Assisted Conversions in Google Ads (Adwords) Explained

The Assisted Conversions report in Google Ads (formerly Google Adwords) tell you about assisted conversions generated by a campaign, ad group, keyword and match type.

What are Assisted Conversions in Google Ads?

In the context of Google Ads, assisted conversions are those conversion actions which were assisted by ad clicks (excluding the last ad click) or ad impressions (excluding the last ad impression).

For example, for the conversion action ‘website purchase’ the ‘assisted conversions’ represents those website purchases that were assisted by ad clicks (excluding the last ad click) or ad impressions (excluding the last ad impression).

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Last Ad Click and Last Ad Impression

The ‘last ad click’ is the click on a search network ad that happened just before conversion.

The ‘last ad impression’ is the serving of a search network ad that happened just before the last ad click.

The ad impression that is recorded just before the last ad click is the last ad impression.

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Assisted Ad Click and Assisted Ad Impression

An ad click other than the last ad click is called the assisted ad click.

An ad impression other than the last ad impression is called the assisted ad impression.

How to View and Use the Assisted Conversions Report in Google Ads?

In order to view and use the Assisted Conversions report, follow the steps below:

Step-1: Setup conversion tracking in your Google Ads account.

Step-2: Make sure that your Google Ad account has collected at least 30 days of conversion data from search network ads in your Google Ads reports. Otherwise, you are most likely to draw the wrong conclusions from your analysis.

Step-3: In your Google Ads account, click on the ‘Tools’ tab and then click on the ‘Search Attribution‘ link under the ‘Measurement’ section:

search attribution google ads

Step-4: Click on the ‘Assisted Conversions’ link:

assisted conversions in google ads

Types of Assisted Conversions

In the context of Google Ads there are two types of assisted conversions:

  1. Click assisted conversions
  2. Impression assisted conversions

Introduction to Click Assisted Conversions

‘Click assisted conversions’ are those conversion actions which were assisted by ad clicks (excluding the last ad click).

For example, if your selected conversion action (in the Assisted Conversion report) is ‘website purchase’:

website purchase

Then ‘Click assisted conversions’ represents those website purchases that were assisted by ad clicks (excluding the last ad click):

click assisted conversions

Similarly, if your selected conversion action is ‘website leads’ then ‘Click assisted conversions’ represents those website leads which were assisted by ad clicks (excluding the last ad click).

The Assisted Conversions report can tell you ‘click assisted conversions’ generated by a campaign, adgroup, keyword and match type:

click assisted conversions2

You can click on a campaign name to see the click assisted conversions generated by all the ad groups in that campaign:

click on campaign name
all the adgroups

Similarly, you can click on an ad group name to see the click assisted conversions generated by all the keywords in that ad group:

keywords

The Assisted Conversions report show breadcrumb at the top through which you can determine where you currently are, in the report:

breadcrumb

You can apply a secondary dimension to the data table in the Assisted conversions report by clicking on the plus (+) drop down menu:

secondary dimension
secondry dimension2

You can apply up to three additional dimensions to the data table in the Assisted Conversions report by repeatedly clicking on the plus (+) drop down menu:

secondry dimension3
Attribution Modelling in Google Analytics and Beyond
Attribution Modelling in Google Ads and Facebook

Get my best selling books on Attribution Modelling

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  • Understand the customer purchase journey across devices
  • Determine the most effective marketing channels for investment

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Introduction to Click Assisted Conversions Value

‘Click Assisted Conversions Value’ is the total value associated with click assisted conversions.

For example, if your selected conversion action is ‘website purchase’:

website purchase

In this case, the ‘Click Assisted Conversions Value’ represents the total value (i.e. revenue) associated with those website purchases which were assisted by ad clicks other than the last ad clicks:

click assisted conversion value

Similarly, if your selected conversion action is website leads (like ‘brochure order):

website leads

In this case, the ‘Click Assisted Conversions Value’ represents the total value associated with those website leads which were assisted by ad clicks other than the last ad clicks.

The Assisted Conversions report can tell you ‘click assisted conversion value’ for the click assisted conversions generated by a campaign, adgroup, keyword and match type:

click assisted conversion value2

Introduction to Last Click Conversions

‘Last Click conversions’ are those conversion actions which were assisted by last ad clicks.

For example, if your selected conversion action is ‘website purchase’ then ‘Last Click conversions’ represents those website purchases that were assisted by last ad clicks:

last click conversions

Similarly, if your selected conversion action is ‘website leads’ then ‘Last Click conversions’  represents those website leads which were assisted by last ad clicks.

The Assisted Conversions report can tell you ‘Last Click conversions’ generated by a campaign, adgroup, keyword and match type:

last click conversions2

Introduction to Last Click Conversions Value

‘Last Click Conversion Value’ is the total value associated with ‘Last click conversions’.

For example, if your selected conversion action is ‘purchase’ then the ‘Last Click Conversion Value’ represents the total value (i.e. revenue) associated with those website purchases which were assisted by last ad clicks:

last click conversion value

Similarly, if your selected conversion action is website leads then the ‘Last Click Conversion Value’ represents the total value associated with those website leads which were assisted by last ad clicks.

The Assisted Conversions report can tell you ‘Last Click Conversion Value’ for the ‘last click conversions’ generated by a campaign, adgroup, keyword and match type:

last click conversion value2

Click-Assisted Conversions / Last Click Conversions

Click Assisted Conversions Last Click Conversions

Through this ratio metric you can determine whether a campaign, ad group, keyword or match type played:

  1. an equal role in both assisting and completing conversions
  2. a bigger role in assisting conversions
  3. a bigger role in directly completing conversions.

