Analytics Attribution

Analytics & Attribution

Performance measurement and attribution modeling for data-driven marketing decisions.

Language & Quality Standards

CRITICAL: Respond in the same language the user is using. If Vietnamese, respond in Vietnamese. If Spanish, respond in Spanish.

Standards: Token efficiency, sacrifice grammar for concision, list unresolved questions at end.

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When to Use This Skill

Apply analytics expertise when:

• Setting up marketing tracking and measurement
• Analyzing campaign or channel performance
• Building attribution models
• Creating dashboards and reports
• Calculating marketing ROI and CAC/LTV
• Troubleshooting data discrepancies

Core Concepts

Analytics Framework

Dimensions (What you're measuring by):

• Channel, campaign, source/medium
• Device, geography, time period
• Audience segment, persona
• Content type, landing page

Metrics (What you're measuring):

• Traffic: Sessions, users, pageviews
• Engagement: Time on site, bounce rate, pages/session
• Conversion: Goal completions, conversion rate
• Revenue: Transaction value, ROAS, ROI
• Cost: CPC, CPL, CAC

Key Marketing Reports

Attribution Models

Marketing KPIs by Funnel Stage

TOFU (Awareness)

• Impressions, reach, traffic
• CPM, cost per visitor
• Brand search volume

MOFU (Consideration)

• Leads, MQLs, engagement
• CPL, cost per MQL
• Content downloads, webinar registrations

BOFU (Decision)

• SQLs, opportunities, customers
• CAC, cost per opportunity
• Demo requests, trial signups

Retention

• NPS, retention rate, churn
• LTV, expansion revenue
• Referrals, advocacy

Best Practices

Setup Excellence

1. UTM Discipline: Consistent naming convention across all campaigns 2. Goal Hierarchy: Primary conversions > secondary > micro-conversions 3. Cross-Domain Tracking: Proper setup for checkout/payment flows 4. Event Taxonomy: Clear naming for custom events

Reporting Excellence

1. Context Always: Never report numbers without comparison (vs target, vs previous) 2. Action-Oriented: Every insight should suggest an action 3. Visualization: Use appropriate chart types (trends=line, comparison=bar) 4. Segmentation: Break down by meaningful dimensions

Attribution Excellence

1. Window Matching: Attribution window matches sales cycle 2. Model Selection: Choose model based on marketing maturity 3. Multi-Touch Visibility: Track full journey, not just last touch 4. Offline Integration: Include phone, events, direct sales

Agent Integration

Anti-Patterns to Avoid

Workflow Integration

• crm-workflow.md - Lead stage definitions, scoring thresholds
• sales-workflow.md - SQL criteria, deal velocity metrics

Related Commands

• /report/weekly - Weekly performance report
• /report/monthly - Monthly strategic report
• /checklist/analytics-monthly - Monthly analytics review
• /analytics/roi - Campaign ROI calculation
• /analytics/funnel - Funnel performance analysis

References

• references/google-analytics.md - GA4 setup and usage
• references/search-console.md - SEO performance tracking
• references/attribution-models.md - Attribution deep dive
• references/dashboards.md - Reporting best practices
• references/reporting-templates.md - Client-ready report templates

Attribution Models

Understanding marketing attribution.

Model Types

Last-Click Attribution

• 100% credit to final touchpoint
• Simplest model
• Favors bottom-funnel
• Ignores awareness efforts

Best for: Simple funnels, direct response

First-Click Attribution

• 100% credit to first touchpoint
• Values awareness activities
• Ignores nurturing efforts
• Opposite bias to last-click

Best for: Brand awareness focus

Linear Attribution

• Equal credit to all touchpoints
• No bias toward position
• May overvalue minor touches
• Simple to understand

Best for: Balanced view, long cycles

Time-Decay Attribution

• More credit to recent touches
• Acknowledges momentum
• Still values early touches
• Reflects typical buying

Best for: Shorter sales cycles

Position-Based (U-Shaped)

• 40% first, 40% last, 20% middle
• Values discovery and conversion
• Middle touches underweighted
• Popular compromise model

Best for: Most B2B scenarios

Data-Driven Attribution

• ML determines credit
• Based on actual patterns
• Requires significant data
• Most accurate when available

Best for: High-volume, mature analytics

Choosing a Model

Questions to Ask

1. What's your sales cycle length? 2. How many touchpoints typical? 3. What channels are you evaluating? 4. What decisions will this inform?

