Dimension Mapping is the default, foundational way to view your data by a custom dimension (Channel, Country, Strategy...) the way you've always done it for Ads. And now applies to Analytics and Adserver too, each configured independently or together (see data blending).

Use it whenever you want a harmonized view of your data on one or multiples source. It doesn't require crossing sources, and it's the base every other tool below builds on. (e.g. building a custom dimension like Country or Strategy from your own naming convention, on a single source, so every report reads the same category the same way.)

Analytics Matching reconciles individual clicks and sessions between your ad platforms and your analytics tool, one row at a time. Both sides must produce a strictly identical key built from your UTM taxonomy and ads taxonomy, so your rules need to closely mirror it.

Use it when you need ad-level attribution precision (e.g. You want to analyze your campaign performance down to the ad level to know exactly which click generated a given session, and get precise, row-level attribution - ROAS per ad).

Analytics Matching's precision depends on tagging: each click needs to be linkable to its session through UTMs applied consistently, down to the most granular level, in your ad platforms. Once set up, it lets you view data directly by standard platform fields or by your custom dimensions.

→ Analytics Matching

Data Blending do not reconciles individual rows. Instead, each source computes the value of a shared dimension independently, and Spyne presents them together once the values match at the dimension level, not the row level (e.g. "whatever ends up in this dimension on the Ads side should end up in the same dimension on the Analytics/Adserver side."). This makes it more tolerant of imperfect tagging, and it's the only one of the three that can bring in your ads alongside Ads, Analytics, Adserver and Measurement.

Use it when you want to compare metrics across several sources for the same category (e.g You want to extend your "Strategy" dimension to Analytics and Ad server without a detailed, row-level match, blending data at a high level across several sources at once.)