Attribution glossary
79 attribution terms, each defined in plain language with what the number hides once real ad spend runs through it. Definitions are written for ecommerce operators, not statisticians.
Attribution terms
- Algorithmic AttributionAlgorithmic Attribution is a data-driven model using machine learning to analyze each touchpoint's impact in the customer journey. It assigns…
- App AttributionApp Attribution identifies which marketing campaigns drive mobile app installs and opens. It shows marketers what drives app user acquisition.
- AttributionAttribution identifies user actions that contribute to a desired outcome and assigns value to each. It reveals which marketing touchpoints drive…
- Attribution AuditAn attribution audit checks that the tracking, tags and reports behind your marketing budget still measure what they claim to, best run each quarter.
- Attribution DashboardAn Attribution Dashboard visualizes marketing data to show which touchpoints and channels contribute to conversions. It helps marketers understand…
- Attribution DebtAttribution debt is the gap between what your ad platforms claim drove revenue and what actually caused it, carried quarter after quarter into the…
- Attribution DiscrepancyAttribution Discrepancy is the variance in conversion data reported between different marketing analytics platforms. It arises because platforms use…
- Attribution ModelAn Attribution Model defines how credit for conversions is assigned to marketing touchpoints. It dictates how marketing channels receive credit for…
- Attribution ModelingAttribution Modeling is a framework for assigning credit for conversions to various touchpoints in the customer journey. It helps marketers…
- Attribution PlatformAttribution Platform is a software tool that connects marketing activities to customer actions. It tracks touchpoints across channels to measure…
- Attribution ProviderAttribution Provider is a technology company that offers software to track and analyze marketing channel effectiveness. They assign credit to…
- Attribution ReportAttribution Report shows which touchpoints or channels receive credit for a conversion. It identifies which campaigns drive desired actions.
- Attribution SoftwareAttribution Software measures campaign impact by tracking customer interactions across touchpoints. It assigns value to each channel, showing what…
- Attribution WindowAttribution Window is the defined period after a user interacts with a marketing touchpoint, during which a conversion can be credited to that ad. It…
- Bayesian InferenceBayesian Inference updates the probability of a hypothesis based on new evidence. It refines marketing attribution by incorporating prior beliefs…
- Causal AnalysisCausal Analysis identifies true cause-and-effect relationships in data, moving beyond correlation to show how marketing actions directly impact…
- Causal AttributionCausal Attribution uses causal inference to determine which marketing touchpoints genuinely cause conversions, not just correlate with them.
- Causal InferenceCausal inference is the set of methods for estimating how much an outcome changes because of a cause, rather than alongside it. It works by comparing…
- CausationCausation is the relationship where a change in one variable directly causes a change in another.
- ClickClick is the action a user takes to interact with a digital advertisement, redirecting them to a website or landing page. Clicks are a fundamental…
- Confidence IntervalConfidence Interval is a statistical range of values that likely contains the true value of a metric. In marketing analytics, it quantifies…
- Confounding VariableConfounding Variable is an unmeasured factor that influences both the marketing input and the desired outcome, distorting the true impact of a…
- Control GroupA control group is the part of an experiment that does not get the treatment being tested, so its outcomes stand in for what the treated group would…
- ConversionConversion is a specific, desired action a user takes in response to a marketing message, such as a purchase or a sign-up.
- Conversion PathConversion Path is the sequence of interactions a user has with various touchpoints before completing a desired action.
- CorrelationCorrelation is a statistical measure showing a relationship between variables; it does not imply causation.
- Cost Per Acquisition (CPA)Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) measures the average cost to acquire a single customer.
- Cost Per Click (CPC)Cost Per Click (CPC) is a digital advertising metric representing the price an advertiser pays for each click on their ad.
- Cost Per Lead CplCost Per Lead (CPL) measures the cost to acquire a single potential customer.
- Counterfactual AnalysisCounterfactual Analysis determines the causal impact of an action by comparing actual outcomes to what would have happened without that action.
- Cross Channel AttributionCross Channel Attribution determines how different marketing channels and touchpoints contribute to customer conversions. It shows the value of each…
- Cross Device AttributionCross Device Attribution connects a user's interactions across multiple devices. It allows marketers to understand the full customer journey and…
- Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) predicts the net profit from a customer's entire future relationship. It identifies valuable customers and directs…
- Data Driven AttributionData-Driven Attribution uses machine learning to analyze customer touchpoints and assign conversion credit. It determines the true impact of each…
- Deterministic AttributionDeterministic Attribution links conversions to specific marketing touchpoints with certainty. It uses unique identifiers to track a user's journey…
- Difference In DifferencesDifference In Differences is a quasi-experimental method that estimates the causal effect of an intervention. It compares outcome changes over time…
- EndogeneityEndogeneity occurs when an explanatory variable correlates with the error term in a statistical model, leading to biased results. This makes…
- First Click AttributionFirst Click Attribution assigns all conversion credit to the first marketing touchpoint. Causal inference evaluates if first touchpoints truly drive…
- ImpressionAn Impression counts each time an ad or content displays on a user's screen. It measures exposure, not engagement.
- Incremental ROAS (iROAS)Incremental ROAS (iROAS) is revenue that would not have happened without the ad, divided by the ad spend. It counts only the lift a channel causes…
- IncrementalityIncrementality is the part of an outcome, such as orders or revenue, that a marketing activity caused: the extra results compared with what would…
- Incrementality TestingIncrementality Testing measures the additional impact of a marketing campaign. It compares exposed and control groups to determine causal effect.
