HUBSPOT SOLUTIONS PARTNER

GEARING UP FOR Q2

APPLY TODAY

GEARING UP FOR Q2 - APPLY NOW

HUBSPOT SOLUTIONS PARTNER

GEARING UP FOR Q2

APPLY TODAY

client guide.

UnderstandingYour MarketingData

Why the numbers never quite match and how to use each platform correctly.

A plain-English guide for business owners and marketing teams.

Start Reading

The Golden Rule

No two platforms will ever report the same number. The goal is not to find one matching number — it is to understand what each platform tells you and use it for the right purpose.

What's inside

Google Analytics 4

Behaviour, trends, and why GA4 attribution is more complex than you think

Ad Platforms

Why Meta, Google Ads and LinkedIn all claim credit for conversions

CRM & Sales Systems

HubSpot vs Salesforce, and your financial source of truth

The Right Framework

Which data source to use for every business question

Specialist Tools

Amplitude, Triple Whale, and dedicated attribution platforms

The Attribution Problem

MTA, MMM, incrementality, and the measurement stack

GA4 is a behaviour and traffic analysis tool

GA4 is a behaviour and traffic analysis tool. It tracks how people move around your website — where they come from, what they look at, how long they stay, and where they drop off.

What GA4 is good for

•Understanding which channels drive the most engaged traffic
•Spotting trends over time (is organic traffic growing?)
•Analysing user journeys and funnel drop-off points
•Comparing content or landing page performance
•Identifying peak traffic periods and audience demographics

How GA4 attribution actually works

This is one of the most misunderstood aspects of GA4. It does not use a single attribution model — it uses different models depending on which report you're viewing.

Three Scopes, Two Different Models

User scope (prefix "First user...") → Last non-direct click — fixed

Session scope (prefix "Session...") → Last non-direct click — fixed

Event scope (no prefix) → Data-Driven Attribution — configurable

Report

Attribution Model

Traffic Acquisition

Last non-direct click (always)

User Acquisition

Last non-direct click (always)

Conversions / Key Events

Data-Driven (configurable)

Cookie Deprecation

Safari and Firefox block third-party tracking. Chrome has reduced cross-site tracking. An increasing portion of GA4 data is modelled (estimated), not measured. Excellent for trends — unreliable for exact counts.

What GA4 is NOT for

•Do not use as your source of truth for revenue or conversions
•Do not try to reconcile GA4 numbers with your CRM
•Do not use to evaluate campaign ROI in isolation

GA4 is a behaviour and traffic analysis tool. It tracks how people move around your website — where they come from, what they look at, how long they stay, and where they drop off.

What GA4 is good for

Understanding which channels drive the most engaged traffic
Spotting trends over time (is organic traffic growing?)
Analysing user journeys and funnel drop-off points
Comparing content or landing page performance
Identifying peak traffic periods and audience demographics

How GA4 attribution actually works

This is one of the most misunderstood aspects of GA4. It does not use a single attribution model — it uses different models depending on which report you're viewing.

Three Scopes, Two Different Models

User scope (prefix "First user...") → Last non-direct click — fixed

Session scope (prefix "Session...") → Last non-direct click — fixed

Event scope (no prefix) → Data-Driven Attribution — configurable

Report	Attribution Model
Traffic Acquisition	Last non-direct click (always)
User Acquisition	Last non-direct click (always)
Conversions / Key Events	Data-Driven (configurable)

Cookie Deprecation

What GA4 is NOT for

Do not use as your source of truth for revenue or conversions
Do not try to reconcile GA4 numbers with your CRM
Do not use to evaluate campaign ROI in isolation

Quick Reference Summary

PLATFORM

BEST USED FOR

NOT RELIABLE FOR

GA4

Traffic trends, funnel analysis, audience insights

Absolute conversion counts, revenue reporting

Google Ads

Search campaign optimisation, keyword performance

True revenue attribution, cross-channel comparison

Meta Ads

Audience targeting, creative testing, retargeting

Exact conversion counts post-iOS14

LinkedIn Ads

B2B audience targeting, professional reach

Direct ROI (long sales cycles)

HubSpot

Revenue reporting, multi-touch attribution

Anonymous pre-form behaviour

Salesforce

Pipeline management, revenue reporting

Multi-touch attribution without add-ons

Triple Whale

Ecommerce attribution across platforms

B2B, services, lead generation

Amplitude

In-product behaviour, SaaS/app analytics

Cross-channel ad attribution alone

Questionsaboutyourdata?

Reach out to your Media Rocket account manager. We are always happy to walk through what your reports mean.

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Contact

Bringuswhatyou’reseeing.We’llshowyouwhattodonext.

Share a bit of context and what you’re trying to achieve. We’ll come back with the most useful next step and help you decide on the smallest set of moves that improves clarity, delivery, and measurement.