Marketing Attribution Defined: 6 Types of Marketing Attribution

Marketing attribution is the process of tracking every step in a buyer’s journey, so you can assess which of your digital marketing efforts—from display ads to email marketing campaigns—are the most effective.

There are several types of marketing attribution, all of which fall into one of two marketing attribution models: multi-touch and single-touch. Most modern marketing employs a multi-touch attribution model, which considers all touchpoints potential customers have with your brand along the conversion path before finally purchasing. The other type of attribution model is the single-touch attribution model, which only tracks one touchpoint in the customer journey, such as the last touchpoint.

Some of the most common types of marketing attribution include:

1. 1. Algorithm-based attribution: This multi-touch attribution relies on machine learning to track which marketing touchpoints led to conversion.
2. 2. First-touch attribution: This type of single-touch attribution credits the first interaction in the customer journey as the reason for conversion.
3. 3. Last-touch attribution: Also called last-click attribution, this single-touch attribution counts the last interaction rather than attributing the sale to the first touchpoint.
4. 4. Linear attribution: A form of multi-touch attribution, linear attribution gives all touchpoints equal credit for a sale.
5. 5. Time-decay attribution: While a form of multi-touch attribution, this method gives the most credit to the customer's last interaction before making a purchase.
6. 6. U-shaped attribution: This form of attribution gives the most value to the customer’s first and last interactions but tracks other touchpoints along the way.

Attribution is a critical part of the marketing process because it gives you detailed analytics about each buyer’s trajectory, from their first click to the final sale. Marketing attribution allows you to:

• Discover which marketing channels perform best. With attribution, you can see what tactics perform best, allowing you to invest in the marketing efforts that offer the greatest return on investment or marketing ROI.
• Gain insight into how users discover your products. The ability to see how customers find your product is one of the most valuable aspects of attribution. You can learn whether customers convert after finding your products or services through organic search, email campaigns, webinars, or digital banner ads.
• See where customers drop off. Attribution allows you to see where in the process prospective customers leave, allowing you to gauge where your customer journey needs improvement.

Marketing attribution has significant potential returns. Here are some tips to help you get started with marketing attribution:

1. 1. Choose your software. Whether you run an enterprise-level company or a small startup, many marketing attribution tools are available to help you with source attribution. Read up on the pros and cons of each software, and decide which marketing attribution model is best for your company.
   
2. 2. Set your software to track. Once you choose your marketing-attribution software, set it to track clicks on your website and social media marketing channels.
3. 3. Collect marketing data. As customers engage with your marketing channels, your marketing attribution software will collect and compile real-time data on customer behavior. Decide what metrics to focus on and how long you’d like to wait before it’s time to analyze. (Many companies analyze every month.)
4. 4. Analyze. Once you collect the data for a particular month, it’s time to gather your marketing team and review the numbers. Look for the marketing activities that convert the most or least number of customers and examine the marketing touchpoints to see if a bottleneck exists in your sales cycle. Establish marketing metrics and calculate what marketing campaigns resulted in the highest conversion rate compared to the effort and marketing budget required.
5. 5. Optimize. Use the attribution data to decide on a single adjustment to your marketing channels. Implement this adjustment, then wait another month before looking at the numbers to see if the new strategy was more or less effective. Continue this process to polish your marketing tactics and make the most effective use of your marketing spend. Marketing attribution may also give you important insights into other ways to optimize, like adjusting pricing or improving your product.

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