Topic
Attribution
Crediting outcomes to causes, and why every model is wrong in a different direction.
Attribution decides which touchpoint gets credit for a conversion. It is a choice, and each model makes that choice in a different direction. This topic covers the models, the windows and the counting rules behind them, and why platforms and analytics tools often report different numbers for the same sale. The aim is to help you read a report for what it measures and what it cannot.
Learn
- Attribution is two jobs: analytics and the ad platform
- Three tools say "last click", each means a different click
- Your postback URL returned 200. The conversion can still be lost
- Two kinds of click ID, and why they never swap
- Why your ad platform rewrites past numbers
- LinkedIn counts a view for 90 days. Google counts 1 day
- Primary demand advertising also sells your competitors' product
- Switching ad trackers? Test what it sends back to each ad platform
- Your 90-day click window rests on a cookie that may last 7
- Ads that do nothing get a lift result half the time
- GA4's AI Assistant channel only counts the untagged clicks
- Client-side vs server-side tracking: where the event starts
- MMM vs last-click attribution: 104 weeks against one click
- Browsers strip your click IDs and leave your UTMs