Google has removed attribution models in GA4

Google Analytics today officially removed first click, linear, time decay, and position-based attribution models. This leaves only last click and data-driven, as Google announced would happen in April.

Charles Farina shared a screenshot on LinkedIn:

Not Google Ads (yet). Google will soon retire the four rules-based attribution models in Ads and starting in mid-July. You can continue using these attribution models until September, when they will be removed completely.

In a followup to their April announcement, Google Ads yesterday announced:

• “We will be removing selectability of these models for all conversions in Google Ads beginning in mid-July. This means that newly created conversions will no longer have first click, linear, time decay, or position-based as an attribution model option. Existing conversions not using these models will also no longer be able to switch to these models. If your account has conversions using these attribution models, these conversions can continue to use them until they’re removed completely in September.”

Why we care: Many marketers are upset about Google limiting us to having only the last click and data-driven attribution models. Removing these attributions means marketers have fewer insights to help make informed, data-based decisions.

How will marketers be impacted? If your Ads account has conversions using these models, you can continue to use them until September. But after that deadline, the models will be removed and data may be lost.

If you are working on conversions not using these models, you will not have the option to switch over after mid-July. In addition, newly created conversions will no longer have the option of even choosing these four models.

Why now? Google has taken the decision to retire the four attribution models because of “increasingly low adoption rates, with fewer than 3% of conversions in Google Ads using these models” according to a Google spokesperson.

• “For these reasons, first click, linear, time decay, and position-based attribution models across Google Ads and Google Analytics 4 will be going away. Data-driven attribution, last click, and external attribution won’t be impacted.”

Dig deeper: Data-driven attribution: How to think about Google’s default attribution model