What are Common Attribution Models?
Attribution Models are ways that marketers identify how consumers discovered the product they are trying to sell. They gauge marketing channels to see which deserve the credit for that purchase.
Types of Attribution Models
- First Interaction
- Last Interaction
- Linear
- Time Decay
- Position Based
Example: The consumer is driving and sees a display ad while waiting at a stoplight. Afterwards, they browse on the company’s website for a while. Later, they actually search for the website on via a search engine and proceeds to buy a product.
1. First Interaction
A first interaction model assigns credit to the first interaction between the consumer and the company.
In this example, the first interaction would be the display ad.
2. Last Interaction
The last interaction model assigns credit to their final action before the purchase.
In this example, the link they clicked on via the search engine.
First Interaction v. Last Interaction: When to use the two…
First Interaction
Best used for brand awareness
What allowed them to learn about the product?
Last Interaction
Best used when running a sale
Did the sales work?
What was the deciding factor for purchase?
3. Linear
In a linear model, each channel gets credit for the final purchase.
The display ad and the search engine would be essential to the final purchase.
4. Time Decay
In a time decay model, the closer the interaction is to the time of purchase, the more credit it gets.
Both the display ad and the search engine link would get credit, but the link would receive majority of the credit.
5. Position Based
In a position based model, multiple attributes are assign credit at once.
