What is last-click attribution?
How does last-click attribution work?
Attribution means giving credit for a sale to the ads and clicks on the path before it. Last-click is the simplest rule. Look at the final click. Give it everything.
A shopper sees a video ad, clicks a search ad a week later and buys after clicking a brand search ad. Under last-click, the brand search ad gets the whole sale. The video ad gets nothing.
"Last non-direct click" is a close relative. It ignores visits where the person typed the address or used a bookmark, and credits the last click before that. Google's Analytics Help says GA4's attribution models exclude direct visits from credit unless the whole path was direct1. In Google Ads, last click gives all credit to the last-clicked ad and its keyword, and it is one of two models on offer, next to data-driven2.
What does last-click hide?
It rewards whoever is closest to the till. Channels that start the path look weaker than they are. Channels that finish it look stronger. Brand search can sit near the end of a path, so it can look like a hero.
A pure last-click rule also ignores anything that was seen but not clicked. GA4's version has one exception: it can credit an engaged view of a YouTube ad1. Other ads seen and never clicked leave no trace.
That affects budgets. If you cut the channels that start paths, the final-click channels may soon have fewer people to close. And then the report says the closers got worse.
Why two reports disagree is often this. One counts last-click. Another splits credit across multi-touch paths or uses data-driven attribution. Different rules, different answers.
For ZFD: We read last-click as one credit rule, not as the truth. Where it sits next to other methods is in MMM vs MTA vs incrementality tests.
Easily confused with
Last-click attribution vs Last non-direct click
Last click that skips direct visits. GA4's "paid and organic last click" is the same as this1.
Last-click attribution vs Data-driven attribution
Splits credit across touchpoints with a model. See data-driven attribution.
Last-click attribution vs View-through conversion
A conversion credited to an ad that was seen but not clicked. A pure last-click rule gives it nothing.
Last-click attribution vs Incrementality
What the ads caused. No attribution rule measures that on its own.
FAQ
Is last-click attribution wrong?
It is a rule, not an error. It is simple and easy to audit. It is a weak guide to which channel caused a sale.
Is last click the same as last non-direct click?
Not quite. Last non-direct click skips direct visits. In GA4, "paid and organic last click" means last non-direct click1.
Why does my ad platform show more sales than last-click does?
Each platform credits sales by its own rules and windows. Compare the attribution rule and the window before you compare the totals.
Sources
- Get started with attribution - Analytics HelpPrimary source
- About attribution models - Google Ads HelpPrimary source
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