Marketing Attribution

Marketing attribution assigns credit for a defined conversion to eligible marketing interactions. The inputs include the conversion population, observed touchpoints, identity links, and an eligibility window. The attribution rule determines how credit is distributed; it does not by itself establish what would have happened without advertising.

For a search, email, and social path, linear attribution gives each touch one third. A last-touch rule gives social all the credit. Under a policy that allocates one credit per purchase, channel shares plus any unattributed share must sum to one for each purchase. Multiple vendors may independently claim the same purchase, so their reported conversions are not automatically additive.

Count repeat purchases according to the conversion definition. One earlier touch can qualify for two different purchases, while two deliveries of the same conversion ID are a duplicate. First-acquisition and every-purchase policies measure different outcomes. Keep the rule, window, identity snapshot, and conversion definition version with the result.

Compare models as reporting choices and keep observed and modeled metrics distinguishable where possible. Estimating additional purchases caused by advertising needs an appropriate incrementality study with its own assumptions. The main article implements educational rules rather than a vendor’s proprietary model.

See Integrating Marketing and Attribution Data for worked examples.

Reference: Google Ads attribution models.