Who really caused the sale - Google or Meta?
Who Gets the Credit? Why ‘Last Click Wins’ Doesn’t Tell the Full Story
In the world of digital marketing, attribution is a bit like trying to solve a mystery with only half the clues. Who really gets the credit for a sale? Was it the Google Ad someone clicked at lunchtime, or the Instagram Story they saw that evening while scrolling in bed?
For e-commerce brands, this dilemma is all too familiar. And the truth? It's rarely a straight line.
Let’s break it down with a common customer journey:
A potential customer searches for a product on Google, clicks on a Google Ad, and browses your site.
They go about their day, chat with friends, and hear some word-of-mouth praise about your brand.
Later, while scrolling through Instagram, they’re retargeted with a Facebook (Meta) ad reminding them of the very product they viewed earlier.
Finally, they search your brand name on Google again and make the purchase.
Now, when the sale comes through, who gets the glory?
But in reality, every touchpoint mattered. The initial Google Ad sparked curiosity, the Meta ad reignited intent, and the final branded search sealed the deal.
As digital marketers, we see this all the time. It’s not about one platform working in isolation, it’s about how Google and Meta (and sometimes even offline conversations) work together to drive conversions.
So when both ad platforms show the same conversion, don’t panic, it’s not double-counting in a bad way. It’s confirmation that your marketing ecosystem is doing exactly what it should: working cohesively to move people closer to a purchase.
Yes, it might feel a little greedy seeing the same sale reported in two places.
But actually, that’s a good thing.
You need visibility in both Google and Meta to properly optimise and scale what’s working.
If you’re an ads manager, this is something to communicate clearly to your clients (from experience this is an ongoing reminder.) Helping them understand how attribution actually works builds trust and gives proper credit to the full customer journey, not just the final click. (maybe book mark this page and I guarantee you’ll be coming back to this when you’re justifying your why ads work!)
And if you’re running your own ads? Take this as a reminder to zoom out. Success rarely hinges on just one platform. More often than not, it's the interplay between all them that gets results.
