Soon, assign whatever attribution model you want for AdWords conversions

Data-driven attribution will be among the models available for high-volume conversion types.

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Soon, you’ll be able to assign an attribution model for each conversion type you’ve set up in AdWords. It’s a big change that means last-click will no longer be the default mode of assigning conversion credit in AdWords. Google also announced it is bringing its data-driven attribution model — currently in beta — to AdWords.

Later this month, a new drop-down will become available in Conversion settings in AdWords for assigning one of the six attribution models to a conversion. The attribution models are only available for Search campaigns.

adwords attribution model for conversion typeThe data-driven attribution model launched in 2013 and has been available in DoubleClick and Attribution 360 and Analytics 360. The model uses machine learning to assign credit for each interaction along a conversion path. Google says it “considers the number of ad interactions, order of exposure, ad creative, and many other factors to determine which keywords and clicks are the most effective at driving results.”

However, the data-driven attribution model will only be available to high-volume accounts that have at least 20,000 clicks, and the conversion action must have at least 800 conversions within 30 days. If the conversion action doesn’t meet these requirements, you won’t see the data-driven option in the drop-down. If the data drops below 10,000 clicks for the account or 400 conversions for the conversion action within 30 days, you’ll get an alert that there isn’t enough information for the model to work properly. After 30 days of insufficient data, Google will switch the conversion action to the last-click attribution model. You can read more about data-drive attribution on the AdWords support page.

When you pick a new attribution model for a conversion type, Google will begin reassigning credit accordingly across the conversion path. Automated bids will adjust to reflect the chosen model.


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About the author

Ginny Marvin
Contributor
Ginny Marvin was Third Door Media’s former Editor-in-Chief (October 2018 to December 2020), running the day-to-day editorial operations across all publications and overseeing paid media coverage. Ginny Marvin wrote about paid digital advertising and analytics news and trends for Search Engine Land, MarTech and MarTech Today. With more than 15 years of marketing experience, Ginny has held both in-house and agency management positions. She can be found on Twitter as @ginnymarvin.

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