- Instrumental VariableInstrumental Variable is a causal analysis method that estimates a variable's true effect when controlled experiments are not possible, using a third…
- iOS 26 AttributionThe measurement impact of iOS 26's Advanced Fingerprinting Protection: click identifiers (fbclid, gclid, ttclid) are stripped by default in Safari…
- Last Click AttributionLast Click Attribution: Assigns all credit for a conversion to the final marketing touchpoint before that conversion.
- Lift MeasurementLift Measurement: A method to determine the incremental impact of a marketing campaign by comparing exposed and control groups.
- Linear AttributionLinear Attribution assigns equal credit to every marketing touchpoint in a customer's conversion path. This model distributes value uniformly across…
- Machine Learning AttributionMachine Learning Attribution uses algorithms to analyze customer journeys and assign credit to marketing touchpoints. It provides a nuanced…
- Marketing AnalyticsMarketing analytics measures, manages, and analyzes marketing performance to improve effectiveness and ROI. It tracks data from various marketing…
- Marketing AttributionMarketing attribution assigns credit to marketing touchpoints that contribute to a conversion or sale. Causal inference enhances attribution models…
- Marketing DebtMarketing debt is the compounding cost of budget decisions made on wrong attribution. Each quarter a brand allocates spend on correlated numbers…
- Marketing Mix ModelingMarketing Mix Modeling (MMM) is a statistical analysis that estimates the impact of marketing and advertising campaigns on sales. It quantifies each…
- Media Mix ModelingMedia Mix Modeling is a statistical technique that measures the collective impact of marketing and advertising on sales. It uses historical data to…
- MER vs ROASMER (marketing efficiency ratio) is total revenue divided by total ad spend; ROAS is revenue credited to a specific channel divided by that channel's…
- Multi-Touch AttributionMulti-Touch Attribution assigns credit to multiple marketing touchpoints across the customer journey. It provides a complete view of channel impact…
- Offline AttributionOffline Attribution connects digital marketing campaigns to offline consumer actions like in-store purchases. It shows the real-world impact of…
- Online AttributionOnline Attribution connects sales and conversions to specific digital marketing touchpoints. It identifies which online channels contribute most to…
- P ValueP Value indicates the probability an observed result occurred by chance. A low p-value suggests a campaign's impact is statistically significant.
- People Based AttributionPeople Based Attribution connects marketing exposures to individuals across devices and channels. It provides a unified view of the customer journey…
- Post Click ConversionPost Click Conversion is a desired action a user completes after clicking an advertisement. It directly links user actions to specific ad clicks.
- Post View ConversionPost View Conversion occurs when a customer converts after seeing an ad but without clicking it. This metric shows the impact of visual ad campaigns…
- Probabilistic AttributionProbabilistic Attribution uses statistical modeling and machine learning to estimate the likelihood a marketing touchpoint influenced a conversion…
- Propensity Score MatchingPropensity Score Matching is a statistical method that estimates the causal effect of a treatment from observational data. It matches individuals…
- Randomized Control Trial RctRandomized Control Trial RCT: An experimental method that measures the true causal impact of a marketing action. It randomly divides an audience into…
- Regression AnalysisRegression Analysis is a statistical method that models the relationship between a dependent variable and independent variables. It quantifies the…
- Regression Discontinuity DesignRegression Discontinuity Design is a quasi-experimental method that measures an intervention's impact by examining subjects near a specific cutoff…
- Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)Return On Ad Spend (ROAS) measures the total revenue generated for each dollar spent on advertising. It indicates campaign profitability and…
- Rules Based AttributionRules Based Attribution assigns credit for conversions to marketing touchpoints using predefined formulas. It relies on simple rules, not historical…
- Selection BiasSelection Bias occurs when data points selected for analysis do not represent the target population. This leads to distorted findings about marketing…
- Shopify Pixel Optimized ModeShopify's January 2026 App Pixel default that throttles events sent to ad platforms when attribution signals are missing; a common cause of sudden…
- Structural Equation ModelingStructural Equation Modeling is a statistical method analyzing complex relationships between multiple variables. It tests and estimates causal…
- Time Decay AttributionTime Decay Attribution is a multi-touch attribution model. It assigns increasing credit to marketing touchpoints closer to a conversion.
- TouchpointTouchpoint is any interaction a customer has with a brand throughout their journey. In marketing attribution, each touchpoint is a data signal to…
- Treatment GroupTreatment Group is the set of users exposed to a specific marketing intervention. Comparing this group to a control group shows the intervention's…
- U Shaped AttributionU-Shaped Attribution is a multi-touch model that assigns 40% of conversion credit to both the first and last touchpoints.
- Video AttributionVideo Attribution assigns credit to video ads and content that influence a customer's purchasing journey. It quantifies the impact of video marketing…
- View Through ConversionView Through Conversion is a conversion occurring after a user sees an ad but does not click it. This model measures the impact of visual ad…
- W Shaped AttributionW-Shaped Attribution is a multi-touch model that assigns significant credit to the first interaction, lead creation, and opportunity creation. It…
- Web AnalyticsWeb Analytics measures, collects, analyzes, and reports website data to understand and improve user behavior. It provides insights into traffic…
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