Attribution is the act of assigning credit for important user actions to different ads, clicks, and factors along the user's path to completing the action.
If you're an administrator or editor, you can can change these attribution settings:
- Key event attribution settings for Google Analytics key event reports.
- Conversion attribution settings for Google Analytics and Google Ads conversion reports and campaign optimization.
Key event attribution settings
The Attribution settings page lets you choose how key event reports in Google Analytics assign credit to different ads, clicks, and other factors before users trigger key events. Google Analytics provides a streamlined process for managing cross-channel conversions. Key events in Google Analytics are the primary source for creating conversions that can be shared with Google Ads.
To select key event attribution settings:
- Sign in to Google Analytics.
- In Admin, under Data display, click Events.
Note: The previous link opens to the last Analytics property you accessed. You must be signed in to a Google Account to open the property. You can change the property using the property selector.You must be a Marketer or above at the property level to select the attribution settings.
- Click Attribution settings.
- Review these attribution settings:
- Click Save.
Reporting attribution model
An attribution model can be a rule, a set of rules, or a data-driven algorithm that determines how credit is assigned to touchpoints along a user's path to completing important actions.
Reporting attribution model lets you select the attribution model you want to use to attribute credit in your Google Analytics reports and the reports of any linked Firebase projects. Changing the reporting attribution model applies to historical and future data. Learn more Get started with attribution.
Changing the reporting attribution model is reflected in all key event reports and explorations that use event-scoped traffic dimensions, for example, Source, Medium, Campaign, and Default channel group. In Explore, you can view a full list of dimensions that are compatible with attribution. User- and session-scoped traffic dimensions, such as Session source or First user medium, are unaffected by changes to the reporting attribution model.
Note: Attribution models were introduced on different dates (read below). This means if you select a date range that includes a timeframe before the "start date" for a model, you will view partial data.
- Paid and organic channels data-driven attribution: November 1, 2021
- Paid and organic channels rules-based models: June 14, 2021
Fractional credit
Based on your selected attribution model, you'll notice changes to the following metrics when used with event-scoped traffic dimensions: Key events, Total revenue, Purchase revenue, and Total ad revenue.
When you switch to a data-driven attribution model, you may notice decimals or "fractional credit" for the first time in these columns. This is because credit for a given key event is distributed between various contributing interactions such as ads, clicks, and other factors along a user's path to complete an action on your site or app, according to your selected attribution model.
Example
You select the data-driven model. A user follows the path keyword1 > keyword2 and then completes a key event. In this case, keyword 1 and keyword 2 will each display fractional credit, which sums to 1.0 in the Key events column.
Key event lookback window
Users can trigger key events days or weeks after interacting with your ad.
The conversion window determines how far back in time a touchpoint is eligible for attribution credit. For example, a 30-day conversion window will result in January 30th conversions being attributed only to touchpoints occurring from January 1-30.
The conversion window applies to all attribution models and all conversion types. Changes to the conversion window apply going forward and will be reflected in all reports within your Analytics property.
For Acquisition conversion events (first_open and first_visit), the default conversion window is 30 days. You can switch to 7 days if you have different attribution needs.
For all other conversion events, the default conversion window is 90 days. You can also choose 30 days or 60 days.
Managing conversion settings
Google Analytics provides a centralized control interface that serves as the primary location for handling conversion settings across Google Analytics and Google Ads. This includes categorized lists, enhanced search and filtering, and a detailed settings review feature to help locate and examine your conversion configurations. Google Analytics will also play a crucial role in identifying and helping to reconcile any discrepancies between your Google Analytics and Google Ads conversion settings. You also have access to a comprehensive change history in Google Analytics with a detailed log of all modifications made to conversions.
Learn more about editing your conversion settings through the Google Ads and Google Analytics interface.
Channels that can receive credit
Choosing the Google paid channels attribution setting lets you see conversions from Google Ads in your Google Analytics conversion reports. If you choose Paid and organic channels, you can report on conversions from both paid and organic sources in Google Analytics, providing a broader, cross-channel view of your conversions beyond Google Ads paid channels.
Changing this setting applies going forward and to all linked Google Ads accounts. It may impact the conversions you create bidding and reporting in Google Ads. These changes may take a few days before they're reflected in your Google Ads campaigns and reports.
- Paid and organic channels only applies to web conversions; app conversions always use Google paid channels.
- When you select Paid and organic channels, "Conversion window" and "Counting method" settings must be managed by Google Analytics by navigating to Advertising > Conversion management > "3 dot icon" > Google Analytics.
Default conversion settings
By default, most settings for conversions based on Google Analytics events will match across Google Ads and Google Analytics.
- Counting method: Settings match by default.
- Conversion windows: Settings match by default.
- Channels eligible for conversion credit: These channels are also known as attribution channels.
- For Google Ads reports: Google Paid attribution is the default setting, and can be updated to Paid and Organic.
- For Google Analytics reports: Paid and Organic attribution is the default setting.
- Attribution model: This setting is controlled at the report level in Google Analytics.
- Account time zone: Google Analytics reporting uses the Google Analytics property time zone. Google Ads reporting uses the Google Ads account time zone. If accounts and properties are set in different time zones, you might see discrepancies in reporting.
Tip: Make sure you’ve set the columns “All conv.” or “All conv. (by conv. time)” for viewing in Google Ads to match what’s in Google Analytics. The default setting is “All conv.” for the columns.