1. Start with the geographic question your records can answer
Stayton city is recorded in Marion County, Oregon. Your firm may serve Stayton alone, Marion County more broadly, or additional Oregon communities, but those are different geographic scopes. A Stayton inquiry should not automatically be treated as a Marion County inquiry, and a countywide matter should not be attributed to the city merely because a person contacted your firm from there. Lead Attribution can be evaluated around the geographic information your intake process already collects, rather than around a population-based assumption. The Census estimate of 8,292 residents identifies the municipality; it does not establish how many people search for a lawyer, which matters they need, or which channel they use.
Recommended approach
Decide which geographic distinctions matter to your firm before reviewing reports: Stayton city, Marion County, another service area, or the client’s actual matter location. Ask how those distinctions would appear alongside source, practice area and outcome. Keep the geographic definition consistent when comparing inquiries.
