How should a business calculate the success of its online advertising campaigns? Most people would probably agree that a campaign is successful if it is leading to more traffic, and, ultimately, sales. But how do you track how many sales are coming from users clicking on your ads? It may not be as straightforward as you think.
There are actually multiple ways to attribute a conversion to an ad, and they vary in their simplicity and accuracy. Two of these models are used by the largest advertiser on the globe: Google Ads. In this post, you’ll learn about attribution types, how they work, and how you can make the most of attribution data.
Google used to have a wide variety of attribution types. Today, many of those attribution models – first click, linear, time decay, and position-based - have been discontinued, leaving just two models.
Last-click Attribution: This model credits the last-clicked ad and (if applicable) its corresponding keyword for a conversion. This straightforward model seems like a great solution, because it tells advertisers which ad led a user to actually convert. However, it ignores any previous ads that may have contributed to a conversion.
Data-driver Attribution: This model uses account data to determine how much credit each ad interaction in the conversion journey deserves for the final conversion. For example, if a user clicked on three of your ads, but only converted after clicking on the final ad, all of those clicks would still be credited for leading to a conversion. This complex attribution model helps users understand which ads and keywords are contributing to a website’s success.
With data-driven attribution, Google is able to track the online user journey from start to finish. But how does Google Ads know when a user has finally converted on your website, so that it can attribute that conversion to an ad or ads? Conversion tracking, of course! Google Ads is able to collect conversion data on sites where the Google tag (or GTM) is configured. This is crucial to being able to attribute conversions to particular ads.
First-party data is also an essential way to fully understand the user experience. Traditionally, third-party data was vital for targeting ads and analyzing the customer journey. But, as users have raised concerns about privacy, we’ve seen browsers like Firefox and Safari make it harder for sites to track their users in this way. This makes first-party data – data provided directly by the user – more important than ever. Google’s Chrome has also introduced a number of new solutions in its Privacy Sandbox that are meant to make personalized content possible without compromising user privacy. The way you track conversions and other interactions throughout the customer journey will directly impact how your attribution model assigns credit to different ads, so be sure to understand how your website is collecting this data.
Attribution data can be a real boon for your business. It allows you to understand the customer journey, and see which ads are leading to conversions. It also helps paid media strategists optimize their marketing materials to better resonate with target audiences, and be more competitive. We hope you can use this blog to make the most of your attribution model!
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