Customer journeysSeptember 2026
  • UTM Grabber1,120 leads
  • CRM519 deals
  • Sample datafictional business

Organic search opens 228 journeys but closes only 150.

31% of leads converted on a different channel than their first visit. Paid search closed the most (415), and 154 of those started elsewhere.

northwinddental.comGravity Forms1,120 submissions30 days

1,120
Leads traced
31%
Changed channel−3 pts
Paid search
Top opener
Paid search
Top closer
$251K
Revenue traced

The takeaway

Last click undervalues Organic search by 78 leads.

Organic search was the first visit for 228 leads and the converting visit for 150. Split 50/50 between the two touches, it earns 189.

Paid search works the other way: it closes 415 and opens 308, so last click flatters it.

The paths

How people move from first visit to form.

Left: the channel of each lead's first visit. Right: the visit that converted.

From first visit to form

First visitConverting visitPaid search308Paid social305Organic search228AI assistants135DirectOtherPaid search415Paid social287Organic search150DirectAI assistantsOther123
First visitConverting visitPaid search308Paid social305Organic search228AI assistants135DirectOther100Paid search415Paid social287Organic search150DirectAI assistantsOther123
Show the numbers
FromToValue
Paid searchPaid search261
Paid searchPaid social28
Paid searchDirect9
Paid searchOther10
Paid socialPaid search56
Paid socialPaid social223
Paid socialOrganic search12
Paid socialDirect6
Paid socialOther8
Organic searchPaid search52
Organic searchPaid social27
Organic searchOrganic search112
Organic searchDirect15
Organic searchAI assistants3
Organic searchOther19
AI assistantsPaid search39
AI assistantsPaid social9
AI assistantsOrganic search19
AI assistantsDirect7
AI assistantsAI assistants57
AI assistantsOther4
DirectDirect40
DirectOther4
OtherPaid search7
OtherOrganic search7
OtherDirect8
OtherOther78
1,120 traced leads. Bands that cross changed channel on the way. Other: Email, Organic social, Referral.

Openers vs closers

Which channels open and which close.

First touch against last touch, by channel

0100200300400500Paid searchOrganic searchDirect
0100200300400500Paid searchOrganic searchDirect
  • First touch
  • Last touch
Show the numbers
LabelFirst touchLast touch
Paid search308415
Paid social305287
Organic search228150
AI assistants13560
Direct4485
Other100123
Leads credited to each channel by first touch and by last touch

Openers vs closers

Openers vs closers

Organic search starts more journeys than it gets credit for.

Organic search opened 228 journeys and closed 150.

Paid search closed 415; 154 of them started on another channel.

Fair credit

Credit per channel, three ways.

First touch credits the opener, last touch the closer, the 50/50 split shares each lead between them.

Lead credit by channel

ChannelFirst touchLast touch50/50 splitSplit vs lastLast click
Paid search308415361.5▼−53.5Overcredited
Paid social305287296▲+9Even
Organic search228150189▲+39Undervalued
AI assistants1356097.5▲+37.5Undervalued
Direct448564.5▼−20.5Overcredited
Referral564048▲+8Even
Organic social353836.5▼−1.5Even
Email94527▼−18Overcredited
Total1,1201,1201,120

Undervalued: the 50/50 split gives the channel more credit than last click does.

Fair credit

Revenue credit by channel

ChannelFirst touchLast touch50/50 splitSplit vs lastLast click
Paid search$95.4K$100K$97.7K▼−$2,340Even
Paid social$72.4K$64.4K$68.4K▲+$3,995Even
Organic search$37.5K$31.8K$34.6K▲+$2,865Even
Direct$5,585$31K$18.3K▼−$12.7KOvercredited
Referral$17K$15.3K$16.1K▲+$822Even
AI assistants$22.5K$4,090$13.3K▲+$9,192Undervalued
Email$325$4,005$2,165▼−$1,840Even
Organic social$700$700$700$0Even
Total$251K$251K$251K

Revenue from 219 won CRM deals matched to these leads by email, credited the same three ways.

Next steps

Give every channel fair credit.

  1. Reporting

    Judge Organic search on first touch, not last click

    Last click gives it 150 leads; the 50/50 split gives it 189. Report both so budget follows the channel that finds people.

    High impactLow effort

  2. Budget

    Keep Paid search as the closer, and fund its openers

    It closed 415 journeys; 154 of them started on another channel. Its results depend on the channels that bring people in first.

    Medium impactLow effort

  3. Content

    Count AI assistants as an opener

    They were the first visit for 135 leads and the converting visit for 60. Pages that answer questions clearly keep them recommending you.

    Medium impactMedium effort

  4. Revenue

    Credit AI assistants for the revenue they find

    By first touch they found $22.5K of revenue; last click gives them $4,090.

    Medium impactLow effort
How we built this report
  • First touch: the first visit UTM Grabber Premium recorded for the person (first-touch source, medium, referrer and landing page). Last touch: the visit that converted.
  • 50/50 split: each lead gives half its credit to its first-touch channel and half to its last-touch channel; a lead that stayed on one channel gives that channel full credit.
  • Channels: Paid search is a paid click from a search engine (cpc tags or a Google or Microsoft click ID); Paid social is a paid click from a social platform (paid social tags or a Meta click ID); Organic search is an unpaid visit from a search engine; AI assistants is a visit from an AI assistant such as ChatGPT or Perplexity; Direct is a typed URL, bookmark or untagged link; Referral is a link on another website; Organic social is an unpaid social post or profile link; Email is an email or newsletter link.
  • Revenue: 219 won CRM deals matched to these leads by email.