Last-click attribution assigns all credit to the last recorded touchpoint before a conversion. It is simple and easy to explain, which is why it became the default in many tools. It also systematically undervalues channels that create demand early, such as content and SEO, and overvalues channels that capture existing demand, such as branded search and retargeting.
Variants
Most tools use last non-direct click: if the final visit was direct, credit goes to the last known channel before it. GA4 offers a Paid and organic last click model and a Google paid channels last click model alongside data-driven attribution.
Why it favors bottom-of-funnel channels
A buyer who read three blog posts over a month, then searched the brand name and signed up, is credited entirely to branded organic or paid search. The blog posts that created the interest get nothing. Over time, budgets steered by last-click shift toward channels that harvest demand rather than create it.
When it is the right lens
Last-click is fine for short, single-session purchases, for diagnosing which pages close conversions, and for checking that tracking works end to end. Treat it as one view among several, not as the answer to what drives growth.
A practical habit is to show last-click next to a first-touch or data-driven view in the same report. Channels whose credit changes a lot between the views are the ones whose role deserves a closer look, and possibly an incrementality test.
Example
A branded search line that took all the credit
Suppose Ridgeholm, a time-tracking SaaS, reports on last-click and sees paid brand search as its best channel. A first-touch and assisted conversion view shows most of those buyers first arrived through comparison content and organic search. Cutting content because of last-click numbers would have removed the source of the brand searches.
Common mistakes
Budgeting from last-click alone
It rewards demand capture and starves demand creation.
Forgetting the direct exclusion
Different tools treat direct differently. Check the rule before comparing reports.
Questions
Yes. GA4 offers paid and organic last click and Google paid channels last click, plus data-driven attribution as the default.
