I have been reading up recently on tracking solutions I came across the argument between first click and last click tracking. More specifically which one gives the most accurate measure of performance?
First click tracking is the term given to solutions which cookie the user on their first visit to a website and record the source of their visit. On each subsequent visit they are recognised as the same visitor and allocated back to the original source and so when they convert through to sale/application/sign up the software records them this as the origin of the conversion.
Last click tracking relies on session cookies and so no matter how many times a user visits a site, the source of their conversion will be recorded as the final means by which they reached the site.
So which is a more accurate measure of advertising performance? Well its difficult to say really. Display advertisers will normally put the argument across for first click tracking as they play the brand card a lot more and place their strength in building awareness of offers and products. Some of them even cookie a user on ad impression so would even more stringently argue this case.
Search advertisers on the other hand are more likely to lean towards the argument for last click tracking as users will often use search results to find brand and products they already know they want to buy. Regardless of where they found out about them a user is more likely to visit Google and search on a brand or product name to complete their purchase.
I’m more likely to not worry about it and assess online as a whole rather than worrying about each channel in isolation. More and more recently I have noticed the effect the channels have on each another and I am now suggesting the holistic approach to online is the best way to go. Conversion attribution is a difficult skill and requires a highly sophisticated piece of tracking software. By pulling one channel you could quite easily find that although when analysed in isolation it didn’t appear to work, it was having a positive affect on another channel and you see a drop off across the board by its removal.
My advice? Although all channels need to be measured, pay careful consideration to the impact they may be having on one and other. Look at online as a whole to measure performance before making any decisions as the halo effect exists and if you pull one brick from the tower, it could all come tumbling down!