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Rules Of The Game

In September 2021, Google Ads switched from last-click attribution as its default measurement mode to “data-driven attribution.” The latter is Google’s term for modeled attribution without preset rules, like that a brand’s first ad exposure or the last click should be assigned credit. Other rules include “position-based attribution,” where credit is mostly doled out to the first and last click with a smaller portion for all impressions in between. The “time decay” rule attributes based on the duration between an ad exposure and a conversion. 

But even after Google began defaulting to data-driven attribution, it still supported other attribution models for advertisers with a preference.

That goes away this year, though, Google announced on Thursday in a support page update. Starting in May, new Google Ads accounts will have no option but data-driven attribution. Current advertisers will lose rules-based attribution models by October. 

“Rules-based attribution models assign value to each advertising touchpoint based on predefined rules,” according to the support page. “These models don’t provide the flexibility needed to adapt to evolving consumer journeys.”

Eye On The Target

The targeted advertising value prop is that consumers prefer relevant or personalized ads.

But targeted advertising also exposes consumers to more expensive, lower-quality products, according to a New York Times column by tech and privacy journalist Julia Angwin.

Angwin cites a recent Carnegie Mellon and Virginia Tech study finding targeted ads promote products that are more expensive than similar products found through a web search. The products featured in targeted ads also tend to be sold by lower-quality vendors, according to Better Business Bureau ratings.

For example, Angwin points to a Facebook ad campaign for “anti-woke” razor company Jeremy’s Razors, which targeted fans of hunting, Johnny Cash a