Recommendations

Multi-Touch Reality

Typical B2B Journey

1. Blog post (organic search) 2. Retargeting ad 3. Email newsletter 4. Webinar 5. Sales outreach 6. Demo 7. Purchase

Credit Distribution Matters

• Affects budget allocation
• Influences channel investment
• Impacts team incentives

Implementation Tips

• Use consistent UTM parameters
• Integrate CRM data
• Account for offline touches
• Review model quarterly
• Compare multiple models

Marketing Dashboards

Building effective performance dashboards.

Dashboard Principles

Focus

• One dashboard, one purpose
• Limit to key metrics
• Avoid data overload
• Clear hierarchy

Actionability

• Metrics that inform decisions
• Benchmarks for context
• Trends over snapshots
• Drill-down capability

Timeliness

• Real-time where needed
• Regular refresh cadence
• Historical comparison
• Anomaly alerting

Dashboard Types

Executive Dashboard

Audience: Leadership Focus: Business outcomes

Metrics:

• Revenue/pipeline
• Customer acquisition
• Marketing ROI
• Top-line KPIs

Campaign Dashboard

Audience: Marketing team Focus: Campaign performance

Metrics:

• Reach and impressions
• Engagement rates
• Conversion rates
• Cost metrics
• Goal progress

Channel Dashboard

Audience: Channel managers Focus: Channel-specific

Metrics:

• Channel-specific KPIs
• Traffic and engagement
• Conversion by channel
• Cost efficiency

Essential Metrics by Role

CMO

• Marketing sourced revenue
• Pipeline velocity
• CAC and LTV
• Overall ROI

Demand Gen

• Lead volume and quality
• CPL and conversion rates
• Funnel progression
• Campaign performance

Content

• Traffic and engagement
• Content performance
• SEO metrics
• Conversion assist

Visualization Best Practices

Charts

Layout

• Most important top-left
• Group related metrics
• Use consistent colors
• Clear labeling
• White space for readability

Alert Setup

Threshold Alerts

• Traffic drops >20%
• Conversion rate change
• Budget pacing
• Error spikes

Anomaly Detection

• Unusual patterns
• Significant deviations
• Trend breaks

GA4 Implementation & Analytics Guide

Based on research from Google, Simo Ahava, Measure School.

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GA4 vs Universal Analytics

Key Differences

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Essential Events to Track

Automatically Collected Events

Recommended Events (E-commerce)

Recommended Events (SaaS)

Custom Events (Marketing)

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Event Implementation

GTM Data Layer Push

// Form submission event
dataLayer.push({
  'event': 'form_submit',
  'form_name': 'demo_request',
  'lead_type': 'marketing_qualified',
  'form_location': 'pricing_page'
});

// CTA click event
dataLayer.push({
  'event': 'cta_click',
  'cta_text': 'Start Free Trial',
  'cta_location': 'hero_section',
  'page_type': 'homepage'
});

// Purchase event
dataLayer.push({
  'event': 'purchase',
  'transaction_id': 'T12345',
  'value': 99.00,
  'currency': 'USD',
  'items': [{
    'item_id': 'PRO_PLAN',
    'item_name': 'Pro Plan Monthly',
    'price': 99.00,
    'quantity': 1
  }]
});

Direct GA4 Implementation

// gtag.js implementation
gtag('event', 'sign_up', {
  'method': 'email'
});

gtag('event', 'generate_lead', {
  'value': 50.00,
  'currency': 'USD'
});