For example, for a keyword:

If the ratio (i.e. Click-Assisted Conversions / Last Click Conversions) is 1 or near 1 then it means the keyword played equal role in both assisting and directly completing conversions.

If the ratio is greater than 1 then it means the keyword played a bigger role in assisting conversions than directly completing conversions.

If the ratio is less than 1 then it means the keyword played a bigger role in directly completing conversions than assisting conversions.

Similarly, for a campaign:

If the ratio (i.e. Click-Assisted Conversions / Last Click Conversions) is 1 or near 1 then it means the campaign played an equal role in both assisting and directly completing conversions.

If the ratio is greater than 1 then it means the campaign played bigger role in assisting conversions than directly completing conversions.

If the ratio is less than 1 then it means the campaign played bigger role in directly completing conversions than assisting conversions.

Introduction to Impression Assisted Conversions

‘Impression assisted conversions’ are those conversion actions that were assisted by ad impressions (excluding the last ad impression).

For example, if your selected conversion action is ‘website purchase’ then ‘Impression assisted conversions’ represents those website purchases that were assisted by ad impressions (excluding the last ad impression):

impressions assisted conversions

Similarly, if your selected conversion action is ‘website leads’ then ‘Impression assisted conversions’ represents those website leads that were assisted by ad impressions (excluding the last ad impression).

You can see the ‘Impression Assisted Conversions’ by clicking on the ‘Impression Assisted Conversions’ tab in the Assisted Conversions report:

impression Assisted Conversions tab

The Assisted Conversions report can tell you ‘Impression assisted conversions’ generated by a campaign, adgroup, keyword and match type:

impression Assisted Conversions

Introduction to Impression Assisted Conversions Value

‘Impression Assisted Conversions Value’ is the total value associated with ‘Impression assisted conversions’.

For example, if your selected conversion action is ‘website purchase’ then  ‘Impression Assisted Conversions Value’ represents the total value (i.e. revenue) associated with those website purchases which were assisted by ad impressions other than the last ad impression:

impression Assisted Conversion value

Similarly, if your selected conversion action is website leads then ‘Impression Assisted Conversions Value’ represents the total value associated with those website leads which were assisted by ad impressions other than the last ad impression.

The Assisted Conversions report can tell you ‘Impression assisted conversion value’ for the Impression assisted conversions generated by a campaign, adgroup, keyword and match type:

impression Assisted Conversion value2

Impression-Assisted Conversions / Last Click Conversions

Impression Assisted Conversions Last Click Conversions

Through this ratio metric you can determine whether a campaign, ad group, keyword or match type played:

  1. an equal role in both assisting and completing conversions
  2. a bigger role in assisting conversions
  3. a bigger role in directly completing conversions.

For example, for a campaign:

If the ratio (i.e. Impression-Assisted Conversions / Last Click Conversions) is 1 or near 1 then it means the campaign played an equal role in both assisting and directly completing conversions.

If the ratio is greater than 1 then it means the campaign played bigger role in assisting conversions than directly completing conversions.

If the ratio is less than 1 then it means the campaign played bigger role in directly completing conversions than assisting conversions.

Difference between ‘Click-Assisted Conversions / Last Click Conversions’ and ‘Impression-Assisted Conversions / Last Click Conversions’

Both ratio metrics provide the same insight.

The only difference is in the context.

The metric ‘Click-Assisted Conversions / Last Click Conversions’ gives insight into the context of click assisted conversions.

Whereas the metric, ‘Impression-Assisted Conversions / Last Click Conversions’ gives insight into the context of impression assisted conversions.

Attribution Modelling in Google Analytics and Beyond
Attribution Modelling in Google Ads and Facebook

Get my best selling books on Attribution Modelling

  • Learn to implement attribution modelling in your organisation
  • Understand the customer purchase journey across devices
  • Determine the most effective marketing channels for investment

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  1. Guide to Attribution Modelling in Google Ads (Google Adwords)
  2. Which Attribution Model to use in Google Ads (Google Adwords)?
  3. Cross device attribution reports in Google Ads (Google AdWords)
  4. How to change Attribution Model in Google Ads (Google Adwords)
  5. Data Driven Attribution Model in Google Ads (Google Adwords)
  6. Setting up Data Driven Attribution Model in Google Ads (Google Adwords)
  7. Store visit conversion tracking in Google Ads (Google AdWords)
  8. Understanding the Analytics behind Google Ads (Google Adwords)
  9. Cross Account Conversion Tracking in Google Ads (Google Adwords)
  10. Understanding View-Through conversions In Google Ads (Google Adwords)
  11. Understanding Conversion Paths in Google Ads (Google Adwords)
  12. Understanding Search Attribution Reports in Google Ads (Adwords)
  13. How to test Attribution Model in Google Ads (Adwords)

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Attribution modelling is the process of determining the most effective marketing channels for investment. This book has been written to help you implement attribution modelling. It will teach you how to leverage the knowledge of attribution modelling in order to allocate marketing budget and understand buying behaviour.

Attribution Modelling in Google Ads and Facebook
This book has been written to help you implement attribution modelling in Google Ads (Google AdWords) and Facebook. It will teach you, how to leverage the knowledge of attribution modelling in order to understand the customer purchasing journey and determine the most effective marketing channels for investment.

About the Author

Himanshu Sharma

  • Founder, OptimizeSmart.com
  • Over 15 years of experience in digital analytics and marketing
  • Author of four best-selling books on digital analytics and conversion optimization
  • Nominated for Digital Analytics Association Awards for Excellence
  • Runs one of the most popular blogs in the world on digital analytics
  • Consultant to countless small and big businesses over the decade