For B2B businesses, marketing attribution can feel like an impossible puzzle. A lead might download a guide in January, attend a webinar in March, and finally speak to sales in June. Along the way, they’ve clicked on emails, searched your brand, and maybe even followed you on LinkedIn, but none of that shows up in a tidy dashboard.

You don’t need an enterprise data warehouse to start understanding what’s driving pipeline. With a few smart tweaks and tools you probably already use, you can make better decisions with the data you have, without chasing perfection.

Here are five practical steps B2B companies can take to improve tracking and attribution today.

1. Track the conversions that actually drive business
In B2B, not every form fill matters equally. Downloading a whitepaper is not the same as requesting a product demo or booking a discovery call.

Start by identifying your high-intent actions – the ones most likely to lead to revenue. Focus your tracking around these.

Example: A SaaS company might track:

• Demo requests
• “Talk to Sales” form submissions
• Calendly bookings
• Webinar sign-ups (if they historically convert well)

Quick fix: Use Google Tag Manager to set up event tracking on these actions. Make sure they’re showing up in GA4 and imported into Google Ads (if applicable).

2. Assign realistic value to different lead types
B2B leads have varying and often delayed value. But that doesn’t mean you can’t assign estimated values to help with optimisation.

Let’s say you know:

• 1 in 4 demo requests becomes a customer
• Your average customer is worth £5,000

That means each demo request is worth about £1,250.

You can use this logic to assign values to each stage of your funnel. This helps Google Ads (or any bidding algorithm) optimise for quality, not just volume.

Example value map:

• Ebook download = £10
• Webinar sign-up = £50
• Demo request = £1,250

Quick fix: Add these estimated values in your Google Ads conversion settings—even if they’re not perfect, they’ll guide smarter bidding.

3. Feed offline conversions back into Google Ads via Google Sheets
B2B sales often happen well after the click, and usually offline. A prospect might convert via a form, get a call from your sales team, and close weeks later.

You can close that loop by uploading offline conversions into Google Ads using a simple Google Sheet.

What you need:

• GCLID (from the original ad click)
• Conversion action name (e.g., “Closed Deal”)
• Conversion time

Example: Your sales team updates the CRM when deals close. Once a day or week, export deals with their matching GCLIDs and upload them via Google Sheets.

Quick fix: Create a simple Google Sheet with the three required columns and use Google’s template to upload it via the Google Ads interface. No dev needed.

4. Use attribution insights to focus on what works
Once offline data is flowing, you’ll be able to see which campaigns, keywords, and audiences lead to real revenue, not just MQLs.

This means you can:

• Pause underperforming campaigns
• Invest more in high-converting terms
• Fine-tune audiences and messaging based on revenue impact

Example: If a LinkedIn campaign generates 10 leads and only 1 closes, but Google Search brings 5 leads and 3 close, Search likely deserves more budget, even if CPLs look similar.

Quick fix: In Google Ads, enable “All Conversion Value / Cost” in your columns to track how efficiently campaigns generate actual value.

5. Don’t let data gaps hold you back
Even with solid tracking, there’ll always be gaps – phone calls not attributed, deals closed from referrals, email forwards that don’t carry UTM tags. That’s okay.

Instead of aiming for 100% certainty, look for repeatable patterns:

• Do most high-value leads start from paid search?
• Does LinkedIn consistently nurture decision-makers?
• Are certain content offers more likely to lead to pipeline?

Use these patterns to inform marketing decisions. You don’t need perfect data to act with confidence.

Quick fix: At the end of each month, ask: “Which sources are consistently contributing to closed deals?” Use that to shape your next campaign strategy.

Final thoughts: Progress over perfection
In B2B, attribution will always be messy. But that doesn’t mean it’s worthless. By focusing on meaningful conversions, assigning realistic values, and connecting your CRM back to your ad platforms (even with a basic sheet upload) you can make significantly better decisions without a huge tech investment.

The perfect setup can come later. For now, make what you’ve got work harder. You might be surprised how far it takes you.