The set of rules that decides which marketing touchpoint gets credit for a sale, when someone saw a Facebook ad in March, searched your name in April and phoned in May.
Attribution matters because it decides which channel looks successful, and therefore which one gets next year's budget. Two reporting models can look at the same customer and hand the credit to two different channels.
Every model is wrong in a specific direction. Last-click flatters search, because search is usually the final step. First-click flatters awareness channels. Platform-reported conversions flatter whichever platform is reporting them, because each one counts a sale it touched as its own.
| Model | Gets the credit | Tends to over-reward |
|---|---|---|
| Last click | The Google search in May | Search and brand terms |
| First click | The Facebook ad in March | Awareness and social |
| Linear | A quarter each to four touches | Nothing in particular |
| Platform-reported | Facebook and Google both claim it | Everything — totals exceed real sales |
This comes up most often in Analytics & Conversion Tracking. Analytics, conversion events, call tracking and reporting installed and verified, so every enquiry can be traced back to what produced it.
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