Where a lead came from

NMC sets a lead’s channel and source once, the moment the lead is created. Follow-up calls, texts, forms, or forwarded emails on that same lead never overwrite its original source, while the lead’s Journey still records every visit and interaction in order.

How NMC picks the channel and source

For website forms and calls to website pool numbers, NMC checks the visitor’s browser history in this order:

1. A Google Ads click within your conversion window wins first. If that browser clicked one of your Google ads within your conversion window before first contacting you, the lead’s channel is Google Ads under that click’s campaign. If the visitor clicked several of your ads, the most recent ad click names the lead and is the click NMC uploads to Google Ads.
2. Otherwise, the most recent non-direct visit in the last 90 days wins. That can be a click from your Google Business Profile, a referring site like google.com, or a link carrying UTM parameters.
3. Otherwise, the lead is marked Website / Direct. Typing your URL into the address bar or opening a bookmark never overwrites an earlier referring visit.

Calls or texts to a dedicated, non-website tracking number (such as the number on your Google Business Profile, in Local Services Ads, on a Google Ads call asset, or on a print mailer) always take that tracking source instead. Forwarded emails are recorded as Other / Email.

Your conversion window comes from Integrations → Google Ads (90 days by default unless changed in Google Ads, or your manager account’s window when a manager account counts your conversions). If Google Ads isn’t connected, NMC uses a 90-day window. Changing your conversion window affects only leads created afterward.

What counts as a Google Ads click

NMC treats a page visit as a Google Ads click only when its landing URL carries a Google click ID (gclid, or gbraid / wbraid on certain iOS traffic), which Google adds automatically when auto-tagging is on. A URL carrying only gad_campaignid without a click ID is credited by its referrer (typically google.com).

• Click timestamp: NMC records when that click ID first landed in the visitor’s browser. Refreshing the tab or reopening a bookmarked ad URL days later doesn’t reset the click’s age.
• Expired ad clicks: Once an ad click is older than your conversion window, it never names a new lead (not even as google.com). That guarantees every browser-tracked Google Ads lead had an in-window click when the lead was created. The single exception is a form submitted via NMC’s server API with only a raw click ID and no recorded browser visit, since NMC can’t know when that click occurred.
• Campaign name: Taken from Google’s campaign ID parameter on the landing URL.

Attribution examples

The examples below assume Google Ads is connected with a 90-day conversion window, form contact sharing is turned on, and all visits happen in the same browser unless noted. NMC uploads the same chosen click across every stage that lead reaches.

Customer journey	Lead shows in NMC	Uploaded to Google Ads
Clicks your Squamish ad and submits a form on that visit.	Google Ads, Squamish campaign	That click, plus hashed form contact details
Monday: clicks your ad. Thursday: clicks your website link on Google Business Profile and submits a form.	Google Ads, Monday’s campaign	Monday’s click, plus hashed form contact details
Monday: visits from Google Business Profile. Thursday: clicks your ad and submits a form.	Google Ads, Thursday’s campaign	Thursday’s click, plus hashed form contact details
Monday: clicks your Squamish ad. Thursday: clicks your Whistler ad and submits a form.	Google Ads, Whistler campaign	Thursday’s click, plus hashed form contact details
Monday: clicks your ad. Thursday: returns via Google Business Profile and calls the website pool number shown.	Google Ads, Monday’s campaign	Monday’s click
Day 1: clicks your ad and sees website number #3. Day 10: dials #3 from call history, and nobody else was shown #3 in between.	Google Ads, Day 1’s campaign	Day 1’s click
Monday: clicks your ad. Thursday: dials the dedicated tracking number shown directly on your Google Business Profile.	Google Business Profile	Nothing (a direct call to that number can’t be tied to Monday’s browser click)
70 days ago: clicked your ad. Today: returns via Google Business Profile and submits a form.	Google Ads, that campaign	The click only (contact details aren’t included once a click passes 60 days)
120 days ago: clicked your ad. Today: types your URL directly and submits a form.	Website, Direct	Hashed form contact details only
Monday: clicks your ad on their phone. Thursday: types your URL on a laptop and submits a form.	Website, Direct	Hashed form contact details (which Google may match to Monday’s phone click)

Why attribution works this way

• NMC and Google Ads tell the same story. New tells Google Ads that an ad brought someone who got in touch. Naming the lead Google Ads whenever an in-window ad click preceded contact ensures your cost-per-Lead metrics in NMC match the exact clicks uploaded to Google Ads.
• Google handles multi-click credit. NMC uploads the newest eligible ad click, and Google Ads applies your account’s attribution model to split credit across earlier ad interactions.
• Consistent 90-day lookback. Both non-ad website visits and website pool number lookups stop at 90 days so stale visits don’t claim unrelated new leads.
• Organic follow-up visits stay visible. If someone clicks your Google ad on Monday and returns through your Google Business Profile on Thursday to book, the lead is credited to Google Ads, while both visits remain visible in its Journey.

