Overview
There are two fundamental ways to get data into Unify:- Sending events — Real-time signals from websites and products (page visits, user actions, identity information)
- Syncing object records — Structured data from CRMs, warehouses, databases, APIs, and other systems (product users, subscriptions, enrichment data)
Sending events
Events are the real-time behavioral signals that power intent-based workflows in Unify. They capture what visitors and users are doing on your website or in your product and link that activity to Companies and People.Example use cases
- You want to identify companies visiting your marketing website (IP reveal)
- You want to track product usage to trigger sales plays (PLG motions)
- You want to capture form fills, logins, or other user interactions
- You want real-time or near-real-time signals to power automations
Choosing an event source
The right way to send events depends on what tools you already have deployed.Marketing websites
For marketing websites, blogs, docs sites, and other public-facing pages, the goal is typically to capture page visits and identify visitors.| Your situation | Recommended approach |
|---|---|
| No existing analytics tool on the site | Unify Website Tag — Copy and paste a script tag. Fastest way to get started. Automatically captures page visits and basic form fills. |
| Already using Segment on the site | Segment integration — Forward existing Segment events to Unify. No additional SDK needed. |
| Already using PostHog on the site | PostHog integration — Forward existing PostHog events to Unify. No additional SDK needed. |
| Using another tool (e.g., Google Analytics) | Unify Website Tag — GA doesn’t forward events to Unify. The Website Tag can run alongside GA without conflicts since they serve different purposes. |
Web applications (product usage)
For SaaS products and web applications, the goal is typically to track user actions (feature usage, paywall hits, milestones) and identify logged-in users.| Your situation | Recommended approach |
|---|---|
| Already using PostHog in your product | PostHog integration — Reuse your existing PostHog instrumentation. No new SDK needed. |
| Already using Segment in your product | Segment integration — Reuse your existing Segment instrumentation. |
| Using another tool with webhook support (e.g., RudderStack, Amplitude) | Analytics API — Configure a webhook destination in your tool pointing to Unify’s Analytics API. You’ll need to map events to Unify’s track and identify format. |
| Using another tool without webhook support | JavaScript or React Library — Install the Unify Intent Client alongside your existing tool for the specific events you want to action on in Unify. |
| No analytics tool | JavaScript or React Library — The Unify Intent Client is the default path for in-product tracking. You get identify() and track() with direct-to-Unify delivery. |
Backend and server-side events
Some events originate from backend systems rather than browsers—for example, a subscription renewal, a usage limit being hit, or a derived milestone like “onboarding completed.”| Your situation | Recommended approach |
|---|---|
| Need to send events from backend services | Analytics API — Send track and identify events directly to Unify from your server. Use a stable identifier like email or user ID. |
Server-side events complement client-side tracking—but they are typically not
a replacement. Client-side events provide session context, attribution data,
and browser-based identity. Server-side events cover backend-only actions and
provide resilience against ad blockers.
Quick reference: event ingestion methods
| Method | Best for | Requires code changes? |
|---|---|---|
| Website Tag | Marketing websites with no existing analytics | No—copy and paste |
| React Library | React web applications | Yes |
| JavaScript Library | Non-React web applications | Yes |
| Segment integration | Teams already using Segment | No—configuration only |
| PostHog integration | Teams already using PostHog | No—configuration only |
| Analytics API | Server-side events, unsupported tools, custom pipelines | Yes |
Syncing records
Records are the structured, persistent data that populates objects in Unify. While events capture what’s happening right now, records represent what Unify knows—companies, people, CRM data, product users, subscriptions, and more.Example use cases
- You want to sync CRM data from Salesforce or HubSpot
- You have product usage data modeled in a data warehouse (e.g., a
userstable in BigQuery or Snowflake) - You want to bring in business data like subscriptions, contracts, or usage tiers
- You have enrichment data from a third-party tool
Choosing a sync method
| Your situation | Recommended approach |
|---|---|
| Data lives in a CRM (Salesforce, HubSpot) | Salesforce or HubSpot native integrations — These keep your CRM data in sync with Unify objects automatically. |
| Data lives in a warehouse (Snowflake, BigQuery, ClickHouse, Redshift, etc.) | Hightouch or Fivetran — Reverse ETL tools that sync warehouse tables into Unify objects on a schedule. |
| Data lives in a database (PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, etc.) | Hightouch or Fivetran — Both support databases as sources in addition to warehouses. |
| Data comes from internal APIs or custom pipelines | Data API — Programmatically create objects, define attributes, and push records. |
| Data comes from a third-party tool (e.g., Clay) | Data API — Use webhooks or scripts to push data from external tools into Unify objects. |
CRM data
If you use Salesforce or HubSpot, Unify has native integrations that sync CRM data automatically. This is managed through the Unify UI—no developer setup is required.Salesforce
Connect your Salesforce instance.
HubSpot
Connect your HubSpot CRM.
Combining data sources
Many teams use multiple data sources together. For example:- Website Tag on the marketing site for anonymous visitor identification
- PostHog integration in the product for usage events
- Hightouch to sync product user records from the data warehouse
- Salesforce integration to keep CRM data in sync
Next steps
Connect website traffic
Get started with marketing website tracking.
Connect product usage data
Track in-app user behavior and product signals.
Connect a data system
Sync structured data from warehouses and databases.
Send records via API
Push data programmatically from custom pipelines.