Step by step guide to integrating Visualvisitor with Salesforce CRM

If you’re reading this, you want your website visitor data pushed straight into Salesforce without a bunch of manual data entry or messy spreadsheets. You’re probably considering Visualvisitor because it promises to identify anonymous website traffic and hand you leads on a silver platter. The catch: CRMs and lead tools rarely play nicely out of the box, and the devil’s in the details. This guide walks you through the process—warts and all—so you can get useful data into Salesforce without losing your mind.

Why bother integrating Visualvisitor with Salesforce?

Let’s keep it real: manually moving data between systems is a pain and leads to mistakes. Visualvisitor tracks who’s visiting your website (even if they don’t fill out a form) and tries to match them to companies or people. If this info doesn’t land in Salesforce, it’s just trivia. Integration automates the flow:

  • Website visitor data gets pushed to Salesforce as Leads, Contacts, or Accounts.
  • Your sales team gets notified in their usual workspace—no more switching tabs.
  • You can actually act on the insights, instead of letting them rot in someone’s inbox.

But: Visualvisitor’s matching isn’t magic. You’ll need to accept some false positives and incomplete data. Still, when it works, it’s a handy way to spot warm-ish leads you wouldn’t have known about.

What you need before you start

Before you dive in, make sure you’ve got:

  • An active Visualvisitor account with Admin access.
  • Salesforce credentials with permission to create and modify Leads, Contacts, or Accounts.
  • Admin-level access in Salesforce (you’ll need this for app installs and permission tweaks).
  • 30–60 minutes free—this isn’t rocket science, but don’t try it between Zoom calls.

Pro tip

If you’re on a locked-down Salesforce org (Enterprise or higher with strict security), you might need an admin to approve API access or install packages. Don’t get stuck halfway—loop them in early.

Step 1: Get your Salesforce ready for integration

Visualvisitor connects via Salesforce’s API, so your CRM needs to be set up for that.

  1. Log in to Salesforce as an Admin.
  2. Go to Setup (the gear icon in the upper right) and search for Apps.
  3. Under App Manager, check if you have a connected app for Visualvisitor already. (Hint: you probably don’t—skip ahead if not.)
  4. If you need a new app, click New Connected App:
  5. Give it a name like “Visualvisitor Integration.”
  6. Add an API name (e.g., Visualvisitor_API).
  7. Enter a contact email.
  8. Under API (Enable OAuth Settings), select it.
  9. In Callback URL, enter the URL provided by Visualvisitor (you’ll find this in their settings—don’t guess).
  10. Check the scopes: You’ll likely need “Full access” or “Access and manage your data (api).”
  11. Save, then wait a few minutes for Salesforce to process the new app.

What can go wrong?

  • Missing permissions: If you don’t have API or app setup rights, ask your Salesforce admin for help.
  • Callback URL mismatch: Use the exact URL Visualvisitor gives you—OAuth won’t work if it’s off by a character.

Step 2: Grab your Salesforce integration details

You’ll need a few pieces of info for Visualvisitor:

  • Consumer Key (sometimes called Client ID)
  • Consumer Secret (Client Secret)
  • Salesforce login URL (usually https://login.salesforce.com or https://test.salesforce.com for sandboxes)
  • Security token (you can reset yours in Salesforce if you’ve forgotten it)

Find these under your newly created connected app in Salesforce’s App Manager. Jot them down—you’ll paste them into Visualvisitor in a minute.

Step 3: Configure Visualvisitor for Salesforce

Now, let’s flip over to Visualvisitor.

  1. Log in to your Visualvisitor dashboard as an admin.
  2. Go to Integrations or Settings (the wording changes, but look for “Salesforce”).
  3. Click Connect or Set Up next to the Salesforce logo.
  4. Enter the Consumer Key, Consumer Secret, login URL, and your Salesforce username/password + security token.
  5. Pick what you want Visualvisitor to create in Salesforce—Leads, Contacts, or Accounts. (Most folks start with Leads. If you’re not sure, stick with that.)
  6. Choose your mapping:
  7. Match Visualvisitor fields (like Company, Email, Website Visit Date) to Salesforce fields.
  8. Don’t overthink this—start with the basics, like Name, Email, Company, Website, and Source.
  9. Test the connection. Visualvisitor should confirm if it’s working.

What to ignore

  • Overly granular field mapping: You don’t need every last field. Start simple—you can tweak later.
  • Sync options you don’t understand: Stick with what you know. Default settings are fine for most.

Step 4: Set up rules to avoid Salesforce clutter

Blunt truth: If you sync every “lead” Visualvisitor finds, your Salesforce will fill up with junk—random visitors, competitors, bots, and the occasional “test@testing.com.” You need filters.

  1. In Visualvisitor, look for Sync Rules or Lead Qualification options.
  2. Set up criteria to limit what gets pushed to Salesforce, such as:
  3. Only sync visitors from specific countries or industries.
  4. Only sync leads with a real company name (not “Unknown”).
  5. Ignore visitors with email addresses from free providers (e.g., Gmail, Yahoo).
  6. Exclude certain IP addresses (like your own office).

Honest take

Visualvisitor’s filters aren’t perfect, and some junk will slip through. But spending a few minutes here will save your sales team hours of deleting garbage leads.

Step 5: Test the integration

Never trust that it “just works.” Run a real-world test.

  1. Visit your website from a different device or ask a colleague to do it.
  2. Watch for the visit to show up in Visualvisitor.
  3. See if—after a few minutes—that info gets pushed into Salesforce as a new Lead (or whatever you set up).
  4. Check for:
  5. Correct field mapping (Name in the right place, Website data not in the Phone field, etc.).
  6. No duplicate records for the same visitor.
  7. No obvious junk data.

If you spot issues, tweak your mapping or sync rules and test again. It’s normal for this to take a couple of rounds.

Pro tip

Set up a dummy test lead with a unique email (like test+vv@yourdomain.com) so you know for sure which record is yours.

Step 6: Train your team and set expectations

Even the best integration won’t fix bad habits. Let your sales team know:

  • What info to expect from Visualvisitor leads (it won’t always be complete).
  • How to handle duplicates or obvious spam.
  • Who to talk to if something looks broken.

Don’t oversell the tool. Visualvisitor is good for surfacing “maybe” leads, but it’s not a crystal ball. Some records will be gold, others will be dead ends.

Maintenance: Don’t set it and forget it

Check on your integration every couple of months:

  • Are junk leads piling up?
  • Did Salesforce or Visualvisitor change their APIs or permissions?
  • Are your field mappings still accurate after CRM changes?

If things start to break, retrace these steps—most issues come from permissions changing or mapping getting out of sync.

The bottom line

Integrating Visualvisitor with Salesforce isn’t rocket science, but it pays to do it with your eyes open. Start simple, stick to the basics, and don’t try to automate every possible data point on day one. You can always refine your setup as you see what’s actually useful. The goal: less busywork, more actual leads for your team.