Attribution Is Harder Than You Think

A customer finds you through a Google ad, reads three blog posts over two weeks, clicks a retargeting ad on LinkedIn, and finally converts after receiving an email.

Which channel gets credit for the sale?

The Last-Click Fallacy

Most businesses default to last-click attribution. Whatever touchpoint happened right before conversion gets 100% of the credit. It's simple, but it's wrong.

In our example, the email would get all the credit. But would that customer have converted without the initial Google ad that introduced them to your brand? Without the blog content that built trust? Without the retargeting that kept you top of mind?

Why Attribution Matters

If you're making budget decisions based on bad attribution data, you're probably:

• Over-investing in bottom-of-funnel channels
• Under-investing in awareness and consideration
• Missing the full picture of your customer journey

Better Approaches

Multi-Touch Attribution: Distribute credit across all touchpoints based on their role in the journey. First touch introduced the prospect. Middle touches nurtured them. Last touch closed the deal.

Incrementality Testing: Run controlled experiments to measure the true impact of each channel. What happens to revenue when you turn off a specific ad campaign?

Marketing Mix Modeling: Use statistical analysis to understand how different channels contribute to overall performance, accounting for factors like seasonality and market conditions.

The Honest Truth

Perfect attribution is impossible. Customer journeys are messy. Some touchpoints happen offline. Some influence can't be tracked.

But imperfect attribution based on solid methodology is infinitely better than last-click guessing. The goal isn't perfect data—it's better decisions.