What is marketing attribution?
Understand how reporting rules assign credit and why attributed outcomes are not automatically incremental outcomes.
Attribution assigns credit for an outcome according to a measurement system’s rules. It helps organise observed interactions into a report. The credit is an interpretation of a journey, not proof that the outcome would not have happened without that interaction.
How to read this metric
Record the provider, action and attribution settings. Keep the reporting window and outcome maturity visible.
Compare only compatible attribution views or explain the differences. A settings change can alter credited outcomes without changing actual sales.
Use aggregate business records for a separate reconciliation where appropriate. Distinguish recorded orders from platform credit claims.
Make it concrete.
A customer interacts with two ad platforms before buying once. Each platform may report a credited purchase under its rules, while the business has one order.
What to keep in mind.
Adding attribution claims can double-count outcomes. A dashboard or AI summary cannot infer incrementality merely by combining those reports.
Your next useful step.
Preserve source-specific results and state the inference separately. Use stronger experimental evidence when the decision requires a causal estimate.
Working with this in Liftaven
A metric needs a numerator, denominator, reporting period and source. Record those alongside the result. The examples in these notes are invented to explain the calculation; they are not industry benchmarks or Liftaven customer results.
Explore the workspaceSources & context
This note combines original practical guidance with the reporting references below. Follow provider documentation for current definitions and availability; suggested investigations are not guarantees of a particular result.