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Conversion Setup

Key Conversions to Mark

Conversion Value Assignment

Lead Value = (Conversion Rate × Average Deal Size) / Leads

Example:
- 10% of demo leads become customers
- Average deal = $5,000/year
- Demo lead value = 0.10 × $5,000 = $500

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Attribution Models

Available Models in GA4

Attribution Comparison Report

1. Go to Advertising → Attribution 2. Select conversion event 3. Compare models side-by-side 4. Analyze channel value differences

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Key Reports & Explorations

Essential Reports

Custom Explorations

Funnel Exploration Setup

Steps:
1. page_view (landing page)
2. cta_click (primary CTA)
3. form_start (lead form)
4. form_submit (conversion)

Breakdown by:
- Traffic source
- Device category
- Country

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Audiences & Segments

High-Value Audiences

Predictive Audiences

Audience Activation

• Export to Google Ads for remarketing
• Export to Display & Video 360
• Use for personalization testing
• Trigger email automation

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UTM Tracking Best Practices

Standard Parameters

Naming Conventions

Source: lowercase, no spaces
- google, facebook, linkedin, twitter

Medium: standardized
- cpc (paid search)
- display (banner ads)
- social (organic social)
- email (email campaigns)
- referral (partner links)

Campaign: descriptive, consistent
- {year}{month}_{product}_{offer}
- 2024q1_pro_plan_trial

URL Builder Template

https://example.com/landing-page
?utm_source=google
&utm_medium=cpc
&utm_campaign=2024q1_brand_awareness
&utm_content=responsive_ad_v2
&utm_term=project+management+software

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Dashboard KPIs

Executive Dashboard

Marketing Dashboard

Product Dashboard

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Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Debug Tools

1. GA4 DebugView - Real-time event monitoring 2. GTM Preview - Tag firing verification 3. Chrome DevTools - Network requests 4. Tag Assistant - Legacy debugging 5. GA4 Realtime - Live data verification

Google Analytics 4

GA4 setup, configuration, and reporting.

Initial Setup

Property Configuration

• Create GA4 property
• Install measurement ID
• Configure data streams
• Enable enhanced measurement

Basic Settings

• Data retention (14 months max)
• Reporting time zone
• Currency
• Industry category

Event Tracking

Automatic Events

• page_view
• scroll
• click (outbound)
• site_search
• file_download
• video_engagement

Recommended Events

Custom Events

• Define based on business needs
• Use parameters for details
• 500 distinct events max

Conversions

Setup

1. Identify key actions 2. Create/mark as conversion 3. Assign value (if applicable) 4. Test tracking

Common Conversions

• Form submissions
• Purchases
• Sign-ups
• Downloads
• Key page views

Audiences

Standard Audiences

• All users
• New users
• Returning users
• Purchasers

Custom Audiences

• Based on behavior
• Based on parameters
• Predictive (ML-based)
• Sequences

Reports

Lifecycle Reports

• Acquisition
• Engagement
• Monetization
• Retention

User Reports

• Demographics
• Tech details
• Geography

Exploration

• Free-form analysis
• Funnel exploration
• Path exploration
• Segment overlap

Marketing Reporting Templates

Client-ready reporting frameworks aligned with sales-workflow.md and crm-workflow.md.

Workflow References

• crm-workflow.md - Lead stage definitions for funnel analysis
• sales-workflow.md - Lead scoring thresholds for quality reporting

Agent Delegation

Data Privacy Note

GDPR/CCPA Compliance: When reporting on lead data:

• Aggregate data only (no PII in reports)
• Anonymize individual records
• Respect data retention policies
• Document data sources and consent basis

Report Types & Frequency

Weekly Report Template

Executive Summary (1 paragraph)

This week [metric] [increased/decreased] by [X%] driven by [cause].
Key win: [achievement]. Focus next week: [priority].

