By Dave De Vries, Owner
The Bottom Line
Most London, Ontario businesses are wasting ad spend because they're attributing conversions to the wrong channels. Fix these 7 mistakes and reclaim 30-40% of your marketing budget.
1. Last-Click Everything
Google Analytics defaults to last-click attribution. That means your blog posts, social media, and brand awareness campaigns get zero credit.
What we see: A plumbing company in London was spending $8K/month on Google Ads. Last-click showed 100% of conversions came from branded search. Turned out 60% of customers found them through a home renovation blog post first, then searched the brand name later.
Fix: Switch to data-driven attribution in GA4. Compare results side-by-side for 30 days.
2. Ignoring Offline Conversions
Phone calls, in-store visits, and showroom appointments don't track automatically.
What we see: A London dental clinic was killing their Google Ads because "no conversions." They were getting 15-20 booked appointments per week via phone. Just not tracking them.
Fix:
- Set up call tracking (CallRail, CallFire)
- Import offline conversions to Google Ads
- Train staff to ask "how did you hear about us?"
3. Not Segmenting by Customer Lifetime Value
A $500 conversion isn't the same as a $5,000 conversion. But most businesses optimize for total conversions, not value.
What we see: An e-commerce store selling restaurant equipment was bidding aggressively on "commercial blenders." High conversion rate, low AOV. Meanwhile, "commercial kitchen equipment" had 3x lower conversion rate but 10x higher AOV.
Fix:
- Segment campaigns by product category
- Optimize for conversion value, not volume
- Use value-based bidding in Google Ads
4. Forgetting About Cross-Device Behavior
Customers research on mobile, convert on desktop. Or vice versa. If you're not connecting the dots, you're flying blind.
What we see: A London law firm's mobile traffic had 0.5% conversion rate. Desktop was 4%. They were about to kill mobile bids. Problem: 80% of desktop converters had visited on mobile first.
Fix:
- Enable Google Signals in GA4
- Use logged-in user data where possible
- Look at assisted conversions, not just last-click
5. Attribution Window Too Short
30-day click attribution misses long consideration cycles. B2B, high-ticket, and complex services often have 60-90 day cycles.
What we see: A commercial roofing company had 90-day sales cycles. 30-day attribution showed Google Ads wasn't working. Extended to 90 days and ROAS jumped from 1.2 to 4.8.
Fix: Match attribution window to your actual sales cycle. Check your CRM data.
6. Not Accounting for Seasonality
Attribution that works in Q4 fails in Q1. But most businesses set it once and forget it.
What we see: A London landscaping company was baffled when their spring Google Ads performed worse than winter ads. Turns out winter searchers were planning ahead (high intent), spring searchers were price shopping (low intent).
Fix:
- Review attribution quarterly
- Adjust bids by season
- Segment reporting by time period
7. Trusting Platform Attribution Blindly
Google says Google Ads drove the conversion. Facebook says Facebook drove the conversion. Both are lying (sort of).
What we see: A SaaS company was getting 200% attributed conversions. Google + Facebook + LinkedIn all claimed credit. Total spend attribution was 3x actual conversions.
Fix:
- Use a third-party attribution tool (ONclix, Rockerbox, Segment)
- Or build your own with BigQuery
- Always reconcile with actual revenue, not platform metrics
The Bottom Line
Attribution isn't about perfection. It's about getting less wrong over time.
Start here: 1. Switch GA4 to data-driven attribution 2. Set up offline conversion tracking 3. Match attribution window to your sales cycle 4. Audit quarterly, not annually
What we tell clients: You'll never get 100% accurate attribution. But getting from 40% wrong to 20% wrong can mean six figures in reclaimed ad spend.
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Dave De Vries is the owner of ONmetrics, a London, Ontario digital marketing consultancy. He's managed $50M+ in ad spend and built the ONclix attribution platform. Contact: 226-503-1484, [email protected]