Multi-Touch Attribution Models

Last-click attribution assigns 100% of conversion credit to the final marketing touchpoint before purchase, completely ignoring every earlier interaction that influenced the customer's decision.

This creates a systematic bias toward bottom-funnel channels (branded search, retargeting) and against top-funnel channels (display, social awareness, content) — causing brands to underinvest in awareness and over-invest in conversion tactics.

First-click attribution assigns all credit to the first touchpoint a customer interacted with before converting, focusing entirely on what drove initial awareness and discovery.

This model is most useful for brands focused on acquisition — understanding which channels introduce new customers — but it ignores everything that happened between discovery and purchase, making it similarly one-dimensional to last-click.