93% of marketers in Ukraine continue to allocate their advertising budget primarily based on direct conversions and the last click.

But according to international studies, up to 65% of purchases in e-commerce occur after a complex chain of interactions, where intermediate channels play a decisive role – social networks, organic search, retargeting, email marketing. Ignoring these touchpoints leads to a loss of up to 40% of potential profit and errors in assessing channel effectiveness.

In my practice I have repeatedly encountered situations where businesses underestimated the contribution of assisting channels, missing opportunities for growth and cost optimization. Why does this happen? Because most companies focus on last-click metrics, overlooking the entire customer journey from first brand exposure to the final action.

Rhetorical question: if a customer’s path to purchase includes 5–7 touchpoints, why do we continue to evaluate channels only by the last interaction?

I am convinced that the analysis of associated conversions is the key to transparent and effective multichannel attribution, enabling informed decisions and scaling the business without blind spots.

In this article I will show how the BUSINESS SITE team solves the tasks of evaluating associated conversions, automates counting in Google Analytics 4, applies modern tools for path analysis and builds strategies that actually work in the Ukrainian market. If it’s important for you to precisely understand which channels move your business forward: I recommend reading to the end.

Associated conversions in multichannel attribution

assotsiirovannye konversii v mnogokanal n h2 img 1 What are associated conversions and how can you assess their value

Associated conversions (or assisted conversions) are a metric that reflects the contribution of all channels that participated in the user’s path to the target action, except the last one. Unlike direct conversions, which record only the final interaction, assisted conversions show which channels were critically important at the stages of generating interest, trust and decision-making.

In my experience, multichannel attribution is what allows you to see the real picture of the customer journey and understand how touchpoints work: first contact via Instagram, a repeat visit from organic search, retargeting on Facebook, a click from an email newsletter — and only then the final purchase through contextual advertising.

At BUSINESS SITE we use touchpoint analysis to identify assisting channels, which helps our clients, from pharmaceutical companies to online stores: optimize marketing budgets and increase ROI.

Multichannel attribution becomes the foundation for making strategic decisions, eliminating distortions caused by focusing on the last click.

Direct and associated conversion: differences and importance for business

Direct conversion: the result of the user’s last interaction with a channel before completing a target action.
Associated conversion – the contribution of all previous channels that accompanied the customer on the path to purchase.

I believe that ignoring assisting interactions leads to errors in assessing channel effectiveness and incorrect budget allocation. For example, if organic search consistently initiates first visits, and social networks build loyalty, but the final click happens via paid advertising, focusing only on the last channel distorts the real value of the others.

At BUSINESS SITE we apply different attribution models – from last-click to data-driven and position-based – to objectively distribute value between channels. This approach allows our clients to see not only direct ROI, but also the contribution of assisting channels, which is especially important for complex products with a long decision-making cycle.

Attribution models and conversion paths in GA4

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Multichannel attribution is the foundation of modern digital analytics. In Google Analytics 4 available models include last-click, linear, time decay, position-based and data-driven, each of which distributes value differently among touchpoints.

BUSINESS SITE’s practice has shown that the optimal model choice depends on the specifics of the business and the length of the customer journey.

For online stores with fast sales, position-based attribution is effective, where the first and last channels receive more weight and intermediate ones less. For pharmaceutical companies with a long decision-making cycle we use data-driven models that allow accounting for the contribution of each channel based on real data.

In GA4 the “Conversion Paths” report is a tool that visualizes the sequence of user interactions with the site, separating channel roles into first, intermediate and final touch. This allows segmenting the audience by conversion path and analyzing customer segmentation more deeply.

The “Conversion Paths” report in GA4 for channel evaluation

Instructions that I recommend to clients:

  • Open the “Conversion Paths” report in GA4.
  • Set filters by conversion type and attribution windows.
  • Analyze the sequence of touchpoints: first contact, intermediate interactions, final click.
  • Use engagement metrics, clicks, impressions, average time on site — to assess engagement at each stage.
  • Identify blind spots: channels that often initiate the path but rarely complete the conversion.
BUSINESS SITE’s practice confirms that this approach helps avoid distortions in analytics and identify undervalued channels that are critical to the customer journey.

This analysis helps move on to considering specific ways to increase conversion using intermediate channels.

How to increase conversion using intermediate channels?

kak povysit konversiiu s pomoshch iu promezhu h2 img 3 What are associated conversions and how can you assess their value

In real cases at BUSINESS SITE, for example, for pharmaceutical companies and online stores – we regularly see complex chains of interactions:

  • First contact via organic search («Rozetka», «Prom.ua»).
  • A repeat visit from social media ads.
  • Engagement via email newsletter.
  • Retargeting with a personalized offer.
  • Final purchase via contextual advertising.
In one e-commerce project we found that retargeting accounted for up to 40% of assisting conversions, although it rarely became the final channel.

