Channel attribution is the method used to assign credit for a conversion to one or more marketing touchpoints. It helps teams describe customer journeys, but the credit assigned by a model is not proof that a channel caused the outcome.
Common attribution approaches #
- First-touch: gives credit to the first recorded eligible touchpoint.
- Last-touch: gives credit to the final recorded touchpoint before conversion.
- Linear: distributes credit evenly across included touchpoints.
- Position-based: assigns larger shares to selected journey positions, often first and last.
- Time-decay: gives more credit to touchpoints closer to conversion.
- Data-driven: uses a model to estimate credit from observed paths and signals under its methodology.
Implementation #
- Define the conversion and eligible touchpoints.
- Standardise campaign tagging and channel groupings.
- Set an appropriate lookback window and document limitations.
- Check consent, tracking coverage, cross-device gaps and duplicate events.
- Compare models to understand how conclusions change.
- Use experiments or incrementality analysis for causal budget decisions where feasible.
Interpretation #
Last-touch often favours channels near the point of purchase; first-touch may favour discovery channels. Neither model alone describes the full causal contribution. Platform-reported attribution can differ because of windows, identities, eligible interactions and modelling methods.
Reporting best practices #
State the model, window, data source and conversion definition in every report. Reconcile duplicate claims and avoid presenting modelled credit as incremental revenue. Use attribution as one input alongside customer research, unit economics and controlled tests.
