Marketing Attribution Models Explained

Last reviewed September 8, 2026 · Independent editorial research; vendor claims are labeled as such.

An attribution model is a rule for assigning conversion credit across eligible marketing touchpoints. The same journey can produce very different channel reports under different models.

First-touch attribution

Gives credit to the first qualifying marketing interaction. Useful for understanding how demand is initially created, but it ignores later persuasion and closing activity.

Last-touch attribution

Gives credit to the final qualifying interaction before conversion. It is simple and operationally useful, but often over-rewards branded search, retargeting or direct-response touches near the end of the journey.

Linear attribution

Distributes credit evenly across eligible touches. This avoids a single-touch bias but assumes each interaction contributed equally.

Time-decay attribution

Assigns more weight to touches nearer the conversion. It can fit journeys where later interactions matter more, but the decay rate is still a modeling choice.

Position-based attribution

Often emphasizes the first and final interactions while sharing the remainder across middle touches. It acknowledges both discovery and closing without treating all touches equally.

Data-driven attribution

Uses statistical or machine-learning methods to estimate contribution. The output depends on data volume, model design and assumptions; “data-driven” does not mean assumption-free.

Which model should you use?

Start with the decision. Acquisition teams may care about demand creation; media buyers may need incremental budget guidance; revenue teams may care about the path to closed-won. Compare several models rather than searching for a single universal truth.