Last click attribution

Last click attribution gives all the credit for a conversion to the last click before it, and none to the clicks that came earlier.

By Berend Vrakking, founder of Product Metrics. Updated 7 October 2026.

Example

One order, two ad clicks
Ad click	Product advertised	Credit for the €85.00 order
First click, Monday	Winter Boot	€0.00
Last click, Wednesday (order placed)	Everyday Sock	€85.00

Under last click, the Everyday Sock click takes the whole €85.00, and the Winter Boot click that started the journey on Monday gets nothing. Illustrative data.

For one product, and for an account

In Shopping, a product whose ad starts a journey but does not get the last click receives no credit for the order. Its own ROAS can look weak even when shoppers who enter through it go on to buy other products.

Product Metrics is not an attribution tool and does not change how Google Ads gives credit. Product Journeys looks at what sessions that start on one product go on to buy, as direct and cross-sell revenue, from your own GA4 data.

Common mistake

Lowering priority on a product because its last-click ROAS looks weak, when its ad may be starting the journeys that other clicks finish.

Questions

What is the difference between last click and first click attribution?

They sit at opposite ends of the journey: last click gives all the credit for a conversion to the final click, first click gives all of it to the first. In Google Ads the question is now academic. Google Ads Help says the first click, linear, time decay and position-based models are no longer supported, so only last click and data-driven remain.

What is the difference between data-driven attribution and last click attribution?

The Last click model gives all credit for the conversion to the last-clicked ad and its keyword. Data-driven attribution shares credit based on how people engage with your ads before they become customers, so earlier ad interactions can receive some of it.

Does Google Ads still use last click attribution?

Yes, as an option. Data-driven is the default attribution model for most conversion actions, and you can switch any conversion action to the Last click model.

Sources

Keep reading

Data-driven attributionThe other model Google Ads supports, and the default for most conversion actions.
ROASThe return figure that attribution decides each ad click is credited with.
Product JourneysSee what sessions that start on one product go on to buy.
Full Signal TrackingSend every purchase to Google Ads from an endpoint on your own domain.
IncrementalityCredit is not the same as cause.
Incrementality testing for Google ShoppingAttribution says which ad was credited; a test shows what the ads added.