Understanding the impact of each touchpoint on a conversion journey is essential to an effective marketing strategy . In a digital landscape where consumers interact with brands across multiple channels—such as social media, email, websites, ads, and more—determining which of these channels drive conversions becomes a challenge. This is where attribution models come in .
They help you attribute credit to each interaction on the path to the final conversion. In this article, we’ll explain what attribution models are, the main types, and how your business can use them to optimize marketing campaigns.
What are attribution models?
Attribution models are systems that allow you to analyze and distribute credit for conversions across different touchpoints in the customer journey. Essentially, an attribution model defines rules for calculating student data the value that each channel or interaction brings to a conversion, whether it’s a sale, an email subscription, or another desired action.
Applying this concept makes it possible to identify the most efficient channels, offering insights that help companies allocate resources strategically and optimize campaigns based on concrete data.
Main types of attribution models
Let’s now look at the types that can be applied in a marketing strategy.
1. Single-touch attribution models
Single-touch models focus all the credit for a conversion on a single touchpoint. While they are less detailed, these models are useful for simpler campaigns or short sales cycles. Below are the main types of single-touch models.
First interaction
In this model, the first point of contact is the most valued, receiving all the credit for the conversion. This model is ideal for understanding which channels attract new users.
Last interaction
The last interaction model attributes 100% of the credit to the last touchpoint before conversion. It is useful for identifying which channels or campaigns most influence the final purchase decision.
Last non-direct click
Unlike the last interaction model, the last non-direct click ignores direct visits to the website and focuses on the last non-direct source channel. This helps exclude the effects of direct visits that sometimes do not represent an active campaign.