Customers may interact multiple times with the same ad or ads from the same advertiser before the final conversion action. Attribution models allow you to choose how you want to split the credit for a conversion between multiple customer interactions in a user path.
Benefits
By default, Search Ads 360 credits the last click immediately before a defined conversion action for that conversion, and provides the Campaign Manager 360 time decay model.
But some keywords, biddable items, and other interactions may play a large role in driving conversions as well. Attribution models enable you to:
- Split credit between these, which may improve your analysis of paths that rely on several interactions.
- Increase bids for previously undervalued keywords and the efficiency of your advertising expenses.
Types of attribution models
Use pre-defined basic attribution models built into Search Ads 360, Google Ads, or Google Analytics, create your own data-driven attribution models, or import custom attribution models from Campaign Manager 360.
Basic attribution models
Campaign Manager 360, Google Analytics, and Google Ads provide a set of basic attribution models that you can add to Search Ads 360. Learn more about the Types of basic attribution models.
Check the What’s available tab in the Experience hub, to stay up to date on your available features, including bidding.
Data-driven attribution models
A data-driven attribution (DDA) model analyzes real data about user interactions from your search campaign to learn how to distribute credit for conversions across all interactions in a conversion path. Learn more About data-driven attribution models.
Import custom attribution models
You can create custom attribution models in Campaign Manager 360 and import them into Search Ads 360. Some of the options and rules you can specify in Campaign Manager 360 aren't compatible with Search Ads 360.
When using models imported from other sources, note that:
- Campaign Manager 360 models can only be used with Floodlight conversion actions.
- Google Ads models can only be used with Google Ads conversion actions.
- Google Analytics conversion actions imported through the Google Analytics 4 and Search Ads 360 integration don’t support custom attribution models.
Use attribution models
Apply attribution models from Campaign Manager 360 or Search Ads 360
You can apply Campaign Manager 360 or Search Ads 360 attribution models to conversions recorded by Floodlight, apply Google Analytics models to conversions recorded by Google Analytics, and apply Google Ads models to Google Ads conversions.
- Search Ads 360 imports Google Analytics conversions using only the cross-channel last click and data-driven attribution models.
- Google Ads data-driven attribution models can be created only in Google Ads.
Scaled conversion data for Floodlight attribution models
The basic attribution models from Campaign Manager 360 use scaling to account for the conversion data that can't be directly measured. Learn more about how Floodlight counts conversions.
Set attribution model in conversion actions
In Search Ads 360, the attribution model is set in each conversion action at the sub-manager account level, and optionally in individual campaigns.
If set in a campaign, the attribution model overrides the conversion action’s attribution model. Learn more about overriding an attribution model.
Attribution models in your reporting columns
In Search Ads 360, conversions are reported in the "All Conversions" and "Conversions" columns. If you change the attribution model in a conversion action, it only changes the way conversions are counted from that point on.
Attribution applied at the conversion action level (account and campaign level) in Search Ads 360 gives you more control over using the best attribution model for each conversion model and campaign. Custom columns are part of this attribution model setup.
Note: In the custom conversion columns, you can select one of the following options for attribution:
- Account and campaign level attribution models
- Selecting a particular attribution model from a list of available models
Selecting a particular attribution model from a list of available models is the default setting to your custom conversion column. However, this isn’t compatible with certain reporting views and features. Incompatible features include using a custom conversion column on the bid strategy page or in certain segmentations such as hourly, geo or audience. To avoid incompatibility issues, you can override the attribution setting at an account and campaign level.
Note: Account and campaign level attribution models may be different from the selected default model and there might be a reporting difference when you make this change.
Attribution models and impressions
Attribution models always ignore impressions of search ads. This applies to the basic models and custom models in Search Ads 360 and Campaign Manager 360. Display and video campaigns for Floodlight may support view-through conversions (VTC). This may apply to Google Ads conversion tracking as well.
Total number of attribution models per manager account
Each manager account in Search Ads 360 can contain up to 5 attribution models from Campaign Manager 360 and 5 data-driven attribution models, for a total of 15 models.
Because Google Ads attribution models can only be used with Google Ads conversion actions, and Google Analytics attribution models can only be used with Google Analytics conversion actions, they aren’t counted in the total number of attribution models allowed by Search Ads 360.
Remove unused attribution models
To reduce reporting lag time during heavy volumes, it's recommended that you remove any attribution models that you're no longer using.