Summary
The Advertising workspace is the Google Analytics 4 area designed for attribution and conversion path analysis. Its Attribution section contains the Model comparison report, where newsletter_signup can be credited under different models side by side, and the Conversion paths report, which shows how Paid Search, Social and Email combine across early, mid and late touchpoints.
Nitin Batra is a Google Analytics 4 certified professional who configures attribution settings and runs Model comparison and Conversion paths reports across client properties as part of ongoing channel performance reviews.
Last updated: August 16, 2026
The Advertising workspace in Google Analytics 4 is built for attribution and conversion path analysis, because its Attribution section holds the Model comparison and Conversion paths reports that show how channels share credit for conversions like newsletter_signup.
- Advertising
- Explore
- Reports
- Admin
The correct answer is: Advertising
Key Takeaways
- – The Advertising workspace is the GA4 area specifically designed for attribution model comparison and conversion path analysis.
- – Advertising > Attribution > Model comparison lets you select a single conversion event such as newsletter_signup and compare credit across two models in one table.
- – Attribution answers a different question from acquisition reports: acquisition tells you where a session came from, attribution tells you how much credit each touchpoint earned for the conversion.
- – GA4 no longer offers first click, linear, time decay or position based models in these reports, so comparisons are limited to Data-driven, Last click and Google Paid Channels last click, and the event must already be marked as a key event or conversion to appear.
Where exactly do I find the Model comparison report in GA4?
Click Advertising in the left navigation, then expand the Attribution section and choose Model comparison. Use the conversion event dropdown at the top of the report to isolate a single event like newsletter_signup, then set the two model columns you want to compare. The date range and the default channel group dimension can both be changed from the same screen.
Why can I not do this in the Explore section instead?
Explore is for custom analysis built on dimensions and metrics you assemble yourself, and it does not expose attribution model selection. Path exploration in Explore shows page and event sequences within sessions, not channel credit across the conversion window. For model comparison and multi touch conversion paths, Advertising is the only workspace that carries those reports.
Does changing the attribution model in the Advertising reports change my other GA4 reports?
No. Selecting models inside Model comparison is a reporting view only and affects nothing else. The property wide model is set in Admin under Attribution settings, and changing it there does reprocess historical conversion credit across reports. This is a common point of confusion, so treat the Advertising selector as a comparison tool, not a configuration change.
What lookback window do the attribution reports use?
GA4 uses a 30 day lookback for acquisition conversion events such as first_open and first_visit, and a 90 day lookback for all other conversion events by default. You can change these in Admin > Attribution settings. If your newsletter signups involve a long consideration period, check this setting before drawing conclusions, because touchpoints outside the window get no credit at all.