Data-driven attribution has been around for a while and for some time now Google Reps have been recommending adopting a data-driven attribution model. Let's explore the benefits of DDA and whether it's the right move for your Google Ads account.
Have you ever felt unclear about what the most profitable channel, campaign or keyword is? Wouldn’t it be wonderful to know what role generic keywords are playing? Or how brand awareness campaigns contribute to sales and leads.
Well, you might find yourself one step closer to answering these sorts of questions with data-driven attribution. PPC Hero calls it the future of attribution and a new era for PPC. This attribution model can help you unlock the power of your Google Ads campaigns and drive better results.
What is a Google Ads Attribution Model?
Google Ads data attribution is a method for measuring the effectiveness of your ad campaigns. In a nutshell, it's a way to track which touchpoints (such as clicks or views) led to conversions (such as purchases or leads) on your website.
Data attribution is important because it helps you understand which marketing channels, adverts, keywords and search queries are driving the best CPA or ROAS.
There are several attribution models, from Last Click, First Click and Position based, to Time Decay and Data-Driven. They each have their strengths and weaknesses but ultimately, if you can use Data-Driven Attribution, you should.
How Does a Data-Driven Attribution Model Work?
Google Ads' data-driven attribution model uses advanced machine learning algorithms to assign credit to each touchpoint in the customer journey, based on its impact on driving conversions.
This means that rather than assigning a single conversion to the last click or the first click - which used to be the standard way of doing things - a data-driven attribution model splits the credit for a conversion across all the touchpoints that contributed to it.
A customer clicks on one of your ads after searching for a generic keyword
They don’t convert right away and leave the site
Later, they search for a brand keyword and click on another ad
This time they convert
Using a data-driven attribution model will split the credit for that conversion between the two touchpoints. So it could be as simple as 0.5 for the generic keyword and 0.5 for the brand keyword (though in reality a lot of other factors are considered to determine how the attribution is distributed). So if you’re using data-driven attribution, you might find conversions are not always whole numbers.
4 Benefits To Using Data-Driven Attribution for your Google Ads campaigns
So, what are the advantages of switching your Google Ads account to a data-driven attribution model? Let’s run through the key benefits. One thing to point out is that the model isn't perfect (they all have flaws) but it's potentially closer to perfect than before.
If you'd like to cut to the chase and speak to a professional about your Google Ads attribution or campaigns, feel free to contact me.
1. Benefit from Multi-Touch Attribution
As illustrated in the example above, data-driven attribution lets you track the customer journey across multiple touchpoints, giving you a more comprehensive view of how customers interact with your campaigns.
Here’s a fun analogy to sweeten things up: imagine you're baking a cake. You've got all the ingredients laid out in front of you, but you don't know which ones are the most important. Do you prioritise the flour, the sugar, or the eggs? It's hard to say!
Well, when it comes to advertising, Multi-Touch Attribution is like having a recipe that tells you exactly which ingredients to use and how much of each one. This approach to attribution takes into account every touchpoint along the customer journey, from the first ad impression to the final conversion.
By looking at the whole picture, you can get a better understanding of which touchpoints are most effective and which ones need optimising.
2. Make Data-Driven Decisions
Probably the biggest and worst benefit of using data-driven attribution is being able to make decisions. And it’s about making important optimisation decisions that will have an impact on performance.
Data-driven attribution makes better use of the wealth of data at your disposal. You can see which channels, campaigns and ads are driving the most conversions, which touchpoints are most effective, and where you should be allocating your budget to maximise ROI or improve CPA.
Subsequently, you can move your budget around based on this attribution clarity, optimise bids, add negatives, pause keywords, and expand on others. These are all things that I’m sure you’ll do regardless of the attribution model, however, with data-driven attribution there’s increased machine learning in play. You’re not pausing keywords or pulling awareness campaigns that are helping drive conversions.
3. Get More Accurate and Reliable Insights
Data-driven attribution uses advanced algorithms and machine learning to analyse vast amounts of data, ensuring that the insights you receive are accurate and reliable. In precious metal terms, using data-driven will give you golden insights instead of silver.
Following on from the above, your conversion data will be more robust and paint a clearer picture, which will in turn give you better insights into performance.
With one client I found that after switching to data-driven attribution, their YouTube campaign started converting. Previously we were using Last Click and all conversions were attributed to Search campaigns. However, when we switched to data-driven, we were able to understand how YouTube campaigns impacted the marketing funnel and actual conversions.
4. Improve Customer Experience
Data-driven attribution helps you understand the customer journey and identify pain points or gaps in the customer experience. By knowing which touchpoints in the customer journey are most effective at driving conversions, you can focus your advertising efforts on those touchpoints, whatever that means for you.
Also, by tailoring your advertising to each stage of the customer journey, you can create a more personalised and relevant experience for your customers. Additionally, data-driven attribution can help you identify areas where the customer experience may be falling short, which can then be worked on.
All of this can lead to higher conversion rates, happier customers, and a stronger ROI from your Google Ads campaigns.
Data’s Got The Key, It’s Got The Secret
Data is the key to unlocking the full potential of your Google Ads campaigns. Conversion tracking is so important if you want to get down and dirty, make the best decisions and benefit from the latest advertising tech.
This is relevant to those that want to use a data-driven attribution model. Data accuracy is crucial when it comes to data-driven attribution. Without accurate data, your attribution model won't provide you with accurate insights. So invest in data and conversion tracking to ensure it’s top-notch.
Feel free to reach out if you’d like to talk more about Google Ads attribution, data analytics or your Google Ads objectives and challenges. Otherwise, find out more about me here and the Google Ads services I offer here.
Comments