Customer journey analysis showed that ignoring this channel would lead to underestimating its contribution and losing part of the audience.

Associated conversions allow evaluating the real value of organic traffic, social networks, and retargeting, not only the channels that close the deal.

This is especially important for businesses with a long decision-making cycle and high competition.

Associated conversions in GA4: theory and calculation algorithm, in the next section.

Methodology for calculating associated conversions in GA4

metodika raschiota assotsiirovannykh konvers h2 img 4 What are associated conversions and how can you assess their value

For an accurate count of assisting conversions in GA4 I recommend the following algorithm:

  • Extract the interaction chains of users who completed a conversion.
  • Remove the last touch (final channel) to assess the contribution of all previous ones.
  • Exclude duplicate channels in the chain to avoid double counting.
  • Group the data by channels to reveal their real contribution.

At BUSINESS SITE we automated this process using Google Sheets and Python scripts, which allows quickly analyzing large datasets and avoiding errors associated with manual counting.

Note: When there are multiple key events (for example, an order and a registration) it is important to segment the chains by conversion type so as not to mix data and to get correct insights.

Automation of reports for associated conversions

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I am convinced that automation is the key to scalable analytics. At BUSINESS SITE we use:

  • Google Sheets: formulas for counting assisting conversions, excluding the last touch and duplicate channels.
  • Python scripts: for processing large datasets, building interaction chains and integrating with external sources (CRM, CDP).
  • BigQuery: for analyzing conversion paths in large projects where high performance and complex segmentation are required.

Integration of data from different sources: Google Analytics, CRM, email platforms, ad accounts, allows getting a comprehensive picture of the customer journey and improving attribution accuracy.

In one of BUSINESS SITE’s cases for a construction company we built an automated report combining data from GA4, ad platforms and CRM. This allowed us to identify undervalued channels, adjust the strategy and increase ROI by 23% for the quarter.

Associated conversions and marketing budget optimization

Accounting for assisting conversions radically changes the approach to budget allocation. In my observations, companies that implement multi-channel attribution get:

  • The ability to identify weak points in the acquisition strategy: for example, insufficient reach at the interest-building stage.
  • A clear understanding of which channels work for awareness and which for conversion.
  • Increased ROI through cost optimization: investments are reallocated toward channels with high assisting contribution.
  • Risk management when scaling: analysis of the long-term consequences of reallocating budget between channels.
In BUSINESS SITE practice we encountered cases where after analyzing conversion paths the client reevaluated the role of email marketing and retargeting, increased investments in these channels and achieved sales growth of 15–30% without increasing the total budget.

Scaling strategies based on path analysis help avoid blind spots in digital analytics and build sustainable growth models based on real data.

Conversion path analysis in GA4 — a practical guide to tracking and optimizing user actions that lead to a conversion using Google Analytics 4 tools.

But your original “Practical guide to conversion path analysis in GA4” is longer than the recommended 40 characters and contains words that may be perceived as jargon (“practical guide”). To make it more SEO-oriented, concise and closer to a search query, you should shorten and simplify the wording.

An optimal one that meets your requirements:

Conversion path analysis in GA4

I recommend the following checklist for implementing associated conversions analysis:

  • Set up goals and events in GA4 to track key conversions.
  • Use the “Conversion Paths” report to visualize the customer journey.
  • Analyze engagement metrics: clicks, impressions, average time on site, pages viewed.
  • Segment users by channel effectiveness, for example by source of first touch or by chain length.
  • Automate reports using Google Sheets, Python or BigQuery.
  • Integrate data from CRM, email platforms, ad accounts for comprehensive analysis.
  • Apply cohort analysis to assess the long-term contribution of channels to customer lifetime value (CLV).

At BUSINESS SITE we implement these practices for clients in various sectors: from pharmaceuticals to e-commerce and financial services. This approach enables making informed decisions, avoiding distortions and building strategies that actually work.

Associated conversions in marketing, meaning and impact

Associated conversions are not just an additional metric but a foundation for comprehensive analysis of channel effectiveness, marketing budget optimization and building sustainable growth strategies. MultichannelI attribution allows you to see the real customer journey, identify undervalued touchpoints and make decisions based on data, not guesses.

The practice at BUSINESS SITE has shown that implementing analysis of associated conversions leads to increased sales, result transparency, and time savings for managers and marketers.

I recommend using modern tools, GA4, Google Sheets, Python, BigQuery – to automate calculations and data integration.

A comprehensive approach to multichannel attribution: it’s the path to effective management of marketing investments, risk reduction, and scaling the business in the Ukrainian market.