Attribution Models Explained
Understanding last-touch, first-touch, and multi-touch attribution
Attribution is the discipline of connecting marketing touchpoints to downstream outcomes. In web2, this has become increasingly complex due to regulatory changes. In web3, we have a better solution.
Learn how attribution works in web3 and why it's more reliable than web2
Attribution answers the question: "How should this conversion be credited?"
When a user sees your ad on Monday, visits your site on Tuesday, connects their wallet on Wednesday, and makes their first swap on Thursday – did the ad drive that conversion? Attribution models help you answer this.
Attribution does not prove causality. It establishes a consistent way to connect exposure to outcomes so performance can be measured and compared.
Credits the conversion to the last marketing touchpoint before the action. Example: User sees your ad, clicks, connects wallet, and swaps. The ad gets full credit.
Advantages: Simple to implement and understand, clear credit assignment, works well when conversion cycle is short, realistic for web3 where journey visibility is limited. Disadvantages: Ignores earlier touchpoints that built awareness, may undervalue top-of-funnel marketing.
Credits the conversion to the first marketing touchpoint. Example: User saw your ad last week, later saw you mentioned on Twitter, then finally converted. The ad gets credit, not Twitter.
Advantages: Values awareness-building activities, good for long consideration cycles. Disadvantages: May overvalue touchpoints that don't drive conversions, harder to implement.
Distributes credit across multiple touchpoints. Example: User sees ad (30% credit), reads blog post (30% credit), sees retargeting ad (40% credit), then converts.
Advantages: More holistic view of customer journey. Disadvantages: Complex to implement, requires tracking full journey, less practical in web3 where mid-journey visibility is limited.