Attribution Data Quality Gate (Onboarding)

Attribution Data Quality Gate (Onboarding)

1. 01

   Inventory all marketing data sources and map them to the client's revenue events

   List every ad platform, CRM, email system, and payment processor that touches the client's funnel. Confirm each source can export the fields needed for attribution, such as click IDs, timestamps, and conversion values.

2. 02

   Verify tracking implementation across all channels before any attribution model is configured

   Check that pixels, tags, and server-side tracking are firing correctly on every page and event. A single broken tag can silently undercount conversions and skew the entire attribution picture.

3. 03

   Reconcile revenue totals between the attribution tool and the client's accounting system

   Pull gross revenue from the payment processor and compare it to what the attribution platform reports. Discrepancies above 5% indicate missing data or duplicate tracking that must be resolved before the model is trusted.

4. 04

   Document the client's current attribution assumptions and historical benchmarks

   Ask how the client has been measuring ROI to date, including any last-click reports or in-house spreadsheets. Record baseline numbers so you can quantify the shift when multi-touch or MMM insights replace them.

5. 05

   Establish a single source of truth for campaign and channel naming conventions

   Standardize UTM parameters, campaign IDs, and channel groupings across all platforms. Inconsistent naming makes it impossible to compare performance across channels or roll up results into a unified dashboard.

6. 06

   Define the client's key conversion events and assign revenue values to each

   Work with the client to identify which actions count as conversions, from form fills to purchases, and attach a monetary value where possible. This ensures attribution reflects business impact, not just clicks.

7. 07

   Run a parallel test comparing the new attribution data against the client's existing reports

   For two weeks, run the attribution tool alongside the client's current tracking. Flag any major discrepancies in channel-level performance and investigate the root cause before presenting the new data as authoritative.