Attribution

What is Attribution?

Attribution is the process of assigning credit for a conversion or outcome to the marketing, product, or customer touchpoints that influenced it.

Why it matters

Attribution helps teams compare channels and understand how users move from first exposure to conversion. Common models include first-touch, last-touch, linear, time-decay, and data-driven attribution. No model perfectly represents causality, so attribution results should be interpreted alongside experiments, incrementality analysis, and knowledge of the customer journey. Consistent campaign tagging and identity resolution are essential for trustworthy attribution.

Example

A user first discovers a product through a paid search ad, later reads a blog post, and finally converts after an email. Different attribution models assign credit differently across those touchpoints.