What is attribution?
Attribution is how you assign credit for a conversion across the touchpoints that led to it: the video that sparked interest, the creator who built trust, the search ad that closed. Your attribution model decides which of those gets the credit, and therefore which gets the budget.
The main models
- Last click: all credit to the final touchpoint. Simple, and structurally biased towards the bottom of the funnel.
- First click: all credit to the first touchpoint. The mirror image, biased towards awareness.
- Linear and position based: credit spread across the journey by rule of thumb rather than evidence.
- Data driven: algorithmic weighting based on observed journeys. Better, but still limited to what the platform can see.
The honest view
Every click based model is a simplification, and each platform runs its own, which is why the sum of claimed conversions is always bigger than reality. Cookie loss and cross device journeys make the blind spots grow every year. Treat platform attribution as a signal, not a verdict.
What to do instead
Use attribution for what it is good at: fast, directional feedback inside a channel. Then validate the big picture with incrementality measurement such as Media Mix Modelling and lift testing before moving serious budget. Attribution tells you who claimed the sale; incrementality tells you who earned it.
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