In hockey, we all love to celebrate the goal scorer. They get the glory, the cheers, and the top spot on the scoresheet. But any true fan knows that behind every great goal is often a brilliant play, a series of crisp passes, and players who did the crucial work to set up that final shot.
In the world of Google Ads, a “conversion” (like a sale, lead, or sign-up) is your goal. And for a long time, we primarily focused on the “goal scorer” – the very last click a user made before converting. This is called “last-click attribution.”
But just like focusing only on goal scorers gives you an incomplete picture of a hockey team’s performance, focusing only on last-click conversions can hide the true value of many of your Google Ads campaigns.
Enter Assisted Conversions.
Think of assisted conversions as the assists in hockey. These are the interactions a user had with your ads before the final interaction that led to the conversion. They didn’t take the final shot, but they were crucial in setting up the play that resulted in a goal.
Google Ads tracks this in the Attribution reports, specifically under the “Assisted conversions” tab. Let’s look at some data from this example to see what this looks like in action, using our hockey analogy.
Looking at the data, we see different campaigns listed like players on a team roster.
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- Last click conversions: This is our “Goals” column – the number of conversions where this campaign got the final click.
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- Last click conversion value: The total value generated from those “Goals.”
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- Click and view assists: This is our “Assists” column – how many times this campaign interacted with a user on their path to conversion, but wasn’t the final click.
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- Click and view assist value: The total value of conversions where this campaign provided an “assist.”
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- Assists / Last click conversions: This is like looking at a player’s Assist-to-Goal ratio. It tells you how often this campaign helped set up a goal compared to scoring one itself.
Notice the campaigns highlighted in green, “Demand Gen” and “Video – Remarketing.”
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- The Demand Gen campaign had 2 “Last click conversions” (Goals) with a value of $6,650. But look at its “Click and view assists”: 41! And the value generated from those assists was a whopping $107,000! Its “Assists / Last click conversions” ratio is 20.5. This campaign is like a phenomenal playmaker – maybe not scoring a ton themselves, but constantly setting up high-value goals for their teammates.
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- The Video – Remarketing campaign had 0 “Last click conversions” (Goals). Zero goals! If you only looked at last-click, you might think this campaign is useless. But it had 31 “Click and view assists” with a value of $53,000! Its assist ratio is infinity (or at least very high, indicated by ‘oo’ in the screenshot) because it had assists but no last clicks. This is your ultimate setup player – never taking the final shot, but always making the pass that leads to the goal.
Why are these “Assists” so important?
Ignoring assisted conversions is like benching your best playmakers just because they don’t score many goals. Here’s why they matter:
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- They show the full team effort: Conversions rarely happen in isolation. Users interact with multiple touchpoints (ads, organic search, social media) before converting. Assisted conversions show you which of your Google Ads campaigns are part of that crucial journey, even if they aren’t the final step.
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- They reveal hidden value: As we saw with the Demand Gen and Video campaigns, campaigns with low last-click conversions can be incredibly valuable in influencing conversions happening elsewhere. Cutting these campaigns based solely on last-click data would be a huge mistake.
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- They inform smarter strategy: Understanding which campaigns are great at introducing users (like a breakout pass), which are good at keeping them engaged (like cycling the puck), and which are best at closing the deal (the shot on net) allows you to build a more effective, synergistic strategy. You can allocate budget more effectively, nurture users through their journey, and understand the interplay between your different ad efforts.
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- They reflect the customer journey: In today’s multi-device, multi-channel world, users rarely click an ad and convert immediately. The customer journey is more like a power play – everyone has a role, and it takes multiple passes to break down the defense and score. Assisted conversions reflect this reality.
Just like a coach needs to look beyond just goals to evaluate a player and build a winning team (considering assists, +/- rating, defensive play, etc.), you need to look beyond last-click conversions to understand the true performance of your Google Ads campaigns.
By giving credit to your “playmakers” – your assisted conversions – you get a more accurate picture of what’s driving your business goals and can optimize your Google Ads strategy for maximum impact. Don’t just celebrate the goals; celebrate the beautiful assists that made them possible!
