Stop 08 · Marketing Analytics & DataTopics · 4/11

Attribution Models

In short

A customer saw your reel, Googled you a week later, then bought from an email. Which channel gets the credit? Your answer decides where next month's budget goes.

Different rules for deciding which touchpoint gets credit for a conversion — last-click gives all credit to the final touch, first-click to the first, and multi-touch models split credit across the whole journey.

The blob in cricket whites holds a trophy while two teammates high-five beside a wicket.

Think of it like this

Who won the match?

The opener scored 80, the middle order held on, and the finisher hit the winning six. The crowd cheers the six. But without the 80, there was no chase. Attribution is deciding how to share credit across the innings.

Watch it happen

One customer's path, three ways to give credit

Instagram ad

Google search

Purchase ₹2,000

1/5The real path: saw an Instagram ad, later searched on Google, then bought from an email.

The big ideas

What you need to know

Last click

The final touch gets everything. It tends to favour search and email over awareness channels.

Data-driven

Uses your own conversion data to estimate each touch's contribution. GA4's default when there's enough data.

GA4 trimmed its options

In 2023 GA4 removed first click, linear, time decay and position-based models, keeping data-driven and last click.

No model is the truth

Every model is an estimate. Use it to compare channels, and test with experiments when stakes are high.

Save yourself the pain

Common mistakes

Oops

Cutting all Instagram spend because last-click reports show few sales.

Do this instead

Check whether Instagram starts paths that end elsewhere before you cut it.

Oops

Adding up conversions from each ad platform's own report.

Do this instead

Each platform credits itself. Totals overlap, so compare against one neutral source like GA4.

Your mission

Credit a customer path by hand

~20 min

Quick check

Under last-click attribution, which channel is most likely to look weaker than it really is?

Go deeper

1Compare how last-click and first-click attribution would credit the same hypothetical customer journey differently.
2Learn why relying solely on last-click can undervalue upper-funnel channels like content and social.
3Understand there's no single 'correct' model — the choice should match your business's typical journey.