Attribution and the entourage effect

Customers may do several searches and click several ads before a purchase or another important action. In many reports, all credit for that action is given to the last ad they clicked. Attribution is the assignment of that credit to different ads, clicks, and factors along the path.

Google Analytics currently lists three attribution models: data-driven, paid and organic last click, and Google paid channels last click. All three exclude direct visits unless the whole path is direct. Paid and organic last click gives 100 percent of the key event value to the last channel the customer clicked.

In Google's example, Display, then Social, then Paid Search, then Email, gives 100 percent to Email. Data-driven attribution uses that account's own data, including converting and non-converting paths. Google says the first click, linear, time decay, and position-based models are no longer available as of November 2023.

If one channel is cut, is half the traffic lost?

Not as a rule. Dropping the weakest channel in a mix can cost more or less than its own share, because people often see more than one message before they act. That is a reason to look at paths, not a measurement of any current account and not a promise.

This page does not publish a budget or a channel price. Related reading before you buy clicks is online advertising.

Key takeaways

Last-click credit gives the important action to the last ad or channel clicked and leaves out earlier steps.
Google Analytics currently lists data-driven, paid and organic last click, and Google paid channels last click.
Dropping one channel does not have a fixed traffic-loss rule.
This page does not publish a budget or a channel price.

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