Attribution

Also called: attribution

Attribution is the assignment of activities and causes to measured outcomes and effects. Among other things, applying attribution can be valuable in analyzing and explaining KPIs and evaluating the ROI of marketing activities, ads and touch points.

A common form of attribution is conversion attribution. This is a form of attribution in which the origin of conversions is determined and recorded. Linking revenues and costs makes it easier to see marketing not just as a cost and to determine which activities generate the most revenue.

Attribution can be applied to both offline and online activities to chart effectiveness. Web technology does make attribution in online marketing much easier. Using referrers, parameters and cookies, it can be automatically determined via which website, search engine and/or advertisement a visitor came in. Actions such as placing an order or signing up for a newsletter can also be attributed to a source.

Attribution models and multiple attribution

Often multiple contact moments precede a conversion and multiple channels are involved in a customer journey. This makes it more difficult to attribute revenue to one specific moment. Several attribution models exist for attributing results with multiple stages and contact moments.

Some attribution models assign results to the first or just the last action or contact moment. Others distribute revenue according to certain keys among the different channels involved. This can be an equal distribution, or one in which the influence of the different channels and moments is calculated according to factors such as sequence, time and past acquired data and experience.

Attribution need not be used exclusively to determine the effectiveness of marketing efforts. Sometimes attribution models are also used to settle with external channels for ads placed and services provided, as in performance-based marketing.