If you’re trying to squeeze more value out of your website leads, you’ve probably heard about automating with Zapier. But let’s be honest—most guides either gloss over the real problems or drown you in jargon. This one’s for folks who actually want to do something with their Visitor Queue data, without a bunch of fluff. Whether you’re in sales, marketing, or you just want to stop copying and pasting leads, this step-by-step guide shows you how to connect Visitor Queue to Zapier and actually get things moving.
Why bother connecting Visitor Queue to Zapier?
Visitor Queue tracks which companies visit your website. That’s pretty handy, but the data just sits there unless you do something with it. Zapier steps in as the middleman, letting you push those leads into your CRM, email tool, spreadsheets, Slack—you name it—without manual work.
Think of it as: Visitor Queue finds the leads, Zapier moves them wherever you need. But, heads up: not every automation is worth your time. I’ll flag what’s useful and what’s not.
Step 1: Get your Visitor Queue account ready
Obvious, but you can’t connect what you don’t have. Make sure you’ve signed up for Visitor Queue and installed their tracking script on your website. If you’re not seeing companies show up in your Visitor Queue dashboard, fix that first. Zapier can’t do magic with empty data.
Pro tip: Visitor Queue’s free trial is limited. If you’re just testing, fine. But if you want reliable data for automation, you’ll likely need a paid plan.
Step 2: Sign up for Zapier (or log in)
Zapier is where the automation happens. Create an account at zapier.com if you don’t have one. The free plan is enough for basic automations, but if you’re planning lots of Zaps or need more advanced features (like multi-step workflows), you’ll hit the paywall eventually.
What to ignore: You don’t need to learn every Zapier feature. Focus on building one working Zap, then expand if needed.
Step 3: Find the Visitor Queue app in Zapier
Here’s where things get a little tricky: as of mid-2024, Visitor Queue’s Zapier integration is available, but it’s not as polished as bigger-name apps (think HubSpot or Mailchimp). It’s “official,” but don’t expect tons of triggers or fancy actions. Just what you need to get leads out.
- In Zapier, click “Create Zap.”
- In the “Trigger” section, search for “Visitor Queue.”
- If you don’t see it, you may need to use an “Invite” link from Visitor Queue’s integration page. Check their docs or support for the latest invite.
Step 4: Connect your Visitor Queue account to Zapier
You’ll be prompted to connect your Visitor Queue account. This will require an API key.
- In Visitor Queue, go to your account settings.
- Find your API key (sometimes under “Integrations” or “API”).
- Copy it.
- Paste it into Zapier when prompted.
If you hit issues: - Make sure your API key is active and has the right permissions. - If Zapier says “no data found,” double-check that your Visitor Queue dashboard is actually showing recent visitors.
Step 5: Set up your trigger
You need to tell Zapier when to act. For Visitor Queue, there’s usually one main trigger:
- New Company Identified: Fires when Visitor Queue detects a new company visiting your site.
Select this trigger and test it. Zapier will pull in a recent lead as a sample. If it can’t find any, revisit Step 1 and make sure you’ve got website traffic.
Quick reality check: Zapier only gets company-level data from Visitor Queue, not individual contact info. This is a limitation of Visitor Queue itself, not Zapier.
Step 6: Choose your action (where the lead goes)
Now pick what you want Zapier to do with each new lead. This is where things get interesting.
Common options: - Add the lead to a Google Sheet - Create a new lead in your CRM (like Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive) - Send an email or Slack alert to your sales team - Add the company to a Mailchimp audience
How to do it: - In Zapier, add an “Action” step after your trigger. - Search for your target app (e.g., “Google Sheets” or “HubSpot”). - Map Visitor Queue fields (like company name, website, industry) to the correct fields in your target app.
Don’t overcomplicate it: Start simple. Push leads to a spreadsheet first to see what data you’re getting, then layer on more complex automations later.
Step 7: Test your Zap
Before you turn anything on, run a test. Zapier lets you push sample data through your Zap to see if it works.
- Does the company info land where you expect?
- Are the fields mapped correctly?
- Are you getting useful data, or just a company name and nothing else?
What can go wrong: - Data mismatch: Visitor Queue gives you company info, but your CRM wants a contact name or email. You’ll need to adjust expectations or manually enrich the data. - Duplicates: If the same company visits multiple times, you may get duplicate leads unless your Zap or CRM dedupes them.
Step 8: Turn on your Zap and monitor
Flip the switch and let your automation run. But don’t walk away just yet—check in after a day or two.
- Are you getting leads as expected?
- Any garbage data or spam?
- Is it creating busywork for your team, instead of saving time?
Pro tip: Most Zaps run every 5–15 minutes on the free plan. If you need instant alerts, you’ll need to upgrade.
What works (and what’s not worth your time)
Works well: - Pushing new company visits to a spreadsheet or Slack for quick review. - Routing promising companies into your CRM for follow-up (if you have enough info). - Automating notifications so no one has to monitor Visitor Queue all day.
Not so great: - Don’t expect Visitor Queue + Zapier to magically give you sales-ready leads. You’ll usually get company-level info, not names or emails. Still useful, but you’ll need to do some research or use enrichment tools if you want contact info. - Multi-step, complex automations are possible but often overkill. Start simple.
Ignore this: Most “AI enrichment” Zaps that say they’ll fill in contact details are hit-or-miss, unreliable, or expensive. If you’re serious about enrichment, use a dedicated tool (like Clearbit or Apollo) after the initial automation.
Troubleshooting common headaches
- No data in Zapier: Make sure Visitor Queue is tracking visitors and the API key is correct.
- CRM errors: Double-check your field mappings. Sometimes your CRM requires fields (like email) that Visitor Queue can’t provide.
- Duplicates: Add filters or deduplication steps in Zapier, or let your CRM handle it.
- Team overwhelmed: If you’re getting too many leads, filter your Zaps to only pass companies that match your ideal customer profile.
Keep it simple, iterate as you go
Connecting Visitor Queue to Zapier is about reducing grunt work—not building a Rube Goldberg machine. Start by sending leads to a spreadsheet or Slack. See what you actually use. Only add complexity if it’s saving you real time or money.
The best automations are the ones you barely notice because they just work. So set up your first Zap, watch how it runs, and tweak as needed. Don’t sweat perfection. Just get started and see where the data takes you.