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Position-Based Attribution: What It Is & How It Works

Stuart Brameld

Stuart Brameld

Founder
Updated:
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Position-based attribution (also called U-shaped attribution) is a rule-based marketing attribution model that gives 40% of the credit for a conversion to the first touchpoint, 40% to the last touchpoint, and splits the remaining 20% evenly across everything in between. It’s the sensible compromise among rule-based models: the two moments that matter most are how a buyer first discovered you and the touch that finally converted them, so credit loads onto the first and last touch. That is a defensible belief, and in many B2B journeys it holds up well. The honest caveat: you are still asserting that the first and last touches deserve 40% each because you decided so, not because the data proved it. Treat it as a thoughtful default, not a measurement of truth. For the wider picture, see our definitive guide to attribution models.

Definition of position-based (U-shaped) attribution

Position-based (U-shaped) attribution is a model used by marketers to track and assign credit for a sale or conversion across multiple touchpoints in a customer’s journey. In this model, the first and last interactions a customer has with your brand are given the most credit, typically 40% each. This is why it’s often referred to as U-shaped, as the weight of the attribution is heavier at the beginning and end of the customer journey.

The remaining 20% of the credit is evenly distributed among the other touchpoints in the middle of the journey. This model recognises the importance of the initial and final interactions, but also acknowledges that other touchpoints contribute to the final decision. It’s a useful tool for marketers who want to understand which strategies are most effective at attracting and converting customers.

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An example of position-based (U-shaped) attribution

Here is an example of how it works:

Growth Method, a SaaS company, launches a new software product. They use various marketing channels to promote it.

First, they send out an email campaign to their existing customers. This is where John, a potential customer, first learns about the new product.

Next, John sees a sponsored post about the product on LinkedIn. He clicks on the post and reads more about the product on Growth Method’s website.

A few days later, John sees a Google Ad for the product while browsing the internet. He clicks on the ad and visits the website again, but he doesn’t make a purchase yet.

Finally, John receives a promotional discount code in his email. This time, he decides to purchase the product.

In a position-based (U-shaped) attribution model, 40% of the credit for John’s purchase would go to the first touchpoint (the email campaign), 20% to the middle touchpoints (the LinkedIn post and Google Ad), and 40% to the last touchpoint (the promotional discount code). This model recognises the importance of both attracting the customer’s initial interest and sealing the deal.

How does position-based (U-shaped) attribution work?

Position-based (U-shaped) attribution works by assigning more credit to the first and last touchpoints in the customer journey, while the remaining credit is distributed evenly among the other touchpoints. This model is based on the belief that the initial and final interactions are the most influential in the customer’s decision-making process. For marketers, this means they can identify and focus on the channels or strategies that are most effective at attracting potential customers and closing sales, optimizing their marketing efforts for better results.

Comparison: position-based vs other attribution models

ModelCredit logicBest for
Position-based (U-shaped)40% first touch, 40% last touch, 20% split across the middleTeams who value both discovery and conversion touchpoints equally
First-click attribution100% credit to the first touchpointUnderstanding which channels create initial awareness
Last-click attribution100% credit to the final touchpoint before conversionShort sales cycles where the closing channel matters most
Linear attributionCredit split evenly across every touchpointLong, multi-channel journeys where no single touch should dominate
Data-driven attributionCredit assigned algorithmically based on each touchpoint’s actual contribution to conversionTeams with enough conversion volume to let the data, not a fixed rule, decide the split

Expert opinions and perspectives

Here are how some of the world’s best marketing and growth professionals, and companies, think about position-based (U-shaped) attribution.

Questions to ask yourself

As a modern growth marketing or agile marketing professional, ask yourself the following questions with regard to position-based (U-shaped) attribution:

Frequently asked questions

What is position-based attribution?

Position-based (U-shaped) attribution is a marketing attribution model that assigns 40% of conversion credit to the first touchpoint, 40% to the last touchpoint, and splits the remaining 20% evenly across every touchpoint in between.

What is another name for position-based attribution?

Position-based attribution is also commonly called U-shaped attribution, because a chart of the credit given to each touchpoint forms a U shape - heaviest at the start and end, lightest in the middle.

How does position-based attribution differ from linear or last-click attribution?

Linear attribution splits credit evenly across every touchpoint, and last-click attribution gives 100% of the credit to the final touchpoint. Position-based attribution sits between the two: it rewards the first and last touch more heavily than the middle, but still gives some credit to every touchpoint in the journey.

When should I use position-based attribution?

Position-based attribution works well for B2B teams who believe both the discovery touchpoint and the converting touchpoint deserve outsized credit, but who still want visibility into the middle of the funnel. It’s a reasonable default when you don’t yet have enough conversion volume for a data-driven model.

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

Additional reading

Here are some related articles and further reading around position-based (U-shaped) attribution that you may find helpful.

About Growth Method

Position-based attribution is a good example of the trap most marketing measurement falls into: a fixed rule, decided in advance, applied to every journey regardless of what your own data actually says. Growth Method takes the opposite approach. It’s the agentic marketing platform for B2B teams - plan your strategy, ship campaigns, and learn what works from your own first-party data, instead of inheriting someone else’s 40/20/40 split. Every campaign you run comes with a hypothesis and a measured result, so you decide which touchpoints actually deserve credit, not just which ones a model assumes should.

Book a call to see how it works, or apply for early access.

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