diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index b06e45d8f..a96b4b87f 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -45,9 +45,8 @@ services:
       VELA_REPO_ALLOWLIST: '*'
       VELA_SCHEDULE_ALLOWLIST: '*'
       VELA_OTEL_TRACING_ENABLE: true
-      OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT: http://jaeger:4318
-      VELA_OTEL_TRACING_ENDPOINT: jaeger:4318
-      VELA_OTEL_TRACING_SAMPLER_RATELIMIT_PER_SECOND: 0.2
+      VELA_OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT: http://jaeger:4318
+      VELA_OTEL_TRACING_SAMPLER_RATELIMIT_PER_SECOND: 100
     env_file:
       - .env
     restart: always
diff --git a/tracing/flags.go b/tracing/flags.go
index ba2e62110..45261b81f 100644
--- a/tracing/flags.go
+++ b/tracing/flags.go
@@ -25,9 +25,9 @@ var Flags = []cli.Flag{
 		Value:   "vela-server",
 	},
 	&cli.StringFlag{
-		EnvVars: []string{"VELA_OTEL_TRACING_ENDPOINT"},
+		EnvVars: []string{"VELA_OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT"},
 		Name:    "tracing.exporter.endpoint",
-		Usage:   "set the otel exporter endpoint",
+		Usage:   "set the otel exporter endpoint (ex. scheme://host:port)",
 	},
 	&cli.StringFlag{
 		EnvVars: []string{"VELA_OTEL_TRACING_EXPORTER_SSL_CERT_PATH"},
diff --git a/tracing/tracer.go b/tracing/tracer.go
index a5c141641..4cc05f389 100644
--- a/tracing/tracer.go
+++ b/tracing/tracer.go
@@ -7,8 +7,10 @@ import (
 	"crypto/tls"
 	"crypto/x509"
 	"fmt"
+	"net/url"
 	"os"
 
+	"github.com/pkg/errors"
 	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
 	"go.opentelemetry.io/otel"
 	"go.opentelemetry.io/otel/attribute"
@@ -63,8 +65,26 @@ func initTracer(ctx context.Context, cfg Config) (*sdktrace.TracerProvider, erro
 		logrus.Warn("no otel cert path set, exporting traces insecurely")
 	}
 
+	if len(cfg.ExporterURL) == 0 {
+		return nil, errors.New("no otel exporter URL set (ex. scheme://host:port)")
+	}
+
+	exporterURL, err := url.Parse(cfg.ExporterURL)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, errors.Wrap(err, fmt.Sprintf("unable to parse otel exporter URL (ex. scheme://host:port): %s", cfg.ExporterURL))
+	}
+
+	if len(exporterURL.Hostname()) == 0 {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("unable to parse host from otel exporter URL (ex. scheme://host:port): %s", cfg.ExporterURL)
+	}
+
+	exporterEndpoint := exporterURL.Hostname()
+	if len(exporterURL.Port()) > 0 {
+		exporterEndpoint = fmt.Sprintf("%s:%s", exporterEndpoint, exporterURL.Port())
+	}
+
 	client := otlptracehttp.NewClient(
-		otlptracehttp.WithEndpoint(cfg.ExporterURL),
+		otlptracehttp.WithEndpoint(exporterEndpoint),
 		withTLS,
 	)