ads-attribution

Cross-Platform Attribution Health Audit

Attribution decay is the silent revenue killer of 2026 — Consent Mode V2 EEA enforcement (Jul 21, 2025), iOS ATT, SKAdNetwork → AdAttributionKit migration, and the death of third-party cookies have moved every advertiser's attribution signal toward modeled, server-side, first-party data. Misaligned attribution windows or unverified Consent Mode setups will mis-attribute 15-40% of conversions and silently waste budget.

Process

1. Collect current attribution stack: GA4 property ID, Google Ads conversion actions, Meta CAPI config, Apple Ads / AdAttributionKit registration, MMP dashboard (AppsFlyer / Adjust / Branch / Singular), any sGTM container
2. Read ads/references/conversion-tracking.md for the cross-platform tracking baseline
3. Evaluate attribution health per surface (web, iOS app, Android app, server-side)
4. Score each surface PASS / WARNING / FAIL
5. Generate findings report with cross-channel attribution map and remediation plan

What to Analyze

iOS Attribution (AdAttributionKit + ATT)

• AdAttributionKit registered with Apple Ads (post-Apr 10, 2025 cutover); registration creates dual attribution with SKAdNetwork (SKAN v1-3)
• View-through attribution active — 24h post-impression view window configured on Apple Ads campaigns where applicable
• Configurable attribution windows (WWDC 2025): per-campaign window customization audited; overlapping re-engagement windows used for subscription / re-acquisition campaigns
• Country code in postbacks (WWDC 2025): enabled if you need geo attribution detail
• ATT (App Tracking Transparency) opt-in rate monitored; <30% opt-in means heavy reliance on SKAN/AAK + privacy threshold
• Privacy threshold awareness — low-volume campaigns may receive null postbacks; campaign consolidation recommended below 1k installs/week

Web Attribution (GA4 + Google Ads + Meta CAPI)

• GA4 attribution model: Data-Driven (default for properties with enough data) vs Last-Click — confirm setting is intentional, not residue from a pre-2026 migration
• Google Ads attribution model: Data-Driven default; per-conversion override allowed but audit any Last-Click overrides for justification
• Cross-channel attribution in GA4: confirm Google Ads, Meta, LinkedIn, TikTok, Microsoft are integrated as platforms with consent + auto-tagging
• Conversion windows per channel appropriate to sales cycle:
  • E-commerce: 7-day click, 1-day view
  • B2B / lead gen: 30-90 day click, no view
  • SaaS subscription: 30 day click, 1-day view, plus offline conversion import for the activation event
• Conversion lag analysis run quarterly to validate window choice

Consent Mode V2 (EU/EEA + recommended globally)

• Consent Mode V2 active (enforcement began Jul 21, 2025 for EEA/UK)
• Advanced Mode (not Basic) — Basic loses ~25% of EEA conversion signal
• 700+ ad clicks/day over 7 days per country/domain threshold met for Advanced Mode behavioral modeling to activate
• Signal recovery measured: aim 15-25% conversion recovery vs pre-CMV2 baseline
• Consent banner correctly reads CMV2 signals (not just GDPR boilerplate)

Server-Side Attribution Stitching

• First-party server logs stored with user_id + event_id + timestamp
  • platform tag for every conversion event
• MMP + first-party stitching: MMP (AppsFlyer / Adjust / Branch / Singular) receives both client-side AND server-side events with shared event_id for deduplication
• Server-side conversion import to Google Ads (offline conversion import) and Meta (CAPI) within 72h of the conversion event
• Hash quality: email / phone fields SHA-256 hashed and lowercased before send; cross-platform hashing convention consistent
• Deduplication rate ≥90% (matched event_id between client + server)

MMP Health (Mobile Apps)

• MMP integrated — AppsFlyer / Adjust / Branch / Singular set up before any paid campaigns launched
• Apple Ads connected as a partner in MMP dashboard
• Post-install events sent back to Apple Ads, Google UAC, Meta App Campaigns, TikTok (enables Maximize Conversions and ROAS bidding)
• Event quality: purchase, subscription_start, trial_start, or other revenue events tracked (not just install → registration)
• Postback configuration: SKAN/AAK conversion values map to meaningful user actions

Cross-Device & Cross-Platform Attribution

• Customer Match lists synced to Google Ads, Meta (Customer File CA), LinkedIn Matched Audiences, TikTok Customer File for cross-device stitching
• Enhanced Conversions active for Google Ads (hashed first-party data, ~10% uplift on properly-implemented setups)
• CAPI customer_information parameters (em, ph, fn, ln, ct, st, zp, external_id) sent server-side to Meta
• Privacy-safe identifiers (Customer Match hashes, GAID/IDFA where permitted) included in conversion exports

Key Thresholds

Metric	Pass	Warning	Fail
GA4 attribution model	Data-Driven	Last-Click (intentional)	Last-Click (residual)
Consent Mode V2	Advanced + verified	Advanced (unverified)	Basic / Not implemented
EMQ (Meta Purchase)	≥8.0	6.0-7.9	<6.0
Event dedup rate	≥90%	70-89%	<70%
Server-side / client-side hit ratio	≥80%	50-79%	<50%
ATT opt-in (iOS)	≥30%	15-29%	<15% (heavy SKAN reliance)
Offline conversion import latency	<24h	24-72h	>72h
Customer Match list freshness	<7 days	7-30 days	>30 days

Output

Attribution Health Score

Attribution Health Score: XX/100 (Grade: X)

iOS (AdAttributionKit + ATT):    XX/100  ████████░░  (20%)
Web (GA4 + Ads + CAPI):           XX/100  ██████████  (30%)
Consent Mode V2:                  XX/100  █████████░  (15%)
Server-Side Stitching:            XX/100  ████████░░  (20%)
MMP Health (mobile):              XX/100  ███████░░░  (10%)
Cross-Device / Customer Match:    XX/100  ██████░░░░  (5%)

Deliverables

• ATTRIBUTION-AUDIT.md: Full surface-by-surface findings
• Cross-channel attribution map (which platform owns which conversion windows + which events)
• Modeled vs reported conversion delta (estimated revenue under- or over-attribution)
• Quick Wins sorted by signal-recovery $ impact
• Pre-launch checklist for any new platform (Amazon, Apple Ads, TikTok) to ensure attribution is wired before spend begins