The Challenge

The Sill’s growth goals required more than simply increasing spend, they needed confidence that Meta was driving meaningful business outcomes while staying efficient. Like many ecommerce brands, The Sill relied on GA4 for performance measurement, using last-click attribution as the primary lens for decision-making.

The limitation: last-click attribution often favors lower-funnel channels (like paid search), where conversion intent is already high, and undervalues discovery channels like Meta, where influence may occur earlier in the customer journey.

This created a measurement gap with real strategic consequences:

  • Meta’s impact appeared smaller than it actually was
  • Paid search looked like it was driving more incremental revenue than it truly was
  • Budget allocation decisions were being made with an incomplete view of cross-channel influence
  • Meta’s role in driving demand and conversion behavior was difficult to prove within GA4

In short, The Sill wasn’t just trying to scale performance, they were trying to scale with clarity, and GA4’s attribution model wasn’t capturing the full story.

The Action

To better understand Meta’s true contribution, Code3 implemented a Search Lift Study to measure the incremental impact of Meta ad exposure on paid search performance, specifically purchases and revenue driven through Google and Bing ads.

Importantly, this was not a request from the client. It was a proactive initiative led by Code3 to advocate for stronger cross-channel measurement and ensure Meta was evaluated fairly within the broader marketing mix.

Instead of relying on attribution models alone, a lift study helps answer a more strategic question: Does Meta advertising increase downstream conversion behavior? This approach allowed Code3 to quantify Meta’s “halo effect” in a way that connected directly to The Sill’s GA4 framework, where search often received last-click credit.

Code3 evaluated lift in:

  • Paid search purchases (Google + Bing)
  • Paid search revenue during the study period
  • Changes in search behavior after Meta ad exposure

This provided a clearer view of how Meta influenced conversion volume that would otherwise appear in reporting as “search-driven.”

 

 

Services Performed

paid social

The Win

The Search Lift Study delivered clear, statistically significant proof that Meta was driving incremental value beyond what GA4 last-click attribution captured:

  • 28% of GA4-attributed paid search revenue during the study period was incremental due to Meta exposure
  • Incremental ROAS: 1.21x
  • Lift Score: 99.8%, showing a significant increase in Google search behavior after Meta ad exposure

These results validated Meta as a key driver of paid search performance, and demonstrated that GA4 alone was underrepresenting the true influence of media spend on The Sill’s business.

Ultimately, this wasn’t just a measurement study, it was a strategic act of persuasion. Code3 used data to change the narrative, reinforce Meta’s cross-channel value, and establish a stronger foundation for ongoing optimization across platforms.

 

Related Resources

Amazon

Prime Day Is Becoming a Full-Funnel Event: Here’s What Brands Miss

Programmatic

Amazon Quietly Tightened Attribution, and it’s Changing how DSP Performance is Measured

Social

Meta’s Attribution Update: What It Means for Advertisers and How to Prepare

Social

Prospecting vs. Retargeting: Why You Need Both in a Healthy Paid Social Strategy

Eager for Results Like These?

Speak with a Coder today about how we can help elevate your strategies.

Contact Us