November 19th, 2012
by Aaron Aders
Google has enabled Google Analytics users to apply to a whitelist to gain access to the attribution modeling tool that was previously only available to the enterprise GA package ($150k per year!). This is awesome news since current attribution modeling methods require quite a bit of spreadsheet work.
The tool currently offers Standard Models and a Custom Model Builder.
Standard Models
The standard models offered include:
- First Touch
- Last Touch
- Linear
- Time Decay
- Position-Based
The tool allows for the user to choose up to three models for simultaneous comparison. Previously, these models had to be created in Microsoft Excel and compared using graphs. Custom date ranges meant creating a new graph for each range. Now you can easily adjust the date range sliders or select a different model for much faster data analysis without error-prone Excel work.
Custom Model Builder
This is a crucial piece of functionality that Microsoft Excel analysis does so poorly. The custom model builder allows users to build models that work for any specific marketing campaign. Here’s how to do it based on a GA produced video:
1. Choose a standard model as your baseline. This makes sense because almost every model that can be imagined is an iteration of a standard model.
2. Set your look-back window for up to 30-days (optional). This means that you are tracking conversions that took less than thirty days from user discovery to purchase. Shorter sales cycles, such as a limited time offer, could motivate you to select a shorter look-back window.
3. Set a custom credit (optional) and choose a dimension (Sources, Mediums, Campaigns, etc) to modify. For example, you could dial up or down the value of a specific dimension. You could also include or exclude specific dimensions.
Register for the whitelist today and start modeling your conversion attribution data faster and more accurately than ever before!
Aaron Aders
Co-Founder, Market Research Director at Slingshot SEO, Aaron is a co-founder and Market Research Director at Slingshot SEO. Building on more than a decade of Internet marketing experience, Aaron has contributed in many roles including Graphic Designer, Project Manager, Systems Analyst and Chief Operations Officer.