The 'Last-Click' Lie That’s Costing You Money
Imagine you’re running a boutique gym in Newstead. A potential member sees your Instagram ad on Monday, reads a blog post on your site on Wednesday, and then, on Friday, they search your business name on Google and click a paid search ad to sign up.
If you’re like most Brisbane business owners using standard settings, your data will tell you that Google Search did 100% of the work. You’ll look at your reports, see Instagram 'failing,' and turn it off. Two weeks later, your total leads plummet.
Welcome to the mess that is attribution modeling.
Most agencies overcomplicate this to sound smart, but here is the blunt truth: Attribution is simply the rule that decides who gets the credit for a sale. If you keep using the default 'Last-Click' model, you are essentially firing your best strikers because they didn't personally walk the ball into the net.
Why Your Current Data is Probably Lying
We see it all the time at Local Marketing Group: businesses obsessed with measuring ROI based on the very last thing a customer touched. This is a dangerous way to run a business in 2026.
Today’s customer journey is messy. People switch between iPhones, work laptops, and tablets. They see an ad while waiting for a coffee in Milton and then buy three days later at home. If you only credit the final click, you are ignoring the 'assist'—the brand awareness and trust-building that actually made the sale possible.
If you find yourself drowning in numbers but still guessing where to spend your next dollar, it’s likely because your marketing dashboards are lying to you by oversimplifying the journey.
The Three Models You Actually Need to Know
Forget the twenty different academic models. For an Australian SME, there are really only three ways to look at this:
1. The 'Last-Click' (The Industry Standard... that’s wrong)
This gives all the credit to the final interaction. It’s easy to track, but it’s incredibly biased toward Search ads and direct traffic. It ignores the top-of-funnel work that actually fills your pipeline.2. The 'First-Click' (The Brand Builder)
This gives 100% credit to the very first time someone found you. This is great if your only goal is brand awareness, but it’s useless for understanding what actually pushes someone over the edge to buy.3. Data-Driven Attribution (The Modern Reality)
This is the default in GA4 now, and for good reason. It uses machine learning to look at all the paths users take and calculates the actual contribution of each touchpoint. It’s not perfect, but it’s a massive upgrade over the 'all or nothing' approach. However, even this fails if you are tracking noisy events that don't actually lead to revenue.How to Stop Being Fooled by the Data
So, what should you actually do?
First, stop looking at channels in isolation. Marketing is an ecosystem. If you cut your Facebook budget because the 'Last-Click' ROI looks low, don't be surprised when your Organic Search traffic drops too. They are linked.
Second, look at the 'Assisted Conversions' report in your analytics. This is where the magic happens. It shows you which channels are playing the 'midfield' role—passing the ball so someone else can score. If a channel has a high number of assisted conversions but low direct sales, it’s still vital to your business.
Third, challenge your agency. If they are only reporting on 'conversions' without explaining the path those users took, they are giving you a half-baked story. Demand to see how different platforms are working together to drive Brisbane locals to your door.
The Bottom Line
Attribution isn't about finding a perfect mathematical truth—that doesn't exist in a world of privacy updates and cookie blocking. It’s about getting a better sense of reality so you stop wasting money on 'winning' channels that are actually just poaching credit from your hard-working 'losing' channels.
Stop treating your marketing like a series of one-night stands and start looking at it like a long-term relationship. When you understand the full journey, you can spend your budget with confidence instead of crossing your fingers.
Ready to see what’s actually driving your sales? Let’s get your tracking sorted. Contact Local Marketing Group today for a straight-talking audit of your digital strategy.