What Is Attribution Model?
Also written as data-driven attribution, DDA, last click attribution.
Definition
An attribution model is the rule that sets how much credit each ad click gets for a conversion. Google Ads offers two: data-driven and last click. If a shopper clicks a Shopping ad on Monday and a brand ad on Friday, then buys, the model decides which ad gets the sale.
Written by Christopher Krassnig, Founder & CEO of ZenoX Media. Written by the ZenoX team from the accounts we run. Definitions are general; the numbers in examples are maths, not client results.
Attribution Model, Explained
Many people do not buy on the first click. They see a product, leave, search your store name days later, and then pay. Attribution decides how that one sale gets split between those clicks.
Last click gives all the credit to the last ad clicked and its keyword. In the example above, the brand ad takes the whole sale and the Shopping ad that found the customer gets nothing.
Data-driven shares the credit using your account's past data for that conversion action. Google says it is the default for most conversion actions.
The older models are gone. Google says first click, linear, time decay and position-based are no longer supported, and conversions on those models moved to data-driven. Old guides still teach them.
This matters because Smart Bidding reads the same credit. Under last click, brand search can look like your best campaign and the ads that found the buyer can look weak. Changing the model does not change how many sales you made. It changes how they get spread, so compare the total with your store before and after.
How We Use It at ZenoX
We put purchase actions on data-driven, because last click gives Google a thinner picture of how sales really happen. We keep brand in its own campaign too, so we can see what brand searches bring on their own.
Questions People Ask About Attribution Model
Which Attribution Models Are Still Available in Google Ads?
Two: data-driven and last click. Google says first click, linear, time decay and position-based are no longer supported, and it moved conversions on those models to data-driven. Data-driven is the default for most conversion actions.
Does Changing the Attribution Model Change My Sales?
No. Your real orders stay the same. The model only changes which clicks get credit in your reports. That credit can still move results over time, because Smart Bidding learns from it. So check the totals against your store's orders.
Related terms
- ConversionA conversion in Google Ads is an action you count as valuable, used to measure your ads and steer your bidding.
- Conversion TrackingConversion tracking is the setup that tells Google Ads when a click turns into a real sale, and how much that sale is worth.
- Smart BiddingSmart Bidding is Google's automatic bidding.
- Brand Search CampaignA brand search campaign is a Search campaign that only bids on your shop's own name and close spellings.
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