Look, if you’re running a business in Brisbane, you’re probably spending money on a few different things to get the phone ringing. Maybe it’s Google Ads, a bit of Facebook, or that local directory you’ve been paying for since 2018.
But here’s the problem. Most business owners I talk to have no bloody idea which one is actually doing the heavy lifting.
You see a new booking come in and you think, “Great, the ads are working.” But which one? Was it the Google search they did this morning? Or was it the Facebook video they saw last week? Or maybe they saw your truck in Paddington, googled your name, and then clicked an ad?
If you don’t know the answer, you’re probably burning cash on stuff that doesn’t work while starving the stuff that does. That’s what we’re talking about today. In the marketing world, they call this 'attribution modelling.' In the real world, it’s just called 'knowing where your money comes from.'
The Problem With the 'Last Click'
Most of the reports you get from agencies are lazy. They use what’s called 'Last Click.'
It works like this: someone clicks an ad, they buy something or call you, and that ad gets 100% of the credit. It sounds simple, but it’s usually wrong.
Imagine a game of footy. The halfback spends the whole game setting up plays, the winger runs sixty metres down the sideline, and then the fullback dives over the line. In a 'Last Click' world, the fullback gets all the points and the rest of the team gets sacked.
That’s rubbish, right?
If you only look at the last thing someone did before they called you, you might decide to turn off your Facebook ads because they aren’t 'converting.' But what if those Facebook ads were the reason people started searching for you on Google in the first place? Turn them off, and your Google leads might dry up too.
Why People Don't Just Click and Buy
We’d all love it if marketing was a straight line. They see an ad, they click, they give you money.
But that’s not how humans work. We’re distracted. We’ve got kids screaming, work emails piling up, and a million other things on our minds.
Usually, the process looks more like this: 1. They see your ad on Facebook while scrolling in bed. They think, "I should probably get that leaking tap fixed." 2. Two days later, they’re at work and they remember the tap. They google "plumber Brisbane." 3. They see your Google ad, recognize your logo from Facebook, and click it. 4. They get a phone call and get distracted again. 5. That night, they type your website address directly into their phone and finally hit the 'call' button.
In this scenario, who gets the credit? Facebook started the fire. Google added the fuel. The direct visit finished the job.
If you aren't measuring ROI properly across that whole journey, you’re only seeing half the story.
The Different Ways to Slice the Pie
Since we know the 'Last Click' is often a lie, we have to look at other ways to give credit where it’s due. You don’t need to be a math genius to get this, you just need to pick a logic that fits your business.
1. First Click (The Introducer)
This gives all the credit to the very first thing that brought the customer to you. It’s great if you’re a new business and you just want to know what’s getting your name out there. But it’s risky because it ignores everything else that helped close the deal.2. Linear (The Participation Award)
This gives equal credit to every single touchpoint. If they saw a Facebook ad, a Google ad, and an email, each one gets 33% of the credit. It’s fair, but it’s a bit soft. Not every interaction is equally important.3. Time Decay (The Closer’s Preference)
This gives more credit to the things the customer did closest to the sale. The logic is that the thing that finally tipped them over the edge is the most valuable. It’s better than Last Click, but it still hates on the stuff that started the conversation.4. Position Based (The Best of Both Worlds)
This is my personal favourite for most small businesses. It gives 40% of the credit to the first thing they did, 40% to the last thing they did, and splits the remaining 20% across everything in the middle. You’re rewarding the 'Introducer' and the 'Closer.'"Stop overthinking the math and just look for the patterns; if you turn off a 'top of funnel' ad and your total phone calls drop two weeks later, you've found your answer regardless of what the dashboard says."
— Lisa Nguyen, Digital Strategy Consultant
Why Most Agencies Hide This From You
I’ll be blunt: a lot of agencies love Last Click reporting because it makes their specific job look better.
If I’m running your Google Ads, I want to show you a report that says I generated 50 leads. I don’t want to tell you that 30 of those people already knew who you were because of your local radio ad or your Facebook page.
At Local Marketing Group, we’d rather give you the truth. Even if the truth is that your Google Ads are just finishing a job that your reputation started. When you track every sale back to the source, you stop making decisions based on ego and start making them based on your bank balance.
How to Actually Use This Information
So, you’re sitting there thinking, "This is all well and good, but what do I actually do tomorrow morning?"
First, you need to stop looking at your marketing platforms in isolation. Google will always tell you Google is king. Facebook will always tell you Facebook is king. They’re both lying to you because they want more of your money.
Instead, look at your 'total cost per lead.'
If you spend $2,000 on marketing across three platforms and you get 40 leads, your cost per lead is $50. If you double your Facebook spend and your total leads go up to 60, then Facebook is working—even if the Facebook dashboard says it only 'converted' five people.
This is about the big picture. You want to see how your ads actually make money in the real world, not just in a spreadsheet.
The “Gut Feel” Test
Data is great, but don’t ignore your common sense. If you’re a tradie in the Western Suburbs and you start a heavy campaign in Kenmore, and suddenly you’re getting more calls from Kenmore... it’s working.
Don't get bogged down in whether they clicked a 'Call Extension' or a 'Landing Page' button. Are you busier? Is the bank account growing?
If you try to track every single human interaction to the millimetre, you’ll go mad. People are messy. They use their iPad, then their phone, then their work computer. They clear their cookies. They use private browsing.
We can get about 80% accuracy with modern tools. That last 20%? That’s just the cost of doing business. Don't chase it.
Common Traps to Avoid
1. The 'Brand Search' Trap If you’re spending thousands on Google Ads to show up when people search for your exact business name, you might be wasting money. They were already looking for you! Unless a competitor is bidding on your name and stealing your traffic, those 'conversions' are often ones you would have gotten anyway for free.
2. The 'View-Through' Lie Facebook loves to claim credit if someone simply saw an ad and then bought something later, even if they didn't click. Be careful with this. Just because I saw a billboard for a burger place doesn't mean the billboard is the only reason I bought a burger three days later.
3. Ignoring the Phone For most Brisbane businesses, the sale happens on the phone. If you aren't tracking which ads lead to phone calls, you are flying blind. A 'click' doesn't pay the bills. A conversation does.
How Long Until You See Results?
Setting up proper tracking takes a few days. Gathering enough data to make a smart decision usually takes 30 to 90 days.
If someone tells you they can tell you exactly which ad is working after 48 hours, they’re dreaming. You need a big enough sample size to see the patterns.
It’s like fishing. You don’t move the boat just because you didn't get a bite in the first five minutes. You wait, you watch the tide, and you look for where the fish are actually biting over time.
What Should You Do First?
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, start here:
1. Ask every single caller: "How did you hear about us?" It’s not perfect, but it’s a great reality check against what the digital reports are saying. 2. Look at your 'Assisted Conversions' in Google Analytics. This is a report that shows you which channels helped out, even if they weren't the final click. 3. Stop chasing 'likes' and 'shares'. They feel good, but they rarely correlate with more money in the bank.
Marketing shouldn't be a mystery. It’s an investment. And like any investment, you should know exactly what you’re getting back for every dollar you put in.
If your current agency is sending you reports full of jargon and you still don't know which ads are actually making you money, it might be time for a different conversation.
We help local businesses cut through the rubbish and focus on the numbers that actually matter. No fluff, no vanity metrics, just more calls and more sales.
If you want a hand sorting the wheat from the chaff, get in touch with us at Local Marketing Group. We’ll take a look at what you’re doing and tell you straight if you’re wasting your money.