom JavaScript to collect and send the visitor’s IP to that API.
- Store and display the results somewhere (like Google Sheets or a dashboard).
Why this is a pain: - Most IP-to-company APIs aren’t free, so you’re still paying someone for the data. - It’s a maintenance headache—APIs change, data gets stale, privacy rules shift. - You’ll need a developer, and if you mess up, you could leak IPs or break privacy rules.
The only real “DIY” use case: If you have niche needs, a technical team, and want to build your own pipeline for fun or control. For 99% of companies, it’s easier and safer to buy a tool.
Comparing Visitor Queue to Other Popular Tools
Here’s how Visitor Queue stacks up against the main alternatives you’ll see in this space:
1. Leadfeeder / Dealfront
- What’s good: Very similar to Visitor Queue. Good data, solid integrations, nice UI.
- What’s not: Pricing is higher for equivalent features. Some users report duplicate company entries or missed visits.
- Best for: Teams wanting more analytics bells and whistles, or those already on Dealfront for other reasons.
2. Albacross
- What’s good: Focus on European data privacy, strong filtering, good enrichment.
- What’s not: Data quality can lag in North America. UI is a bit clunky.
- Best for: Companies with lots of EU traffic, or strict GDPR requirements.
3. Clearbit Reveal
- What’s good: Huge database, real-time data, integrates with many SaaS stacks.
- What’s not: Expensive, and they’re shifting focus more to real-time personalization than just visitor ID.
- Best for: Teams with a dev resource who want to customize the solution, especially if you want to personalize content on the fly.
4. Lead Forensics
- What’s good: Longtime player, detailed company info, phone support.
- What’s not: Aggressive sales process, expensive contracts, old-school UI.
- Best for: Big sales teams who want hand-holding and lots of account management.
5. Google Analytics / GA4
- What’s good: Free, robust analytics, easy to install.
- What’s not: No company or person-level identification. Can’t replace a tool like Visitor Queue.
- Best for: General web analytics, not lead gen.
Reality check: All of these tools have the same core limitation—if a visitor’s IP can’t be tied to a company, you’re out of luck. No one is breaking the laws of physics here.
What About Privacy and Compliance?
If you’re handling European or California visitors, you need to care about GDPR/CCPA. Here’s what matters:
- IP addresses are (sometimes) personal data: You can’t just collect and store them however you want.
- Company ID tools usually claim GDPR compliance: But you still need to mention this in your privacy policy.
- Don’t try to ID individuals without consent: That’s a legal headache you don’t want.
Bottom line: Stick to company-level data, be transparent in your privacy notice, and don’t try to get cute with tracking people.
How to Choose (Without Overthinking It)
-
Figure out your real need.
Are you trying to give your sales team warm leads, or just want to see what companies care about your pricing page? -
Try before you buy.
Most tools, including Visitor Queue, have free trials. Set up the script, wait a week, and see what shows up. -
Check integration workflows.
If you want leads dropped straight into Slack or your CRM, make sure the tool supports it out of the box. -
Ignore the sample data.
Vendors love to show you “big name” companies. Look at your actual traffic—most will be smaller businesses or ISPs. -
Watch your budget.
Don’t get lured into long contracts. Start small, see the ROI, then scale.
Pro tip: If your sales team isn’t following up on these leads, none of this matters. Make sure someone owns the workflow.
What to Skip (and What to Ignore)
- Don’t waste time building a complex GTM solution unless you really need custom logic.
- Don’t expect to see named individuals unless you’re tying data from form fills.
- Don’t chase “100% identification rates.” It’s not possible, and anyone who says otherwise is selling snake oil.
TL;DR—Keep It Simple, Iterate, and Don’t Buy the Hype
Identifying website visitors is useful—for the right use case. But it’s not magic, and every tool has the same blind spots. For most teams, a purpose-built tool like Visitor Queue will get you what you need, with less hassle than trying to cobble something together in GTM. Take your time, test with your own traffic, and focus on actionable results—not dashboards that look impressive but don’t drive action.
Start simple. See what fits. Tweak as you go. And remember: the best tool is the one your team actually uses.