Measurement vs. attribution: what Metrion does and doesn't do

Metrion measures your conversions and delivers them to your ad platforms. It does not decide which channel gets the credit: each platform does that itself, using its own attribution model.

The difference in one table

Measurement records that a conversion happened. Attribution decides which marketing touchpoint gets the credit for it. They are two separate steps, done by different systems.

Attribution can only be as good as the measurement underneath it. If a platform never receives a conversion, no attribution model can assign it.

Why measurement comes first

Most marketers go straight to the attribution question: which channel should I scale up, and which should I cut back? That question assumes the numbers behind it are complete. Usually they are not.

Browser-based tracking loses conversions to cookie banners, ad blockers, browser privacy features and consent rules. Those orders happened, but they never reached your ad platforms. That causes two problems:

• You decide on a partial picture. An attribution model can only divide the conversions it knows about. If a share of your orders is missing, and not evenly across channels, any model will favour the channels that happen to be tracked best.

• The ad platforms decide on a partial picture too. This matters even more. Their bidding algorithms learn from the conversions they receive. Missing conversions mean they bid on the wrong signals, every day, whichever attribution model you prefer.

So the order is: first make sure every real conversion is measured and delivered, then decide how to divide the credit. Changing the attribution model on incomplete data only rearranges the same gaps. Metrion solves the first step, so that the second is worth doing.

Example: two clicks, one order

Both Meta and Google receive the conversion from Metrion, and each platform then decides for itself whether to claim it. Take this customer journey:

1. A shopper clicks a Meta ad and visits your store, but does not order.

2. Later, the same shopper clicks a (branded) Google Shopping ad and places an order.

What Metrion does:

1. It captures the order server-side from your store.

2. It attaches the click IDs it has for this shopper: the Meta click ID from the first visit and the Google click ID from the second.

3. It forwards the conversion to Meta with the Meta click ID, and to Google Ads with the Google click ID.

What happens next is up to the platforms. Meta checks the conversion against its own attribution setting and, if the click falls inside the window, counts it. Google Ads does the same with its own model and window. In this example both platforms will usually report one conversion, for one real order.

So Metrion does not pick a winner between Meta and Google. It gives both platforms the same accurate fact and lets each apply its own rules.

What you can and cannot do with Metrion

Metrion is a measurement and delivery platform, not an attribution tool.

The Metrion dashboard shows facts: the conversion, its click IDs and its delivery status.

Where attribution happens

You choose attribution models in the tools that do the attributing, not in Metrion.

• Inside each ad platform. Meta Ads, Google Ads and TikTok Ads each have their own attribution settings and windows. Each platform only sees its own clicks, so each judges the conversion from its own point of view.

• In an analytics or attribution tool. A tool that sees all your channels at once, such as Google Analytics 4, can divide one order across channels or assign it to one of them.

This is why the conversions reported by your ad platforms add up to more than your actual orders. In the example above, Meta and Google each report one conversion, while your store has one order. That is not double measurement by Metrion. It is two platforms each claiming the same order under their own rules.

For the true number of orders and revenue, use your store backend. For the split between channels, use one attribution view and apply it consistently.

Frequently asked questions

Which channel gets the conversion when a shopper clicked on more than one? Metrion forwards the conversion to every platform it has a click ID for. Each platform then decides whether to count it, based on its own attribution settings.

Can I pick an attribution model in Metrion? No. Metrion has no attribution models. You set those in your ad platforms or in your analytics tool.

Does Metrion count the same order twice? No. Metrion stores each order once. It can send that one order to several platforms, and each of them may report it.

My ad platforms report more conversions since I started using Metrion. Why? Metrion captures conversions that browser tracking used to miss, so platforms receive more of your real orders. The attribution rules of the platforms themselves have not changed.

Why does Metrion not attribute? Ad platforms optimise their bidding on the conversions they receive. They perform best when they get every conversion their clicks were involved in, not only the ones a third party decided to award them.