Data · 7 min
Last click does not tell the whole story
Giving all the credit to the last click makes search look free and brand look useless. Neither is true. Build a model you can defend in a board meeting.
Last-click reporting is a filing system, not a theory of growth. It gives the last ad or the last search for the brand name the credit for a decision that began in a film, a review, a conversation, or a store opening.
The answer is not to drown in a fancy model nobody can explain. The answer is simpler: a clean record of where people came from, CRM (the customer records system) as the main customer record, data from the ad platforms as evidence not as the last word, and a weekly view of where people drop off that sales will recognise.
What we measure
GA4 and GTM (the usual web tracking tools). Tracking that matches the real next step, not just a click. CRM, the call, where they came from, and which ads, on the record. Revenue when we are allowed to see it. Dashboards for ROAS (return on ad spend), ROI (return on investment), CAC (customer acquisition cost), cost per lead, cost per sale, how many people act, LTV (lifetime value), LTV:CAC, MQL (marketing qualified lead), SQL (sales qualified lead), appointments, show rates (who turns up), sales.
If a number cannot be explained to a sceptical finance director, it does not go on the wall.
If this is already the talk inside your company, run a Growth Audit or contact QUBE.