Why is the fascination with clicks misguided? – A new approach to marketing measurement of Hungarian SMEs

By: Trademagazin Date: 2025. 08. 19. 10:50

Most SME managers monitor their conversion reports and are happy to see that Google ads are delivering results. But what happens when the numbers are misleading? What if we cut the very channels that bring in customers in the long run? Marketing measurement is changing – and those who don’t adapt will be left behind.

For Hungarian small and medium-sized businesses, marketing is not a luxury, but the key to survival. The problem is that many rely on measurement models that are actually misleading. The most common of these is the so-called last-click attribution, which attributes all the credit to the last click.

It’s simple, easy to understand, and has quickly become part of daily operations. But in reality, it paints a distorted picture. If a customer meets us at a trade show, hears about us on a podcast, sees our Facebook ad, and then eventually searches for us on Google and clicks, the report gives credit solely to the Google ad.

This bias causes serious damage in the long run. The entrepreneur feels that awareness and brand-building channels (e.g., content marketing, PR, social media) are not bringing results, so he takes money away from them and optimizes everything for the last click. Short-term leads do arrive, but new customer acquisition slowly grinds to a halt.

The problem is more severe in the B2B sector, where decisions take months and there are many touchpoints leading up to a contract. Attributing everything to a single click is like judging the outcome of a marathon only by the last hundred meters.