How are you handling ad attribution?

[CleverThunder87]

Asking how to do attribution properly is like asking how to turn water into wine imo. Anyways, everyone will have different opinions on it I guess at the end of the day is using a decent tool for your metrics or building something that works for you

[LaPanada]

KLAR is a wonderful tool. getklar.com

I’m not paid by or associated with them.

[senpaitakeda]

Most brands are just running with the native platform tools with GA4 and server-side tracking. If your budget allows for it there’s tons of multi-touch/cross-platform tools like Triple Whale or Rockerbox.

What’s your monthly ad spend? That usually helps determine whether or not the fancy stuff is worth it.

[fathom53]

How much you are spending on ads will impact if an external tool makes sense. If all you marketing was just Google and Meta, then a lot of tools would be expensive to buy month.

You can do a lot with GA4 but the issue is most teams and brands don’t set it up properly or use it to its full potential. I think most brands should build out GA4 and max out its potential before thinking of using another tool. This means a team is more likely to use another tool because they built the muscle to use the tools they have now.

[umightfafo]

I would say use Stape, a server side tracking tool. I know you don’t like GA4 but using this in combination can be good.

Reporting and templates can be done in Google sheets and/or Looker Studio, which can be customized.

[stevehl42]

For e-commerce, while you can import your ga4 purchase conversion into Google Ads, it’s best practice to set up a separate Google Ad conversion. Using the default data driven attribution model works great.

Attribution will never be perfect but it doesn’t need to be to properly inform your marketing strategy.

[Exo_Skeleton99]

I’ve tried Triple whale, Segmetrics Hyros, GA4 and Looker connectors before and they all work but to varying degrees. I’d say my worst experience was Looker connectors but it can be rly good if you do inhouse, GA4 can be a pain in the ass sometimes but it’s good.
End of the day it’s about using a tool and sticking to it, I’ve been with Segmetrics maybe 2 or 3 years now but just choose something and stick to it longer term. Attribution will never be 100% but if you set up good tracking and you can visualize metrics well you’ll get 90% of the way there.

[ppcwithyrv]

We let each platform handle attribution for optimization (Google Ads for Google, Meta for Meta) and use backend revenue or blended MER as the reality check. GA4 is only for understanding behavior and paths, not for deciding performance day to day. Unpopular take: attribution doesn’t need to be perfect—just consistent and understood so you can scale confidently.

[Alternative_Ad5101]

I would recommend an Edgetag based code such as Blotout.io

the reason is why is that they actually tag visitors before they reach the website, so you get accurate conversion tracking even if UTM parameters don’t pass, cookies are disabled, or ad blockers are turned on.

Very easy setup with most popular CRMs.

For a dashboard that tracks customer journeys from first click to last click, I’d recommend Wicked Reports.

[KingSurplus]

We took a blended approach. We connected Google Analytics to Lucky Orange, then built custom events at different funnels. From there, we integrated every product back into our custom ERP with analytical tracking for click-through rates, impressions, conversions, and more. We cross-check that data with Lucky Orange for source attribution and apply it at the order level.

It took time to set up, but now it serves as our single source of truth (in house), then we feed those “offline” conversions back into all the systems.

It works well because it tracks B2B-style conversions where someone finds a product, leaves, and returns two days later on a different computer after getting approval.

Traditional conversion attribution is terrible once you actually dig into it and try to measure real behavior. Yes, there are platforms that supposedly do this. I’ve used all of them, doing it yourself and compiling the data against the actual orders in someway, shape or form is the only real source of truth you’ll ever have. Lots of platforms artificially inflate their sales. It’s absolutely ridiculous.

The gaps are significant. The best approach is to compile data from multiple sources into one system, then analyze it to establish a reliable source of truth then feed back into the platforms.

Of course, that’s if you have the resources available to do this. But if you do, this is the way.