Attribution Modeling

BUZZSMITH | D IG ITAL MARKET ING | WWW.BUZZSMITH .COM 1

ATTRIBUTION MODELSPREPARED BY: BUZZSMITH

PREPARED FOR: BUZZSMITH :)

http://www.buzzsmith.com


ATTRIBUTION MODELS

THEIR IMPORTANCE

EXAMPLES

CONSIDERATIONS



THE SALES FUNNEL

SALE

SEO SOCIAL EMAIL WEBSITE

Awareness

Interest

Desire/Intent

SOCIAL SEARCH ADS

DIRECT

SEARCH DIRECT

A channel that predominantly initiates the conversion path at the beginning of the sales

funnel will have a higher conversion value according to the first interaction model.

A channel that predominantly ends conversion path (with a sale) will have a higher conversion value according to

the last interaction model.



THE MODELS

• Last Interaction Model: assigns 100% credit to the last interaction

! • Last Non-Direct Click: ignores direct visits & assigns 100%

credit to the last interaction (What GA automatically reports)

! • Last AdWords Click: assigns 100% of the conversion value to

the most recent AdWords ad that the customer clicked before converting

! • First Interaction: assigns 100% of conversion value to the

first channel with which the customer interacted ! • Linear: gives equal credit to each channel on the way to

conversion ! • Time Decay: heavily credits the touch points that occurred

nearest to the time of conversion ! • Position Based: hybrid of last interaction + 1st interaction

AD SALE

GOES HOME

EMAIL SALE

NEXT MORNING

DIRECT SALE

SOCIAL SALE



THE MODELS

AD GOES HOME SALEDIRECT

1st Interaction: 100% attribution to _________.

Last Interaction: 100% attribution to _______.

Last non-direct Click: 100% attribution to _______.

Last Adwords Click: 100% attribution to _________.

SOCIAL



THE MODELS

AD GOES HOME SALEDIRECT

1st Interaction: 100% attribution to ADWORDS.

Last Interaction: 100% attribution to DIRECT.

Last non-direct Click: 100% attribution to SOCIAL.

Last Adwords Click: 100% attribution to ADWORDS.

SOCIAL



GOOGLE ANALYTICS

Model Comparison

Normally, Referral traffic is attributed only 9 conversions. However, when looking at 1st interaction, it is attributed 24 conversions. When it is looked at only as a last non-direct click, it is attributed 12 interactions.

!Referral traffic is a better awareness tool than converter.

Note: Google Analytics Regular Reports only reports

on Last Non-Direct Click Interactions.



THE ECO SYSTEM

We are now able to better understand the

eco-system & the customer’s journey.

SEE’S THE BRAND ON FB

LOOKS TO OTHER CHANNELS - PINTEREST

IS NOW CONNECTED THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA

GOES TO SITE

BUYS

BUZZSMITH

FIRST INTERACTION CONVERSIONS

LAST NON-DIRECT CLICK CONVERSIONS

% CHANGE

PINTEREST 15 16 + 6.67%

FACEBOOK 9 6 -33.33%

TWITTER 1 1 0%



DISCREPANCIES

•You cannot compare general GA reports with Multi-Channel & Attribution Modeling

Reports. All of the data is correct, however GA is displaying the data in different ways

because of:

•using different Marketing Channel Groups

•Counting goals, conversions, transactions differently (this also applies to Adwords)

•Multi Channel Funneling & Attribution Modeling data lags by 2 days (cannot report it in

real-time)

•GA general reports has a lookback window of 6 months by default (can only change in

universal analytics).

!

•Google Analytics reports automatically use Last Non-Direct Interaction (if Direct is still

getting attributed conversions, that is because GA cannot detect any interaction before

that).



DOUBLE CHECK

For example: You are looking at conversions in January 2014. The attribution model will look at interactions 90 days prior to that conversion (whether the

conversion was on Jan. 1 or Jan. 30)

•Lookback window allows you to track the process only for 90 days prior (only takes into account

interactions that took place in the 90 days prior to the conversion).

•Set the “Conversion Type” - Conversion type can be

eCommerce transactions or goal completions.

!

•This is good to keep in mind for future goal tracking…

(Ex: “What led to a person signing up for our email

list?”)



CONSIDERATIONS

•Consider how far back to look (30 days - 90s days prior to the conversion).

!

•When comparing models, it is best practice to use Last Non-Direct Click, rather than Last

Interaction.

!

•For fast moving consumer goods, use Last Interaction Model or Last Non-Direct Click.

!

•For brand awareness, use First Interaction Model.

!

•To learn more about the buying behavior of clients during a promotion, use Time Decay.

!

•The most important thing to remember is to analyze what you are looking for (KPIs +

Goals) and then decide with model to use. Compare models & explore the different

insights they give you.



THANK YOU


Documents

Attribution Modeling