Marketing Attribution Is Broken: What to Measure Instead (A Practical Framework for CEOs)

Attribution is not “broken” because you’re doing something wrong. It’s broken because the internet changed. Privacy updates, cross-device behavior, longer buying cycles, and multi-channel journeys mean the neat story—ad → click → conversion—rarely matches reality.

So if you’re trying to run a business by last-click ROAS screenshots, you’ll make bad decisions.

This post gives you a practical alternative: a measurement framework that still works when attribution is messy, and a clear way to decide what to do next.

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Direct answer

Marketing attribution is unreliable for most businesses because customers convert across multiple touchpoints and platforms that don’t share data cleanly. Instead of chasing perfect attribution, measure what you can trust: funnel conversion by stage, cost per qualified outcome, incrementality signals, and cohort/retention economics. Use platform attribution directionally—never as your only truth.

Why attribution breaks (in plain English)

Attribution breaks when:

• customers see you in multiple places (search, social, email, referrals)

• they convert days or weeks later

• they switch devices

• platforms “claim” conversions they influenced but didn’t cause

• offline events matter (calls, bookings, sales conversations)

• privacy limits tracking and identity matching (i.e., apple iphone users)

You can’t fix that with a better dashboard. You fix it by using a measurement system designed for the world we live in.

The Marketing Measurement Ladder (what to use instead)

Think of measurement as a ladder. Most companies are stuck trying to jump to the top.

Tier 1: Directional performance (useful, but not decision-grade)

What it is: Platform-reported metrics like ROAS, CPA, conversions, and assisted conversions.When to use: Day-to-day monitoring and creative/channel diagnostics.Risk: Over-crediting brand and retargeting; under-crediting upper funnel.

Use it for:

• spotting trends (up/down)

• diagnosing creative fatigue

• catching obvious waste

• comparing campaigns within the same platform

Don’t use it for: “This channel is the reason we grew.”

Common Google Ads audit mistakes

Tier 2: Funnel truth (the most important layer for most businesses)

What it is: Stage-by-stage conversion tracking that ties marketing to real business outcomes.

If you do only one thing, do this.

Lead-gen funnel example:

• Visitors → Leads → Qualified Leads → Booked → Closed

Ecommerce funnel example:

• Sessions → Add-to-cart → Checkout started → Purchases → Repeat purchases

B2B funnel example:

• Conversions → Qualified conversations → SQL → Opps → Pipeline → Revenue

This is where clarity lives. If conversion breaks, you’ll know where.

Tier 3: Incrementality checks (the closest thing to “truth”)

What it is: Simple tests that answer “Did this channel actually add value, or just steal credit?”

Examples:

• turning off (or reducing) a channel in one geo and comparing results

• running holdouts for retargeting or branded campaigns

• shifting budget between two channels and watching downstream metrics

• using time-based tests (A/B weeks) carefully

You don’t need perfect science. You need reliable signal.

Tier 4: MMM (when you’re big enough to justify it)

Marketing Mix Modeling can help estimate contribution across channels when you have:

• enough spend

• enough time-series data

• stable tracking

• and a business that won’t panic if results aren’t immediate

Most companies don’t need MMM first. They need Tier 2 first.

Analytics, Attribution, and Data Rescue

What to measure instead (by business type)

If you’re ecommerce / DTC

Primary metrics

• Contribution margin (or gross profit)

• New customer CAC

• Conversion rate (sitewide + checkout)

• AOV

• Repeat purchase rate / cohort LTV

Directional metrics

• MER (blended efficiency)

• Email/SMS revenue share

• platform ROAS (diagnostic only)

If you sell higher-ticket: add “time to purchase” and assisted conversion paths.

Fractional CMO for Premium DTC Brands

If you’re healthcare / services / appointment-based

Primary metrics

• Cost per qualified lead (not CPL)

• Booked appointment rate

• Show rate

• Close rate (or best proxy)

• Time-to-first-response (this one matters a lot)

Directional metrics

• cost per lead by channel

• top landing pages by conversion

• call quality scoring (if available)

If you can import offline conversions (booked/attended), do it. It makes every channel smarter.

Fractional CMO for Healthcare Brands

If you’re B2B / longer sales cycle

Primary metrics

• Cost per qualified conversation

• SQL rate

• Opportunity creation rate

• Pipeline created (monthly)

• Pipeline per $ spent (directional)

• Win rate trend (monthly/quarterly)

Directional metrics

• demo request volume

• content engagement that correlates with pipeline (not vanity)

• account engagement (ABM) with downstream checks

If your team only tracks “leads,” you’ll always feel like marketing is failing.

The “Attribution Reality” rules (so you don’t make bad decisions)

Rule 1: Brand and retargeting are not growth channels by themselves

They’re important, but they mostly monetize demand you already created.

Treat them as efficiency and conversion layers, not the engine.

Rule 2: Don’t scale based on ROAS alone

Scale based on:

• stable conversion rates

• cost per qualified outcome

• and marginal return

Rule 3: If you can’t measure quality, you will buy low-quality volume

This is how teams end up “winning” dashboards and losing revenue.

Rule 4: One clean primary conversion beats ten noisy ones

Most accounts are training algorithms on the wrong outcomes.

A simple weekly operating cadence (the CEO version)

Every week, your marketing meeting should answer:

1. What changed (campaigns, offers, creative, budgets)?

2. What did we learn (what moved and why)?

3. What is the constraint (traffic, conversion, quality, follow-up)?

4. What do we do next week (1–3 priorities)?

If your meeting is only charts, you’re not operating—you’re watching.

The “Attribution Triage” checklist (60 seconds)

If attribution feels confusing, ask:

• Do we trust tracking and conversion definitions?

• Do we know conversion rates by funnel stage?

• Do we measure qualified outcomes (not raw leads)?

• Are we protecting brand and avoiding cannibalization?

• Do we have any incrementality checks?

• Are we scaling based on marginal return, not vanity ROAS?

If you answered “no” to several, that’s normal. It just means you need a better measurement system.

If you want help: build a measurement system that leadership can use

Orr Consulting helps growth-stage teams build practical measurement systems that don’t depend on perfect attribution. That typically includes:

• KPI tree + scorecard

• clean conversion definitions

• funnel stage tracking and reporting

• channel strategy grounded in unit economics

• an operating cadence that keeps decisions clear

If you want a quick diagnostic, start with a short audit: we’ll identify what’s measurable today, what’s currently noisy, and the highest-leverage fixes.