Marketing Attribution Explained
Marketing attribution is the rule system used to assign conversion credit across touchpoints. It does not create truth from nothing; it organizes observed journey data into a decision model.
Attribution versus tracking
Tracking is the data collection layer. Attribution is the credit-assignment layer. You need both: a sophisticated model cannot compensate for missing or duplicated events.
Why platforms disagree
Different platforms may use different windows, identity methods, models and data access. Each platform also sees a different slice of the journey. Disagreement is therefore normal.
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Single-touch models
First-click gives all credit to the first observed touchpoint; last-click gives all credit to the final observed touchpoint. Both are easy to interpret but compress a complex journey into one winner.
Multi-touch models
Linear, position-based and time-decay models distribute credit across several touches. They can expose assistive channels, but the added sophistication should serve a specific decision.
Use attribution as a lens
Do not treat one model as objective reality. Compare models when a budget decision is sensitive to how credit is assigned.