Use third-party attribution models in Search Ads 360

An attribution model distributes credit for a conversion across all of the activity in a conversion path. For example, if a consumer clicks on a paid search ad, a display ad, and another paid search ad before converting, a linear attribution model would give each click 33% of the conversion credit.

While Search Ads 360 provides attribution models, if you use a third-party service or a service you've developed to distribute credit to clicks, you can upload the third-party attribution data into Search Ads 360 and use the data in reports and Search Ads 360 bid strategies.

Search Ads 360 can only use third-party attribution data that distributes credit to Google click IDs.

On this page

• How it works
• Create and import a custom attribution model for your third-party data
  • Special permissions needed
  • Working with shared Floodlight configurations
  • How to create a custom attribution model in Campaign Manager 360
  • How to import the External Attribution Model into Search Ads 360
• FAQs

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How it works

Here's an overview of applying a third-party attribution model to your advertising data and using the model in Search Ads 360:

1. Set up Search Ads 360 to support third-party attribution data:
   1. Create a Floodlight activity for each conversion that your third-party attribution model reports on.
      1. Note: Don't use an existing Floodlight activity that already has its tag installed on your site. You need a separate Floodlight activity for reporting the conversion data you upload.
      2. For example, if you already have a tag installed on your shopping cart page for recording Floodlight conversions, you can't use the Floodlight activity associated with that tag to report both conversions that are recorded on your site and your third-party attribution data. Instead, you need a separate Floodlight activity that you'll upload your attribution data to.
   2. Create a custom attribution model in Campaign Manager 360 and import the model into Search Ads 360, as described below. Ensure you name the model External Attribution Model.
      1. Note: You can import up to 5 default or custom attribution models from Campaign Manager into your Search Ads 360 sub-manager account. If you've already imported 5 models from Campaign Manager 360, you'll need to remove one before you can continue.

         Wait 48 hours before you upload the third-party attribution data. After you import the External Attribution Model, Search Ads 360 needs time to prepare the model.

2. Apply the third-party attribution model to the conversion data you've collected for your site or offline business.
   1. For example, you may have your own analytics system that collects conversion data for your site and associates Google click IDs with conversions you've collected.
3. Use the Search Ads 360 Conversion API to upload the third-party attribution data. For each conversion, you need to specify:
   • The Google click ID that will receive partial or full credit for the conversion
   • External Attribution Model as the name of the custom attribution model you imported from Campaign Manager 360
   • The amount of conversion credit
   • Additional information that's required by the conversion API
4. Set an attribution model for bidding. To use an attribution model for bidding strategies, you apply the model directly to your conversion actions.
   1. Sign in to your Search Ads 360 account.
   2. Navigate to a sub-manager account.
   3. From the page menu, under “Tools and settings”, click Conversions.
   4. Click Summary.
   5. Click the conversion action that you want to change.
   6. On the "Details" page, click Edit settings.
   7. Click Attribution model to expand the section.
   8. Click the arrow to display the list of attribution models, and then select an attribution model.
   9. Click Save, and then click Done.
5. Use an attribution model for reporting. For reporting purposes, if you aren't using the attribution model for bidding, you can apply an attribution model within a custom conversion column. (Note: Specific steps for setting an attribution model within a custom conversion column are not provided in this document).

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Create and import a custom attribution model for your third-party data

Special permissions needed

To complete these steps, your Google account needs the following permissions:

• Permission to create attribution models in Campaign Manager 360
• Manager or Sub-manager in Search Ads 360

Working with shared Floodlight configurations

In a shared Floodlight configuration, create and import a custom attribution model in each child sub-manager account that you want to upload attribution data into. You don't need access to the parent sub-manager account, nor do you need access to child sub-manager accounts that you're not uploading attribution data into.

How to create a custom attribution model in Campaign Manager 360

1. Sign into the Campaign Manager 360 Attribution Modeling Tool. Learn more About attribution modeling.
2. Specify the following settings:
   • Name: External Attribution Model
   • Adjust credits by interaction type: On
   • High value social engagements: 0
   • Low value social engagements: 0
   • Standard impressions: 0

Keep the default values for the other settings. These settings prevent Campaign Manager 360 and Search Ads 360 from adjusting the data you upload, while allowing Search Ads 360 features to recognize that an attribution model has been applied.

