PBA conversion paths dashboard

At a glance: Analyze web and mobile touchpoints that users encounter on their journey to conversion. Discover how media sources and types, channels, platforms, and devices interact to drive users to convert.

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PBA dashboards: Web-Assisted Installs | Website Attribution

Overview

A conversion path is a unique sequence of user steps that leads to conversion events. A step is logged every time a touchpoint type changes. 

The Conversion Paths dashboard provides a marketing analysis of mobile and web touchpoints across channels, platforms, and devices encountered by a user on their path to conversion. These include retargeting touchpoints.

Conversion path analysis provides advertisers with insights into the interaction of acquisition channels on the user path to performing a conversion event enabling advertisers to make data-driven media mix optimizations. Conversion events available are: 

  • Web events: set as conversion events by the marketer.
  • App install events (reinstall and re-attribution).
  • Mobile in-app events:
    • [Best practice] Select in-app events to include as conversion events
    • [Default] Revenue-generating events are automatically included

Advertisers may ask:

  • What are the top media sources across devices and platforms that drive users to convert?
  • How do different acquisition channels/sources interact along the path?
  • How long does it take users to convert?
  • How many steps or acquisition channels are involved in the path to conversion?

Dashboard view

To go to PBA dashboards:

  1. Go to People-Based Attribution. Click View brand bundles.
  2. Click PBA dashboard.
  3. Go to the Conversion Paths tab. 

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Key:

  1. Filters
  2. View type 
  3. Conversions path steps (each represents 1 or more touchpoints). They include mobile clicks,  impressions, and direct and non-direct web visits.
  4. Current view: Conversion metric
  5. Current view: Generated revenue metric
  6. Current view: Unique users metric

Dashboard-related definitions

Term Description
Conversion event

The following conversion events are available:

  • Web events marked as conversion events by the marketer in the dashboard. 
  • Mobile app installs (includes reinstalls and re-attributions)
  • Mobile in-app events:
    • [Best practice] Select the relevant in-app events to include as conversion events
    • [Default] Revenue-generating events are included automatically
Conversion path

The conversion path follows a unique sequence of media-related steps that lead to a conversion (media source, type, channel, etc.). 

  • A conversion path is displayed once in the dashboard; its KPIs contain the aggregate data of conversions that follow its specific path.
  • Example: Conversion Paths A (3 steps), B (5 steps), and C (3 steps) are unique; each follows different media-related steps.

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A conversion path is considered unique based on its steps. In Path C, it doesn't matter that a user repeatedly encountered and touched the same media source (X2, X3, and so on). 

Touchpoints

Conversion path steps include touchpoints the user interacted with up until the actual conversion event.

Touchpoints span multiple user devices and platforms including:

  • Web: Direct and non-direct web visits
  • Mobile: Clicks and impressions
Path length (steps)

Path length equals the number of steps. Example: Path C has 3 steps.

Path duration (days)

The number of days that pass between the first touchpoint and the conversion event. Maximum path duration is 30 days.

  • Example: 10-day conversion path
    • 21 Jan: Date of the first touchpoint 
    • 31 Jan: Conversion event occurred

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Data freshness PBA daily

Dashboard features

Conversion paths appear in the 'top conversion paths' table and the 'conversion path' charts. 

Conversion paths are analyzed and compared by setting filters and dimensions. Additional filters are available. Use the 'View steps by' option to switch the display between media source, type, and channel. 

Example of a conversion path:

  • A user engages with xyz_search 3 times in succession. This is considered 1 step as no other media source interrupted this activity.
  • If the user then engages with abc_search 7 times in succession, then this is the 2nd step, etc.

Filters and more

Use the filters to select the paths that you want to analyze.

Review the scenarios that follow to understand the main filter options relating to conversions and steps. 

Example scenarios—setting filters associated with conversion and steps

Some filters can be associated with the components of the path. Path components are:

  • Conversion
  • Steps

Their use is best illustrated by the scenarios that follow. 

Scenario Description
Scenario A

View paths whose conversion is attributed to Google Search

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To set the media source conversion filter: 

  1. Add + filter type Media source.
  2. Select Conversion.
  3. Select the media source.
Scenario B

View paths where the media source of the first step is Google Search

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To set the media source first step filter: 

  1. Add + filter type Media source.
  2. Select Steps.
  3. Select First step.
  4. Select the media source. 
Scenario C

View paths where the first media source is Google Search, the conversion is attributed to Google Search, and the user is located in South Africa at the time of the conversion

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To combine scenario A and scenario B with a geo filter:

  1. Complete the instructions for scenario A.
  2. Complete the instructions for scenario B.
  3. Add + filter Geo.
  4. Select Conversion.
  5. Select South Africa.
Filters Description
Date
Media source
  • The media source filter is associated with either the conversion or the steps.
  • If you want to filter by both the conversion and steps you can set multiple instances of the filter as illustrated in the example scenarios in the previous section.  
  • When associating with steps, select either first step, last step, or any step.
Media type

See the example scenarios; the media type filter operates similarly.

Media channel

See the example scenarios; the media channel filter operates similarly. 

Geo

See the example scenarios; the geo filter use is illustrated in scenario C in the previous section.

Conversion events Select 1 or more conversion events.
Path length (in steps)

Select the required path lengths. 

Path duration (in days)

Select several duration lengths; For example, 1, 3, and 7 days. Option 10includes durations of up to 30 days.

Views steps by (media options)

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Select an option to switch between path conversion displays: media source, type, and channel. Use the view options to gain varying perspectives.

Media source

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Name of the reported media source.

Media type

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Examples: Earned, paid, owned

Media channel

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Examples: Ad, organic search, referral

Include direct

When enabled, direct web traffic is included in the conversion paths.

Table features

Features Description
Icons
  • Globe: Web visit; including the mobile web
  • Apple: Mobile touchpoint such as a click or impression
  • Android: Mobile touchpoint such as a click or impression
 Export CSV

Click Export CSV to open a list of report types. Select a report type to get campaign-level data in a CSV file. The following options are available: 

  • Media source
  • Media type
  • Media channel
  • Campaign

Distribution charts

Conversion Path distribution charts let you compare the performance of paths grouped by:

  • Path length: Steps to conversion
  • Path duration: Days to conversion

Path duration chart: Days to conversion

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KPIs

There are 3 KPIs associated with the conversion path:

  • Conversions: Number of conversions 
  • Revenue: Total Revenue generated by conversions 
  • Unique users: Number of unique users per path (using the PBA private user graph)