What Google Ads receives

• The lead’s ad click at each stage: NMC uploads New, Qualified, and Converted against the click that named the lead. If a lead reaches a later stage after your Google Ads conversion window expires for that click, Google Ads won’t accept that later stage.
• Form contact details for clicks under 60 days old: When form contact sharing is enabled, NMC includes hashed email and phone details alongside the click if the lead’s first uploaded stage is sent within 60 days of the click (Google stops accepting user-provided data 63 days after a click, so NMC cuts off at 60). Older clicks upload with the click ID alone.
• iOS gbraid and wbraid clicks: Google Ads doesn’t accept contact details alongside gbraid or wbraid parameters, so NMC uploads those clicks without contact details.
• Forms without an ad click: Uploaded with hashed contact details alone so Google can check for cross-device ad matches.
• API form submissions with only a click ID: Uploaded with the click ID alone; if the click turns out to be past your conversion window, Google Ads rejects it.
• Calls from ads: When a lead starts with a call to a Google Ads call asset, NMC uploads New about 12 hours after the call, and Qualified and Converted 24 hours after the lead reaches them. If AI review suggests closing the lead as Not a lead, NMC waits until someone acts on the lead before uploading those later stages.
• Short unrecorded calls: When call recording is off, lead-starting calls shorter than your minimum call length aren’t uploaded. See Upload rules.
• Repeat leads from the same browser: If the same person opens a brand-new lead later while their earlier ad click is still within your conversion window, that new lead can also use that click, matching how Google’s own browser tag behaves.

Website numbers

On your website, NMC’s script shows each visitor a tracking number from your pool in place of your regular phone number:

• 30-minute active hold: Each assigned number stays reserved for that visitor until 30 minutes after their latest page view. Tabs opened in the background don’t claim a number until brought on screen, and a tab revisited after 30+ minutes requests a fresh assignment.
• Sticky numbers for returning visitors: When someone comes back later, NMC reassigns them the exact same pool number whenever no other active visitor is holding it.
• 90-day caller lookback: When someone calls or texts a website pool number, NMC matches it to the visitor most recently shown that number within the past 90 days and attributes the lead using that visitor’s browser history. (Numbers aren’t locked for 90 days; NMC simply checks the most recent visitor who saw that number.)

Why NMC uses a 30-minute hold with sticky reassignment

Holding a number only while a tab is open keeps pools tiny, but misattributes anyone who jots down the number and calls an hour later. Locking a dedicated number per visitor for weeks avoids that, but requires buying dozens or hundreds of numbers. Releasing numbers after 30 minutes of inactivity, while giving returning visitors their prior number back whenever it’s free, accurately matches the vast majority of callers with a compact, affordable pool.

Where website pools shine

• Calls placed during or shortly after a browsing session match the exact visitor.
• Returning visitors keep seeing a consistent phone number whenever it isn’t busy.
• Known crawlers and declared bots never consume pool numbers.
• Most local and service businesses only need a small pool.

Limitations and how to avoid misattribution

• Delayed calls from saved numbers: If a visitor writes down a website pool number, calls days later without revisiting your site, and another visitor saw that number in the meantime, the call links to the newer visitor. Always use a dedicated tracking number (never a website pool number) on places people keep or photograph, such as service vans, print flyers, business cards, and your Google Business Profile.
• Numbers copied into online directories: Never paste a website pool number into Yelp, industry directories, or social pages; create a separate tracking number instead.
• Team visits and undeclared bots: Visits from your own staff or headless scrapers pretending to be real browsers hold pool numbers for 30 minutes just like customers.
• Traffic spikes: If simultaneous visitors exceed your pool size, two visitors share a number and NMC flags Not enough website numbers. See Website number pool for sizing guidance.

What no browser tracker can see

• Cross-device switches: Clicking an ad on a phone and later typing your website URL on a work laptop looks like two separate browsers to NMC (though form contact sharing helps Google Ads connect the two on its side).
• Forwarded ad URLs: If someone texts a friend a link that still includes their gclid, the friend’s visit carries that click ID and attributes to Google Ads.
• Safari cookie expiry (ITP): Safari clears browser-set visitor cookies after 7 days without a site visit (or 24 hours after certain decorated ad clicks), making a later return look like a new visitor.
• Stripped click IDs: Privacy browsers and extensions that strip gclid, gbraid, and wbraid from URLs turn ad clicks into ordinary referrer visits (usually google.com).
• Blocked scripts or declined consent: If an ad blocker or cookie banner prevents nmc.js from running, NMC records no visit data and leaves your default phone number on the page.

Why NMC, Google Ads and Google Analytics differ

• Conversion date vs. click date: Google Ads defaults to reporting conversions on the day of the ad click, whereas NMC counts leads on the day the lead was created. In Google Ads, check Conversions (by conv. time) for a closer date match.
• Unmatched or rejected uploads: Google Ads rejects or fails to match some conversions (such as expired click windows or unmatchable form details).
• Built-in call counting: Google Ads continues counting ad calls separately under its own built-in Calls from ads action.
• Minimum call length: When call recording is off, brief calls still create a lead in NMC even when they fall below your Google Ads upload threshold.
• Google Analytics attribution models: GA4 applies its own attribution model to sessions and events. NMC includes each lead’s NMC channel and source as parameters on Google Analytics events.

Match Google Analytics attribution to NMC

In Google Analytics, open Admin → Data display → Events → Attribution settings, set Reporting attribution model to Google paid channels last click, and choose Save. GA4 key-event reports will then credit the last Google Ads click (or the last non-direct source when no Google ad was clicked), applying retroactively to historical data too, while Traffic acquisition continues showing per-session sources.