KPI Dashboard

Channel Performance

Top 3 Wins

1. [Win]: [Data] - [Impact] 2. [Win]: [Data] - [Impact] 3. [Win]: [Data] - [Impact]

Top 3 Issues

1. [Issue]: [Data] → Action: [Fix] 2. [Issue]: [Data] → Action: [Fix] 3. [Issue]: [Data] → Action: [Fix]

Next Week Priorities

• [ ] Priority 1
• [ ] Priority 2
• [ ] Priority 3

Monthly Report Template

Executive Summary

[Month] delivered [X leads] at [$Y CPL], [above/below] target by [Z%].
Revenue attributed: [$X]. Top channel: [Channel] at [X%] of leads.
Key initiative: [What worked]. Next month focus: [Priority].

Month-over-Month Trends

Funnel Analysis

Visitors:    [X,XXX] (100%)
    ↓
Leads:       [XXX]   ([X%] conversion)
    ↓
MQLs:        [XX]    ([X%] of leads)
    ↓
SQLs:        [XX]    ([X%] of MQLs)
    ↓
Customers:   [X]     ([X%] close rate)

Lead Quality by Temperature

Channel Deep Dive

Organic Search

• Sessions: [X] ([+/-X%] MoM)
• Top pages: [List]
• Keyword wins: [List]
• Action: [Recommendation]

Paid Advertising

• Spend: [$X]
• ROAS: [X:1]
• Top campaigns: [List]
• Action: [Recommendation]

Email Marketing

• Sends: [X]
• Open rate: [X%]
• Click rate: [X%]
• Revenue: [$X]
• Action: [Recommendation]

Content Performance

Budget vs Actual

Recommendations

Campaign Report Template

Campaign Overview

Results vs Goals

Performance by Channel

Creative Performance

Learnings

What Worked

• [Learning 1]
• [Learning 2]

What Didn't Work

• [Learning 1]
• [Learning 2]

Recommendations for Next Campaign 1. [Recommendation] 2. [Recommendation]

ROI Calculation Framework

Marketing ROI Formula

ROI = (Revenue - Marketing Cost) / Marketing Cost x 100

Attribution-Adjusted ROI

Attributed Revenue = Revenue x Attribution %
ROI = (Attributed Revenue - Cost) / Cost x 100

Customer Acquisition Cost

CAC = Total Marketing Spend / New Customers

Lifetime Value to CAC Ratio

LTV:CAC = Customer Lifetime Value / CAC
Target: 3:1 or higher

Quarterly Report Template

Executive Summary

Q[X] delivered [X leads] generating [$X revenue] at [X:1 ROAS].
YoY growth: [X%]. Top initiative: [What drove results].
Key challenge: [Issue]. Q[X+1] focus: [Strategic priority].

Quarterly KPIs

Strategic Initiatives Review

Next Quarter Priorities

Visualization Best Practices

Chart Selection

Color Coding

Integration Points

Commands

• /report/weekly - Weekly report generation
• /report/monthly - Monthly report generation
• /checklist/analytics-monthly - Monthly review process

Workflows

• crm-workflow.md - Lead stage definitions
• sales-workflow.md - Lead scoring thresholds

Google Search Console

SEO performance monitoring and optimization.

Key Reports

Performance Report

• Total clicks
• Total impressions
• Average CTR
• Average position

Filters

• Query (keywords)
• Page (URLs)
• Country
• Device
• Search type
• Date range

Analysis Framework

Query Analysis

• Which keywords drive traffic?
• CTR by position
• Impressions without clicks
• New vs existing queries

Page Analysis

• Top performing pages
• Underperforming pages
• Cannibalization issues
• Content gaps

Index Coverage

Status Types

Common Issues

• Crawl anomalies
• Redirect errors
• 404 pages
• Noindex tags
• Duplicate content

Core Web Vitals

Metrics

• LCP: Loading performance
• FID: Interactivity
• CLS: Visual stability

Assessment

• Good (green)
• Needs Improvement (yellow)
• Poor (red)

Links Report

External Links

• Top linked pages
• Top linking sites
• Top linking text

Internal Links

• Top linked pages
• Link distribution

Actions

URL Inspection

• Check indexing status
• Request indexing
• View rendered page
• Check mobile usability

Sitemaps

• Submit sitemaps
• Check status
• Monitor errors