Ads attribution in HubSpot

Attribution refers to the rules that determine how your marketing assets and channels receive credit for converting visitors into contacts and customers. HubSpot's ads tool offers four different models of attribution.

Learn more about analyzing your ad campaigns in HubSpot. 

Contact attribution

For a contact to be attributed to your ad, a new contact must click on an ad, leading to a web session. Then, the contact must submit a form and convert. Each attribution report type may have slightly different additional requirements. 

In order to track conversions, the following must always apply:

• The HubSpot tracking code must be installed on the page your ad directs visitors to. HubSpot pages include the tracking code by default. However, if you're using an external page, ensure that the HubSpot tracking code is installed.

• Auto-tracking must be enabled for your ad account.

  • Note that tracking does not work retroactively; after auto-tracking is enabled, HubSpot will only be able to associate future ad clicks with contacts.

  • When you enable auto-tracking, HubSpot will only track ads that are active or under review. However, if you make status changes to ads or ad campaigns in your ad account, changes are not guaranteed to be reflected immediately in HubSpot.

• HubSpot forms, pop-up forms, or non-HubSpot forms that use the HubSpot Forms API must be used to capture form submissions on your pages. If you're using the HubSpot Forms API, you must include the parameters to pass the page URL and the HubSpot tracking cookie.

Deal attribution 

For a deal to be attributed to your ad, the deal stage property must be set to Closed Won. The deal must also be associated with an attributed contact in the Total Contacts column of the ad campaign. The following is also required for attribution:

• The deal stage is Closed won.
• The deal is associated with an attributed contact.
• The Close date property is populated. The Close date occurs on or after the starting date of the date range applied on the Manage tab.
• The associated contact Lifecycle stage is the HubSpot default Customer stage. If you are using a custom lifecycle stage, the deal will not be included. 
• The associated contact is attributed to an ad on the Ads dashboard.
• The correct date range is selected. The date range is based on the deal's Closed Won date.

Filter ad campaigns by attribution report

In the ads tool, filter your ad campaigns by attribution report to understand how your ads influence your contacts across every stage of their customer journey.

• The attribution reports available depend on your HubSpot subscription: 
  
  • Accounts using HubSpot's Free CRM and Marketing Hub Starter will only have access to the Last ad interaction report.
  • Accounts using Marketing Hub Professional or Enterprise will have access to all other attribution report types.

• When reviewing your ad metrics, for a contact or deal to be attributed to your ad they must meet the respective ad attribution requirements. Learn more about the requirements for contact and deal attribution. 

• Selecting different attribution reports will change the Contacts metric and any other metrics that are affected by the number of contacts. For example, the Customers, Cost per contact, and Revenue from deals metrics.
• Contacts may show up in multiple attribution report types, and some overlap is expected between the different attribution reports.

Filter ad campaign data by attribution report

Generally, attribution report filters are based on ad interactions by contacts. Ad interactions include when users click on your ads or submit a form after they engage with your ad.

To filter your ad campaigns by attribution report:

• In your HubSpot account, navigate to Marketing > Ads.
• In the upper left of the ads dashboard, click the Attribution Reports filter. Then, filter the ad campaign data by the following attribution reports:
  • First ad interaction: filter by ad campaign data where the contact's first recorded interaction is an ad interaction. For example, if a visitor clicks an ad and visits the website but does not give contact information. Then, the same visitor converts on a separate form two weeks later, this contact would still be attributed in the First Interaction report filter.

• • • If there is a delay between the ad interaction and the visitor conversion, and a user clears their cookies during this time, they will not be attributed.
    • The conversion does not have to be a HubSpot form submission to count in this report. For example, it could be a Shopify signup instead. 

• • Last ad interaction: filter by ad campaign data where a contact's last recorded interaction before converting was an ad interaction. For example, if a visitor clicks an ad and converts on a form in the same session, this contact would be attributed in the Last Interaction report filter.
    
    • The contact must be created during the same session as the ad click.
    • The conversion does not have to be a HubSpot form submission to count in this report. For example, it could be a Shopify signup instead.

• • Re-engagement: filter by ad campaign data where existing contacts have clicked on an ad after becoming a contact in your HubSpot account.
    • The contact must already have an existing ad interaction on their contact record before clicking on the ad. 
    • The ad click does not need to occur within the same session where the visitor initially converted to a contact. 

• • All ad interactions: filter by ad campaign data where any new or existing contact has interacted with an ad at any point in time.

Select your attribution report filter

If you previously used the old attribution report filters and have difficulty selecting a new filter, the table below shows the filters that best correspond to the old filters: