Attribution models: How do I use them?

Digital marketing today has multiple ways and tools that allow you to reach all types of consumers. However, this variety can become a double-edged sword, as it is not clear which are the most effective for our business. This is where the attribution models, which help you identify what to dedicate your budget to. If you don't know what they are or how to use them, here we leave you everything you need to know!

What are attribution models?

Since we can't assume you know what exactly an attribution model is, let's start by explaining what they are. It is a system or set of rules that allows attribute a specific value to each marketing channel. In this way, you can know which of them gets the best response. 

Although there may be exceptions, generally any consumer consults information or Interact with a company before proceeding with a purchase. Additionally, you can use a single channel or several for this. 

With attribution models, the aim is to know the importance or relevance of each of these channels in the customer conversion. That is, its power to lead to the achievement of a sale. With this information, the ROI of each campaign can also be calculated. 

Difficulties in measurement

But since not everything can be a bed of roses, the measurement encounters some drawbacks that make the analysis difficult. For example, in those businesses that have a physical point of sale, in that case, The interaction can take place in person and through a digital channel, which usually makes the measurement more complex. 

In addition to the previous difficulty, each user uses a channel for a specific purpose and can even use several simultaneously. For example, although in Spain the use of the telephone for online purchases is increasing compared to the decrease in the use of the computer, the latter continues to be the main channel to finalize a purchase. 

Correctly using attribution models will allow you to know the most effective channels in the campaigns carried out, to be able to allocate more resources to them intelligently and directing decisions towards more tangible results. 

What are the most common attribution models?

First interaction

It consists of putting the focus of attention on the first channel with which the customer interacted and which allowed them to begin the relationship with the brand. It is indicated for those young companies or those that are currently focused on becoming known. 

For example, a user finds out about you through a Facebook ad, subscribes to the newsletter and 5 days later completes their purchase upon receiving an email. This attribution model would assign the purchase to the Facebook ad

Last interaction

It consists of taking as reference the last interaction of a customer before the purchase or becoming a lead. Since it is too simplistic, its use is only recommended when the customer is in the last phase of the conversion funnel and with a clear purchase intention or in those businesses where purchases do not require meditation. 

For example, a user knows you from an ad Facebook, you subscribe to the newsletter and 5 days later complete your purchase when you receive an email. This attribution model would assign the purchase to the newsletter.

linear model

This is one of the most effective attribution models to understand the impact of each of the channels. Instead of focusing on just one, The interactions in all of them have the same value. It is recommended to opt for this when a customer's purchasing process is longer and more complex. 

For example, a user finds out about you through a Facebook ad, subscribes to the newsletter and 5 days later completes their purchase upon receiving an email. This attribution model would assign 50% of the purchase to Facebook and 50% to email.

SEO

In this the previous three are combined and the value is distributed among all forms of contact the client's. Although the first and last are considered more relevant, they are all taken into account. 

For example, a user finds out about you through a Facebook ad, subscribes to the newsletter and 5 days later completes their purchase upon receiving an email. This attribution model would assign a greater value to the email channel and a minimum to the Facebook channel

Last click on main channel

With this attribution model we seek the channel that has actually achieved the conversion, regardless of where you made the last direct click. This is usually applied by default when there are few channels.  

For example, a user knows you from a Facebook ad, subscribes to the newsletter and 5 days later clicks on an email. 3 days later you decide to carry out the conversion by entering directly. This attribution model will assign the conversion to the email channel.

Progressive decline

Here The last interaction is taken as the main reference, but the previous ones are also valued. although with less weight. The most important are considered to be those that occur within the previous seven days. The previous ones would already have half the value and those older than 14 days, a quarter. 

For example, a user finds out about you through a Facebook ad, subscribes to the newsletter and 5 days later completes their purchase upon receiving an email. This attribution model would assign a greater value to the email channel and a minimum to the Facebook channel

Algorithms

Here they are used mathematical algorithms that treat each customer's journey individually. Using artificial intelligence and machine learning, great precision is achieved, although they are very complex to configure and can present problems when several channels and devices interact in the same conversion. 

When choosing between attribution models, you must pay attention to the type of sector, the channels used or the characteristics of each trip, and select those that align with your marketing objectives. 

If you are still not sure how to apply attribution models to your business to analyze which channels offer you a better conversion, in immoral We can help you get the most out of your marketing strategy.