A Guide to Google Analytics Attribution

If you're actively using digital marketing tactics to promote your organization, you understand the importance of knowing what channels are performing and where you might be missing the mark. 

Identifying the channels that help you convert visitors to partners or customers is key to effective digital marketing. Read on to discover how you can use Google Analytics Attribution to track different channels.

What is Google Analytics Attribution?

In digital marketing, the channels that help complete the conversion process are known as touchpoints.

Consider this scenario: a potential donor spots your ad on Facebook. Later, the donor visits your web page through a link on your Facebook account. After going through your web page, they may contact you through their email for partnership or a donation.

The process highlighted above shows a typical marketing channel that starts with your social media account as your visibility point, your web page, and the email as the conversion point. But where can you assign credit? Is it the social media account where the customer first saw your ad, Google, or the email used for conversion?

Google Analytics attribution helps you to assign credits to the different touchpoints. In general, Google Analytics attribution helps analyze traffic on your website and measure the effectiveness of various advertising channels.

You can tell the touchpoints that bring high conversions with Google Analytics attribution. You can then adjust your marketing budget and focus on what works for you.

Attribution Modeling

There are two attribution models: rules-based and data-driven attribution.

Rules-based Attribution Model

The rule-based attribution model uses a set of rules to assign conversion credits. In this model, user behavior or conversion type is disregarded. You measure the effectiveness of different touchpoints based on the regulations listed below;

• First Click: Assigns conversion credit to the first click or the first visibility point. Use the first click if you are only interested in enhancing visibility. You only concentrate on how customers see your products or services.
• Last Click: All the conversion credit is assigned to the last touchpoint in the last-click rule. The previous click ignores all the other points and gives credit to the previous issue of interaction. This can be a suitable method of converting your visibility to actual purchases or closing deals.
• Linear: The linear rule gives equal credit to all the touchpoints, regardless of distribution. In the linear rule, you want to give equal attention to all the channels. This could be a great way of building trust with your customers across your marketing channels.
• Time decay: Credit is assigned to all the touchpoints closer to the conversion time in the time decay rule. Give more attention to the touchpoints that enhance conversion.
• Position-based: In this rule, the first and the last clicks are assigned 40% credit each, while the other touchpoints in the channel share the remaining 20%. The position-based rule should emphasize both the first click and the last click. First clicks enhance your visibility, while the previous click enhances your conversion. 

Data-Driven Attribution Model

The data-driven attribution model assigns credit based on the observation of each conversion type. Data on each conversion type is assessed to measure the effectiveness of each type. The model helps to calculate the actual contribution of each touchpoint. Data-driven attribution uses machine learning algorithms to evaluate the touchpoints and identify converting and non-converting paths. You can use the data-driven model to determine the channels that need more attention and those just wasting your marketing dollars.

Multi-Channel Funnels (MCF) vs. The Attribution Tool

The multi-channel funnels (MCF) and attribution tools are used to assign credits to the different touchpoints. However, the two methods differ in several areas, particularly their application. Before looking at the difference between the two methods, it is essential to note that the attribution tool was intended to improve the MCF.

The attribution tool reduced the complexities of the MCF. The main difference between the two is the ease of use. Attribution tools have fewer reports than MCF.

Preparing Your Site to Track Attribution

To prepare your site to track attributions, you should:

• Setup goals—destination, duration, pages/session, events. Your goals will help you evaluate the effectiveness of the attribution tool and your marketing strategy.
• Enable eCommerce tracking for eCommerce sites. You cannot track your touchpoints if you have not enabled eCommerce tracking.

Is Google Analytics Attribution Worth It? 

It's normal to wonder whether the tracking is worth your time. However, you may not know the practical or less effective channels in your marketing strategy without the attribution tool. You may, therefore, end up wasting your marketing budget on non-conversion paths.

Need Help?

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