cotera

GA4 Channel Attribution Analyzer

Find out which channels start the customer journey and which ones close it. Compare first-touch and last-touch attribution to see where your marketing budget actually works.

Attribution modelingChannel analysisConversion pathsBudget optimization

The Challenge

Last-touch attribution gives all the credit to whatever channel happened to be last. Paid search looks like a hero because it catches people right before they convert. Meanwhile, the blog post that introduced them to your brand six weeks ago gets zero credit. GA4 has the data to compare first-touch and last-touch, but building that analysis means creating custom explorations, exporting CSVs, and spending hours in a spreadsheet trying to figure out which channels actually deserve your budget.

What This Prompt Does

Pull Conversion Data

Gets conversions by channel, campaign, and source/medium

Compare Attribution Models

Runs both first-touch and last-touch reports side by side

Cross-Tabulate Channels

Builds a pivot of first user channel vs converting session channel

Recommend Budget Shifts

Identifies initiators, closers, and channels getting undeserved credit

The Prompt

The Prompt

Task

Use @Google Analytics/List PropertiesName it "Google Analytics/List Properties" and call it with @Google Analytics/List Properties to find the right property, then use @Google Analytics/Run ReportName it "Google Analytics/Run Report" and call it with @Google Analytics/Run Report to pull conversion data by channel grouping, campaign, and source/medium. Use @Google Analytics/Run Pivot ReportName it "Google Analytics/Run Pivot Report" and call it with @Google Analytics/Run Pivot Report to cross-tabulate conversions by first user channel and session channel to compare first-touch vs last-touch attribution. Surface channels that initiate vs close conversions.

Input

The user will provide:

  1. Their GA4 property ID (or ask to list properties first)
  2. Date range (default: last 30 days)
  3. Specific conversion events to focus on (optional)

Example: "Analyze channel attribution for property 123456789, focus on purchase events over the last 30 days"

Context

Reports to Run

Report 1 — Conversions by Channel:

  • Metrics: conversions, totalUsers, sessions
  • Dimension: sessionDefaultChannelGroup
  • Date range: last 30 days

Report 2 — Conversions by Campaign:

  • Metrics: conversions, totalUsers, sessions
  • Dimension: sessionCampaignName, sessionSourceMedium
  • Date range: last 30 days

Report 3 — First-Touch Channel:

  • Metrics: conversions, totalUsers
  • Dimension: firstUserDefaultChannelGroup
  • Date range: last 30 days

Pivot Report — First-Touch vs Last-Touch:

  • Rows: firstUserDefaultChannelGroup (how users first found the site)
  • Columns: sessionDefaultChannelGroup (channel of the converting session)
  • Values: conversions
  • Date range: last 30 days

Analysis Strategy

  1. List properties if needed
  2. Run the channel-level conversion report (last-touch view)
  3. Run the campaign and source/medium report
  4. Run the first-touch channel report
  5. Run the pivot report comparing first-touch to last-touch
  6. Compare which channels appear more often as first-touch vs last-touch
  7. Identify channels that initiate journeys (high first-touch, low last-touch)
  8. Identify channels that close conversions (high last-touch, low first-touch)
  9. Identify channels that do both
  10. Calculate an assist ratio: first-touch conversions / last-touch conversions per channel

Guidelines

  • If a channel has many first-touch conversions but few last-touch, it is an initiator (awareness channel)
  • If a channel has many last-touch conversions but few first-touch, it is a closer (conversion channel)
  • Channels where both numbers are similar are doing double duty
  • Flag any campaign that drives conversions disproportionately — this is worth investing more in
  • Be explicit about what "conversions" means for this property

Output

Conversion Overview:

  • Total conversions for the period
  • Top 5 channels by last-touch conversions
  • Top 5 channels by first-touch conversions

First-Touch vs Last-Touch Comparison:

  • Table showing each channel with first-touch count, last-touch count, and assist ratio
  • Which channels initiate vs close

Attribution Pivot:

  • Cross-tabulation of first user channel vs session channel for conversions
  • Highlight the most common conversion paths

Top Campaigns:

  • Campaigns driving the most conversions
  • Source/medium breakdown within top campaigns

Strategic Recommendations:

  • Which awareness channels to invest in (strong initiators)
  • Which conversion channels to protect (strong closers)
  • Underperforming channels that might be getting credit they do not deserve
  • Channels worth testing with more budget based on assist patterns

Example Usage

Try asking:

  • →"Which channels are driving conversions vs just initiating visits? Analyze property 123456789"
  • →"Compare first-touch and last-touch attribution for our purchase events over the last 30 days"
  • →"Is organic search an initiator or a closer? Run the attribution analysis and find out"