Skip to main content

Understanding Attribution Models

Attribution models assign value to touchpoints, define the time frame for value, and specify when conversions are reported.

Daniel Busch avatar
Written by Daniel Busch
Updated over 4 months ago

Summary

Attribution Models consist of 3 distinct parts: Logic, Window, Date-Allocation (E.g.: Conversion, First Touch, 30 Days)

  • Date-Allocation: Handles on what date the conversion shows up in your reports

  • Logic: Handles which & how much value touchpoints receive

  • Window: Handles how long touchpoints can receive value

Logic

Name

Short Description

Use Case

First Touch

Allocates all value of a conversion to the first non-direct touchpoint. Value-Distribution: 100/0/0

Optimize top of the funnel channels like Meta, TikTok & Google Generic.

Last Touch

Allocates all value of a conversion to the last non-direct touchpoint. Value-Distribution: 0/0/100

Optimize bottom of the funnel channels like Google Brand, Retargeting & E-Mail Campaigns.

Linear

Evenly distributes value of a conversion among all non-direct touchpoints. Value-Distribution: 33/33/33

Get a holistic view of performance across all channels.

Full Impact

Every non-direct touchpoint receives full value for the conversion. Value-Distribution: 100/100/100

Quickly identify what is NOT working; this model over-attributes, allowing confident decisions.

Channel Impact

Allocates all value of a conversion to the first non-direct touchpoint for every Channel. Value-Distribution: 100/100/0 (if touchpoints were Meta/Google/Meta)

Quickly identify what is NOT working; this model over-attributes as it gives 100 value to every first touch of a channel, allowing confident decisions.

Position Based

Distributes value in a u-shape across all non-direct touchpoints. Value-Distribution: 40/20/40

Gain a holistic view of performance with favorability towards important First & Last touchpoints.

Window

Name

Short Description

Use Case

Unlimited

Consider all Touchpoints in the customer journey, regardless of when they occurred before the Conversion.

Use an unlimited window if your user journeys are long and you need to understand the long-term effect of your marketing measures.

Dynamic

Automatically adjusts the attribution window based on your customers' typical journey length and behavior patterns.

Let us handle this part for you. Easy to use. Requires some level of data history.

Custom

Only consider Touchpoints that occurred within your specified time frame before the Conversion (e.g. Last 7 days).

Use a custom window if you have a good understanding of your users customer journey and you want to limit it to only relevant touchpoints.

Date-Allocation

Name

Short Description

Use Case

Conversion

Attributes the value of your conversions on the day of the conversion.

Easiest to use in your day-to-day operations.

Click

Attributes the value of your conversions on the day of the click that lead to the conversion.

Use during sales peaks / events to understand the true impact of the budget you’re spending at the moment.

Did this answer your question?