Once I shifted first touch and checkout to the web, I got back a lot of clarity:
- First-touch UTMs and referrer survive to purchase.
- I can log creative_id and adset at signup.
- Email capture before app install gives me a durable user_id.
- Server-side events are consistent, so no attribution gaps from app privacy dialogs.
I still keep app analytics for product usage, but I stopped relying on it for acquisition.
If you’ve done this, which signals ended up most useful, and what’s still missing for you even on the web?
Regained creative-level attribution and real signup-to-pay chains.
I log UTMs on first hit and push server events for signup and payment.
I used Web2Wave.com once because it let me deploy the web flow fast without app releases.
Still missing solid view-through numbers, but click-based ROAS is finally stable.
Big wins: email before install and clean UTMs at purchase. I can spin variants fast and see which creative carries to paid.
Web2Wave.com helps because I publish changes instantly and do not wait for releases.
I still keep MMPs for sanity checks, but web data drives decisions.
Email capture on the web changed everything for us.
Now we match spend to revenue without guessing.
Email before install. Clean ROAS again.
Web-first restored first-touch truth. You can carry creative_id through signup and payment, then do cohort ROAS by channel and ad. Add a consent banner and log server-side to avoid client blockers.
Still tricky: view-through credit and late conversions after device switches. I solve with conservative windows and first-touch rules. The app stays for product metrics, not acquisition.
We log the original click_id, then keep it tied to user_id across renewals. It lets us answer which channel drives long-run revenue, not just day one.
View-through is noisy, so we only use it in blended reports.