Attribution Models Explained
What Is an Attribution Model?
An attribution model is the rule that determines which affiliate gets credit for a conversion. When a customer interacts with multiple affiliates before converting, the model decides who gets paid. The choice of model affects partner behavior, commission costs, and program fairness.
Common Attribution Models
| Model | Credit Goes To | Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|---|---|
| First-click | The affiliate who drove the initial visit | Rewards awareness and discovery | Ignores the affiliate who closed the sale |
| Last-click | The affiliate whose link was clicked most recently | Rewards closers, simple to implement | Ignores affiliates who introduced the customer |
| Multi-touch / Linear | Shared equally among all affiliates in the path | Fair to all contributors | Complex to calculate, splits commissions |
| Time-decay | More credit to recent touchpoints, less to earlier ones | Balances discovery and closing | Requires sophisticated tracking |
Which Model Fits Your Program?
Most affiliate programs use last-click attribution because it is simple and rewards the affiliate closest to the conversion. But it is not always the right choice.
- Last-click: Best for programs where the conversion path is short (1-2 touchpoints)
- First-click: Best for content-heavy programs where discovery is the hard part
- Multi-touch: Best for high-value conversions with long consideration periods
- Time-decay: Best for enterprise programs tracking multiple partner interactions over weeks
Attribution Windows
The attribution window defines how long a click remains eligible for credit. A 30-day window means if a user clicks an affiliate link and converts 29 days later, the affiliate gets credit. Industry standard ranges from 7 to 90 days depending on the vertical and product type.
Setting the attribution window too long inflates commissions (affiliates get credit for conversions they did not influence). Setting it too short loses credit for affiliates who genuinely drove the conversion. Test and adjust based on your actual conversion cycle.
Key Takeaways
- Attribution models determine which affiliate gets credit when multiple partners touch a conversion
- Last-click is the most common but not always the right choice for every program
- Choose your model based on conversion path length and what behavior you want to reward
- Attribution windows should match your actual conversion cycle -- typically 7 to 90 days
Explore Further
Key terms and tools related to this lesson. Deepen your understanding and see how Track360 supports these concepts.
Publisher
A publisher is an individual or company that promotes an advertiser's products or services through an affiliate program in exchange for commissions on conversions they drive.
Introducing Broker (IB)
An Introducing Broker is a partner who refers new traders to a Forex or CFD brokerage in exchange for ongoing commissions, typically calculated on the trading volume or revenue generated by those referred clients.
CPA (Cost Per Acquisition)
CPA is a commission model where an affiliate earns a fixed payment for each qualifying action, such as a deposit, registration, or purchase, that a referred user completes.
Hybrid Commission
Hybrid commission combines two payout models, most commonly CPA and RevShare, in a single affiliate deal so operators can reward both conversion volume and long-term customer value.