Sunday, July 20, 2025

Google Ads Attribution: The Complete Guide to Revenue-Focused Tracking

What You'll Learn

  • Why Google Ads attribution misleads B2B marketers

  • How to implement revenue-based attribution for Google Ads

  • Setting up Enhanced Conversions and Offline Conversion Import

  • Advanced strategies for B2B and long sales cycles

  • Connecting Google Ads to actual revenue, not just form fills

Table of Contents

  1. The Google Ads Attribution Problem

  2. Understanding Google's Attribution Models

  3. Revenue-Based Setup Guide

  4. Enhanced Conversions Implementation

  5. Offline Conversion Tracking

  6. Advanced B2B Strategies

  7. Troubleshooting & Optimization

The Google Ads Attribution Problem

What Google Doesn't Tell You

Google Ads is optimized for e-commerce, not B2B revenue. This creates massive problems:

1. Last-Click Bias

  • Google claims 100% credit for conversions

  • Ignores all other touchpoints in the journey

  • Makes your other channels look worthless

2. Short Attribution Windows

  • Default: 30 days click, 1 day view

  • B2B sales cycles: 3-12+ months

  • You're missing 70%+ of your conversions

3. Form Fills ≠ Revenue

  • Google optimizes for cheap conversions

  • Your "best performing" campaigns might generate £0

  • Smart Bidding learns the wrong patterns

The Real Cost

What Actually Happens:

Google's View:

Keyword A: 100 conversions at £50 each = Amazing! ⭐

Keyword B: 10 conversions at £200 each = Expensive! ❌

Reality (with revenue data):

Keyword A: 100 conversions → 2 customers → £10k revenue

Keyword B: 10 conversions → 8 customers → £400k revenue

You're literally optimizing for failure.