What is Digital Attribution Modeling? Why it Matters

Every marketer understands the value of knowing which efforts produce the best results. But it’s challenging to nail that down and find those correlations. Attribution models provide a structure to assign credit to key marketing touchpoints, giving you the ability to attribute customer conversions to specific marketing tactics or campaigns.

Simply put, digital attribution models help you make sense of your marketing campaigns and determine what is and isn’t successful.

Here’s what you need to know about digital attribution models when marketing for your company.

WHAT IS DIGITAL ATTRIBUTION MODELING?

Digital attribution modeling tries to make sense of potential clients' complicated relationship with your brand.

On the surface, this seems easy to do. If you run a simple coupon campaign, tracking the number of customers who come in and purchase with the coupon should be easy. However, things have become more complicated with modern digital marketing. In modern digital marketing, you take an omnichannel approach where customers interact with your brand dozens of times before even considering a purchase. If you’re running multiple social media campaigns, a traditional advertising campaign, and a digital advertising campaign, how are you supposed to know which is effective and which isn’t?

All attribution models credit key customer touchpoints and highlight different aspects of the customer journey. Each model has strengths and weaknesses, so it’s important to understand which one best meets your needs.

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT ATTRIBUTION MODELS?

The most common attribution models are:

• First Touch/Interaction Attribution - In this model, the interaction that is the first point of contact with a new customer gains 100% of the credit for a final sale. The strength of the first-touch model is that it helps identify how consumers become aware of your brand. However, it does not provide a full picture of the rest of the customer journey to help you know what is or isn’t effective later in the process.

• Last Touch/Interaction Attribution - The final point of contact before the user purchases earns 100% of the credit for this model. The last touch attribution model provides a great snapshot of the final step in the customer’s journey, but like the first touch attribution model, it lacks the complete picture. None of the foundational touchpoints that helped propel a consumer toward conversion are given any credit.

• Evenly Weighted Attribution - Each touchpoint involved in a customer’s journey is weighed equally in this model. This model is powerful in helping you identify which marketing efforts contribute to conversions. However, the biggest downfall of this model is that it assumes all touchpoints are equally effective, which is rarely true.

• Positioned-Based Attribution - This model credits the customer’s first and last touchpoints 40%, and the interactions between those points receive 20%. It mixes first- and last-touchpoint models, including the evenly weighted attribution model. This model can show the bigger picture but assumes the middle touchpoints are of less value than the first and last touchpoints.

• Time Decay Attribution - In time decay attribution, the touchpoints closest to the point of the sale are attributed for the most credit but share a decaying percentage with earlier touchpoints. This model recognizes that the final conversion would never happen without the earlier touchpoints and tries to give some attribution to those early steps. However, this model has a potential problem with clarity because the sequences involved might not accurately portray the importance and impact of some earlier touchpoints.

WHAT IS THE BEST ATTRIBUTION MODEL?

Each model is like a tool in your marketing tool belt. Just like you wouldn’t use a hammer to saw a piece of wood or a screwdriver as a level, no model is the best answer in all situations.

Each model has strengths and weaknesses. For example, if your marketing campaign focuses on growing brand awareness, the first-touch attribution model might be the best choice. It will show you which strategies effectively grab consumers’ attention and introduce them to your brand.

For initiatives that aim to get a complete picture of the success of your entire campaign, the time decay model and even positioned-based attribution models are better options. They provide more information about the whole customer journey.

It is better to have a larger model in most situations because consumers will interact multiple times with brands before they ever become customers. Each touchpoint is worth attention and deserves to be attributed to some percentage of the success of a campaign with an attribution model that realizes the breadth and depth of the customer journey.

FIND OUT MORE

Attribution models are an essential part of any marketing or advertising campaign. Without them, you won’t be able to track the success of a campaign or know which parts are (or are not) effective.

When you need help with targeting the right audience as part of your next marketing campaign, Agility can help. Find out how we can help you maximize your marketing budget by ensuring the right potential customer sees your ad in the right place at the right time. Contact us for more information about how we can help you with your next marketing campaign.