Everything You Know About Search and Attribution Is Changing—Here’s What’s Next.

In a world full of constantly changing technology and information, this monthly newsletter keeps marketers up-to-date on the latest trends and news that will impact their business. I hope you enjoy it!

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Let's kick off this month with recent releases and news across the major advertising platforms we all know and love.? Meta recently announced a limited test of ads on Threads. No surprise there - we all saw it coming. With all the uncertainty around TikTok, Meta saw an opportunity and jumped on it. This will likely be seamless for advertisers—just another placement in Meta's powerful ad ecosystem. But Meta knows it has to get this right. They're aiming for Threads ads to feel as engaging as organic content. If they miss? Users might shift even more toward platforms like Bluesky. If you're a brand thinking about future advertising on Threads, now's the time to dial in your organic strategy. Test content, build your community, and see what resonates—so when ads roll out, you're ready.

?Amazon is testing a major shift in its shopping experience—one that could reshape how brands approach the platform. They are now displaying select products in search results, even if they aren't sold on Amazon, and linking directly to the brand's website for purchase, essentially sending traffic off of Amazon. This beta test, currently available to a subset of US customers on the Amazon Shopping app, hints at a potential redefinition of Amazon's role in eCommerce, blurring the lines between marketplace and search engine and directly taking on Google. For brands, this offers visibility in front of Amazon's high-intent shoppers while maintaining control over pricing, customer data, and the user experience. It's a direct play against Google's dominance in product search, potentially diverting ad dollars away from Google Shopping and into Amazon's ecosystem. If this expands, brands will need to rethink their paid media mix—CPCs on Amazon could shift, and investments in DTC channels may become more critical.

However, this isn't an open-door policy for all brands. Given Amazon's track record, participation will likely require existing seller status or additional fees (shock), meaning it's an extension of the marketplace rather than a pure traffic driver for independent DTC brands. Amazon's previous moves, from Buy with Prime to generative AI search enhancements, show a clear effort to evolve beyond a transactional marketplace. This latest test could reinforce Amazon as the first stop in eCommerce search. So what should you do about it? First, be informed and prepare to apply for the beta.? Second, if you do test this, you need to realize that traffic from Amazon is NOT like traffic from Google as users are used to a level of UX and ease when shopping on Amazon - make sure you optimize your user flow and check out experience getting it as close to one click as possible

Amazon is also making brand awareness campaigns easier—and more measurable—by launching Brand+, an AI-driven optimization tool within its DSP. This new feature enables advertisers to serve video ads across Amazon's vast ecosystem, including Prime Video, Twitch, and premium publishers like Buzzfeed and Fox. By leveraging Amazon's shopping, browsing, and streaming data, Brand+ predicts which consumers are most likely to engage with a brand's product over time.

This aligns with Amazon's broader push into full-funnel advertising as the platform evolves into a one-stop shop for both performance and brand marketing.? Many brands on Amazon have maxed out demand capture through performance marketing and now need to move up the funnel and Amazon is enabling them to do so. This could encourage more brands to shift budgets toward awareness campaigns while still maintaining visibility into how brand investments drive conversions.?

Did you hear Temu is piloting a paid search ad business? Merchants can pay CPC to boost product visibility, just like on Amazon. They're even launching an app marketplace for inventory and logistics tools. But here's the thing—Temu thrives on rock-bottom prices, which does not leave much margin to support advertising. Plus, Amazon has Temu in its crosshairs and is penalizing brands for selling on Temu, which makes advertising doubly risky. Honestly? For most sellers, the juice might not be worth the squeeze. ?

LinkedIn is overhauling its ad attribution models, moving beyond traditional rule-based and data-driven attribution to a hybrid approach that blends multi-touch attribution (MTA) and marketing mix modeling (MMM) with the goal of providing B2B marketers with a more accurate picture of the customer journey, addressing the blind spots that have long plagued digital attribution.?This move is part of a larger industry reckoning with flawed attribution models. Marketing mix modeling (MMM) is making a comeback, offering a more holistic, macro-level view of ad effectiveness. LinkedIn's update is in response to a demand for more sophisticated measurement frameworks, especially with highly considered conversion events like those that happen in B2B. This is not the only change that LinkedIn is making in terms of attribution and tracking.? They also launched:

• Conversions API: With Conversions API, B2B marketers can connect their first-party data - to LinkedIn to target audiences that are most likely to take action. Beyond optimizing lead generation campaigns for impressions, clicks, and general leads, marketers can now optimize for qualified leads—those that meet their marketing or sales-qualified criteria . By focusing on high-value prospects who are ready to engage LinkedIn will be able to drive stronger business outcomes.