3. Click Save and Apply.

How to import the External Attribution Model into Search Ads 360

1. Sign in to your Search Ads 360 account.
2. Navigate to a sub-manager account.
3. From the page menu, under “Tools and settings”, click Conversions.
4. Click Attribution models.
5. Click the plus button , then select Model from Campaign Manager 360.

Note: Only 5 attribution models can be imported from Campaign Manager.

Search Ads 360 adds the model and starts preparing to use it. It could take up to 48 hours to finish preparations. When Search Ads 360 is ready to use the model, the Status column displays Successfully added and a + Column button appears.

Next steps

When Search Ads 360 is ready to use the model, the "Status" column displays Successfully added. Now you can do the following:

1. On a regular basis, apply the third-party attribution model to the conversion data you've collected for your site or offline business.
2. Use the Search Ads 360 Conversion API to upload the third-party attribution data.
3. Create a Floodlight conversion action and then select the attribution model.

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FAQs

Can I apply an External Attribution Model to all my historical conversions?

No, the model is limited to historical conversions from the last 90 days. For example, if today is January 1, the model will be applied to conversions that occurred between October 2 and December 31.

Can I apply my attribution model to conversion revenue?

Yes. If you track conversion revenue, ensure that your model distributes revenue across each touch point in a conversion path. For example, if your model uses a linear approach (equally distributing revenue across each touch point), in a conversion path that includes 4 ad clicks, each click will be attributed with 25% of the conversion. If the conversion earned $100 USD in revenue, make sure your model distributes $25 USD of revenue to each click, and make sure you upload only $25 USD of revenue for each click.

Is third-party attribution applied to keywords or clicks?

Third-party attribution can only be applied to clicks. Search Ads 360 will automatically determine which keywords and ads were responsible for generating the clicks, so Search Ads 360 reports will show third-party attribution for keywords and ads (and ad groups, campaigns, and accounts). You can't use a third-party attribution system to distribute credit directly to keywords or ads.

Can I use bulksheets to upload third-party attribution data?

No. Uploading third-party attribution data requires special fields that are available only in the Search Ads 360 Conversion API. Bulksheets can’t be used to upload third-party attribution data.

What access is required in a shared Floodlight configuration?

You need edit access to each child sub-manager account that you want to upload conversions into. You don't need access to the parent sub-manager account, nor do you need access to child sub-manager accounts that you're not uploading conversions into. Ensure you have edit access to the sub-manager account that generated the click ID. If you specify a click ID from a sub-manager account you don't have edit access to, the upload will not succeed.

Where can I view reports for third-party attribution data?

You can access this data through the Search Ads 360 UI and bulksheets. You can then download these reports as a bulksheet for offline analysis.

Can I use the Search Ads 360 Reporting or Conversion APIs to report on third-party attribution?

No. Neither the Search Ads 360 Reporting API nor the Search Ads 360 Conversion API can report on conversions that specify third-party attribution data. For example, none of these API requests will show conversions that specify third-party attribution data:

• A conversion report
• A savedColumns report
• A conversion.get() request

Why am I unable to view data in my custom Floodlight column?

Make sure the custom Floodlight column you create to report on your third-party attribution data specifies the following:

• Activities: The Floodlight activities you uploaded your conversion data into
• Metric: The type of metric needs to match the type of Floodlight activities you selected. For example, if you select Action Floodlight activities, select the Actions, Cost/action, Action conv % or other action-related metrics. If you select a transaction-related metric, the column will display 0.
• Attribution model: External Attribution Model

How do I edit conversions with third-party attribution data?

The Search Ads 360 Conversion API can update existing conversions, but ensure you store the click ID, conversionID and other data that you specified when you first uploaded the conversion. Since you can’t get a list of conversions with third-party attribution data, you need to use the stored data to identify the conversions you want to update.