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What is multi-touch attribution?

Stuart Brameld

Stuart Brameld

Founder
Updated:

Multi-touch attribution is the honest upgrade over single-touch models like first-click and last-click. Instead of crowning one interaction, it spreads credit across the whole journey, which for mapping complex B2B paths is hard to beat. The catch, and it is a big one, is that even the best multi-touch model still only shows you correlation, not causation, and privacy changes have been steadily eroding the tracking it depends on. Treat it as the best map of the journey you can get, not proof of what caused the sale. For how it compares with every other model, see our definitive guide to attribution models.

Definition of multi-touch attribution

Multi-touch attribution is a method used by marketers to understand and credit which marketing strategies are driving customer actions. It’s like a map that shows the journey a customer takes from the first time they hear about a product or service, through all the different touchpoints they interact with, until they finally make a purchase. This method helps marketers to identify which marketing channels or campaigns are most effective in influencing customer decisions.

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An example of multi-touch attribution

Here is an example of how it works:

Growth Method, a SaaS company, launches a new project management tool. They use various marketing channels to promote their product.

  1. John, a project manager, first hears about the tool on LinkedIn where he sees a sponsored post from Growth Method. He clicks on the post but doesn’t make a purchase.

  2. A week later, John receives an email from Growth Method, as he had previously signed up for their newsletter. The email contains information about the new tool. He clicks on the link in the email, browses the website, but still doesn’t make a purchase.

  3. The next day, John sees a Google Ad for the same tool while searching for project management solutions. He clicks on the ad, revisits the website, and this time he signs up for a free trial.

  4. After using the free trial for a week, John receives a follow-up email from Growth Method offering a discount if he purchases the full version of the tool. He clicks on the link in the email, goes to the website, and makes a purchase.

In this scenario, each touchpoint (LinkedIn post, email newsletter, Google Ad, follow-up email) contributed to John’s final decision to purchase the tool. This is an example of multi-touch attribution, where each marketing channel gets credit for the final conversion.

How does multi-touch attribution work?

Multi-touch attribution works by tracking and assigning value to all the touchpoints a consumer interacts with on their journey to a purchase. This method allows marketers to understand which marketing channels and campaigns are most effective in driving conversions. It involves tracking the customer’s journey from the first point of contact, such as an online ad or email, through various interactions like website visits, social media engagement, and finally to the point of purchase. Each touchpoint is then assigned a certain value or credit based on its contribution to the final conversion. This comprehensive view helps marketers optimize their strategies and allocate their budget more effectively.

Expert opinions and perspectives

Here are how some of the world’s best marketing and growth professionals, and companies, think about multi-touch attribution.

Types of multi-touch attribution model

“Multi-touch” is an umbrella, not a single method. The credit can be split by a fixed rule or by an algorithm:

The limits of multi-touch attribution

MTA is a genuine step up from last-click, but it is worth being honest about where it breaks down, because the gaps have widened in recent years:

How MTA compares to MMM and incrementality

Because of those limits, the strongest measurement setups don’t rely on MTA alone. They triangulate it with two other approaches:

Used together, MTA maps the journey, incrementality checks whether each channel earns its keep, and MMM blends it all at the macro level. As Lifesight’s guide on the topic argues, causal approaches identify “the true impact of marketing activities by isolating the incremental revenue they generate”, where MTA on its own only tracks associations.

Questions to ask yourself

As a modern growth marketing or agile marketing professional, ask yourself the following questions with regard to multi-touch attribution:

Here are some related articles and further reading you may find helpful.

Additional reading

Here are some related articles and further reading around multi-touch attribution that you may find helpful.

About Growth Method

Growth Method is the growth platform designed for experiment-led and data-driven marketers.

Learn more at on our homepage, connect with me on LinkedIn or Twitter, or book a call here.

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