Attribution Metrics: Definitions for ROAS, CPA, Conversion Value, CPM, CTR
A plain-English dictionary of attribution metrics—plus how to interpret them without comparing apples to oranges.
If you’ve ever asked “what does this metric actually mean?” while reviewing an attribution report, you’re not alone. The fastest way to misread performance is to compare numbers that were never defined the same way.
This post is a plain-English dictionary of attribution metrics. It’s based on real in-product metric definitions (tooltips), but the explanations below use general, industry-friendly language so you can apply them in any attribution tool.
Attribution metrics dictionary
The key idea: some metrics are pulled from an ad platform (“ads manager”), while others are calculated inside an attribution report and can shift when the attribution model changes.
| Metric key | Typical source | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| new_lead | Attribution report | Number of new leads attributed to the campaign. Customers who submit the form for the first time are defined as new leads. |
| spend | Ads manager | Spend is how much you've spent over a given period of time. |
| cpa | Attribution report | CPA = Spend / Purchase conversions, the average cost per purchase. |
| conversions | Attribution report | Number of conversion attributed to campaigns. |
| conversion_value | Attribution report | The conversion value attributed to campaigns can be different with different attribution models. It is calculated by the attribution report. |
| gf_conversion_value | Ads manager | The purchase value attributed to campaigns. It's pulled from ads manager. |
| roas | Attribution report | ROAS = (Purchase conversion value / Spend). Your ROAS is most accurately calculated for data that is at least 30 days old. |
| gf_roas | Ads manager | ROAS = (Purchase / Spend). This data comes from Google/Facebook ads manager. |
| nc_roas | Attribution report | ncROAS = ncPurchase / Spend. It shows the efficiency of generating revenue from new customers. |
| nc_conversion_value | Attribution report | The new customer revenue attributed to campaigns can be different with different attribution models. |
| cvr | Attribution report | CVR = (Purchase conversions / Clicks) * 100%. CVR (conversion rate) is the percentage of link clicks to your website that resulted in a purchase. |
| gf_impressions | Ads manager | Total impressions within the time range. It's pulled from ads manager. |
| gf_cpm | Ads manager | CPM = (Spend / Impressions) * 1000. CPM stands for cost per 1,000 impressions. |
| gf_clicks | Ads manager | Numbers visitors click to your website from a campaign. The data comes from ads manager. |
| gf_cpc | Ads manager | CPC = Spend / Clicks. CPC stands for cost per click. |
| gf_ctr | Ads manager | CTR = (Clicks / Impressions) * 100%. CTR stands for click through rate. |
| outbound_clicks | Ads manager (Meta) | The number of clicks on links that take people off Meta technologies. |
| outbound_ctr | Ads manager (Meta) | Outbound CTR = (Outbound clicks / impressions) * 100%. The percentage of times people saw your ad and performed an outbound click. |
| cost_per_outbound_click | Ads manager (Meta) | Cost per outbound click = Spend / Outbound clicks. The average cost for each outbound click. |
| one_day_roas | Mixed (Attribution + Meta) | Purchase conversion value (Incl. view-through) / Spend |
| one_day_conversion | Mixed (Attribution + Meta) | Based on attributed purchase conversions, add Facebook's view-through purchase conversions (1-day view). |
| one_day_conversion_value | Mixed (Attribution + Meta) | Based on attributed purchase conversion value, add Facebook's view-through purchase conversion value (1-day view). |
| profit | Attribution report | total sales - shipping - ad spend - product cost (COGS) - taxes - payment processing fees. |
| margin | Attribution report | Net Profit / Sales x 100%. |
| proportion | Attribution report | Contribution of selected dimension to conversion goal within the time range. |
| bmi | Attribution report | Budget Match Index - Measures how well your budget allocation matches performance. |
How to read these attribution metrics without getting misled
Use this quick interpretation sequence whenever you compare performance:
- Confirm whether a metric is pulled from ads manager (often platform delivery metrics) or calculated by the attribution report (model-based metrics like conversion value and attributed ROAS).
- When you compare ROAS or conversion value across views, keep the attribution model consistent, because credited value can shift with different models.
- If you optimize for efficiency, read spend + conversions + CPA together; if you optimize for revenue, read spend + conversion_value + ROAS together.
Where Attribuly fits in
If you use Attribuly, these definitions show up as in-product tooltips on metric column headers inside the Attribution reports. The goal is the same: help teams align on what a metric means before they compare it, export it, or change budget.