Google Analytics has expanded cross-channel conversion reporting to include app conversions, according to Search Engine Journal's September 30 account of an update Google announced the previous day. The change adds app support to conversion performance, attribution analysis and attribution model comparisons. Google is still rolling out the conversions section, so some properties do not yet have access to it.
The expansion has a specific connection to advertising measurement. The Conversion performance report displays only conversions shared with a linked Google Ads account. In that report, the update therefore covers app conversions imported from Analytics into the linked Google Ads account, not every event recorded inside an app. That qualification defines which activity can enter the newly supported view.
Each of the three reports answers a different attribution question. Conversion performance shows the channels associated with selected conversions and allows a switch between Analytics and Google Ads attribution settings. In attribution analysis, the assistance provided along a conversion journey is organized into three periods: its beginning, middle and final stage. The attribution models report compares the conversion credit produced by different models. According to the coverage, app conversions can also have their attribution settings configured independently.
Other parts of the reporting system retain narrower support. Cross-channel budgeting still applies to web conversions alone. That limitation covers the projection and scenario-planning tools discussed in earlier coverage of the product. The September update does not establish that those planning capabilities now include app activity, even though app conversions appear in more of the reporting interface.
There is a second distinction between conversions and key events. Search Engine Journal says Google's reporting guidance, as it stood on September 30, continued to direct users toward key events for reports that do not support app conversions. Attribution paths was one identified example of a report built around key events. The new support in three named reports consequently does not amount to uniform support across every attribution view.
Channel eligibility also differs between the web and apps. For web conversions, the Paid and organic channels setting allows credit to include organic traffic, direct visits and Google Ads. App conversions remain restricted to Google paid channels. The report does not give a timetable for opening the broader channel setting to apps, or for adding apps to cross-channel budgeting.