• Revenue Attribution Report: When B2B marketers connect their opportunity and pipeline data to LinkedIn, they can prove the account-level impact of their campaigns on sales metrics with the Revenue Attribution Report (RAR). RAR enables advertisers to tie marketing efforts to real business outcomes with metrics, such as revenue influenced, return on ad spend, and pipeline. Knowing that B2B transactions often include multiple stakeholders and result in longer sales cycles, they also recently introduced a 365-day lookback window to help demonstrate how campaigns actually drive revenue long-term.

Attribution has long been a challenge for B2Bs because the purchase window is typically much longer than direct-to-consumer purchases. The sales cycles for brands on LinkedIn take at least six months to a year on average. ? These changes will help alleviate some of the headaches for B2B marketers and ensure LinkedIn continues to get the lion's share of the B2B marketing budget.??

Apple is making significant changes to its ad attribution system—one that could inflate its role in conversion reporting. Starting in April, Apple Search Ads will default to view-through conversions, meaning conversions may be attributed to ads that users never clicked on but simply saw on their screen. This marks a shift from the industry norm of click-based attribution, which remains the standard for Google and has been Apple's default until now. This move effectively increases Apple's ability to claim credit for conversions, even in cases where another ad platform may have played a more direct role. For example, if a user sees an Apple-served ad for Instacart but doesn't engage, then later clicks on a Meta or Google ad before converting, Apple may still take credit—potentially distorting performance reporting and impacting budget allocation decisions.? Brands who advertise with Apple should monitor performance changes and compare attribution models to ensure they are making the right investment decisions based on Apple's new measurements.??

Both Apple and LinkedIn, while moving in different directions, are doing the same thing.? That is making pivots to attribution models that make their platform look better and ensure marketers are incentivized to increase spending on those platforms.? Marketers who don't scrutinize these changes risk overinvesting in channels that may not be driving real business outcomes. This is one of the reasons marketers, more now than ever, need a true north and a system that allows us to measure and optimize for impact and not just attribution because trusting the platforms to do anything other than show themselves in the best light is all we can expect.

Due to many of these changes, we can expect more marketers to adopt MMM and speaking of which, Google has just released a free Marketing Mix Model for everyone, Meridian. This is a huge shift in democratizing access to MMM for all. One of the great things about it is that it is open-source and transparent, which enables customization to fit specific needs.?

We've relied on flawed attribution models that over-credit lower-funnel channels and under-credit brand-building for years. That means wasted budgets and missed opportunities. Meridian could change that and allow brands to optimize for what truly impacts performance, not just what we can measure. However, MMM, even with Meridian, isn't a quick fix—it demands strong data, the right expertise, and ongoing refinement. If you expect an easy button to push, this isn't it. But if you're willing to put in the work, Meridian could help you make more intelligent, more balanced investment decisions.

Google is rolling out a new update that lets users search what's on their screen through a simple gesture when browsing within the Google Chrome or Google Search app on iOS. Soon, iPhone users will be able to search what's on their screen by drawing, highlighting, or tapping something via Google Lens, further enabling and encouraging consumers to use more visual search capabilities. Consumers are increasingly opting for visual search as it allows them to find the right product more effectively than text-based search. Now, 62% of Gen Z and Millennials prefer visual search capabilities over other search types, citing ease of use and faster results.

Unless you have been living under a rock, no doubt you have had to have the conversation about the diversification of search in the wake of social search and AI, but the question still remains - what is the value of traffic driven through AI? Well, turns out— it's converting better than traditional search. A study analyzing over 7 million sessions from AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, and Perplexity found that AI-referred traffic is more engaged, stays on-site longer, and visits more pages compared to Google Search. While AI chatbot traffic remains a small fraction of overall organic traffic, its rapid growth and high-quality engagement signal a shift that marketers can't ignore.

For eCommerce and transactional businesses, the data confirms that AI chatbots are already playing a meaningful role in purchase journeys. Users coming from AI-driven search spend an average of 10.4 minutes per session—two minutes longer than Google referrals—and view more pages, suggesting they are better pre-qualified before landing on a brand's site. Copilot and Perplexity, in particular, are seeing faster engagement growth than Google. AI chatbots also send more traffic to homepages, reinforcing the need for brands to rethink their site architecture and homepage experience. Again, this is small compared to Google, but you can not ignore it -ensure you are optimizing for AI-driven search.

Finally, Free shipping is an online shopping feature that 66% of consumers consider when selecting an online store. As consumers continue to prioritize value and cost savings, Adobe's data showed that for every 1% decrease in price, demand increased by 1.029%. While the speed of delivery can't be ignored, it is no longer consumers' top priority. 90% of consumers are willing to wait at least two or three days for delivery.

Megan Conahan is a 19-year veteran of the digital marketing industry. Over the last 19 years, she's consulted with Fortune 1000 brands on negotiating the ever-changing demands of the digital marketplace and creating unique solutions to set them apart. Megan is an EVP at Direct Agents, an independent and minority-owned digital marketing agency. If you want to chat about marketing support or just talk shop, please DM or email [email protected].