What is data-driven attribution?

Data-driven attribution is an attribution model that divides the value of a conversion across the clicks on the path to that conversion, based on statistics from your own account. It gives more value to the clicks that, according to the model, contribute most. Besides last click, it is the model Google Ads still offers.

Why is data-driven attribution important?

Contribution instead of a guess: the model looks at real click paths, not at a fixed rule.
More credit for earlier clicks: research keywords become visible that stay out of view under last click.
Smarter bidding: Smart Bidding uses the credited conversions to learn.

Examples of data-driven attribution

A customer clicks a generic ad, a comparison ad and a brand ad, and then buys. The value is divided across the three clicks.
Under last click, only the brand ad gets the value, so generic keywords look less valuable.
An online store compares conversions per campaign before and after the switch.

How do you use data-driven attribution?

Select data-driven attribution on the conversion action in Google Ads. Then give the system time, and do not compare campaigns with figures from before the switch, because the split changes. Read more about the setup under Google Ads campaigns.

Data-driven attribution