Multi-touch attribution distributes conversion credit across all the ad interactions a user had before converting, rather than giving 100% credit to the last click.
Multi-touch attribution (MTA) recognizes that users often interact with multiple ads across multiple channels before installing an app or making a purchase. Instead of crediting only the final touchpoint (last-click attribution), MTA distributes credit across all the ad interactions in the conversion path.
Common MTA models include: linear (equal credit to every touchpoint), time-decay (more credit to touchpoints closer to the conversion), position-based (40% to first touch, 40% to last touch, 20% shared across middle touches), and data-driven (algorithmic credit allocation based on actual conversion lift contribution).
MTA is significantly harder to implement than last-click attribution because it requires tracking users across multiple ad interactions, which depends on persistent identifiers. Post-ATT, cross-channel MTA on iOS has become much harder to execute accurately. Most teams rely on last-click for day-to-day optimization and use incrementality testing to validate the broader contribution of each channel.
Last-click attribution systematically undervalues upper-funnel channels that initiate the user journey. A TikTok awareness video that introduced a user to your app gets zero credit if the user later searched on Google and installed. Multi-touch attribution corrects this bias, giving you a more accurate picture of which channels are actually contributing to growth so you can allocate budget more rationally.
Example
“A user sees a TikTok ad (impression), clicks a Meta ad three days later, then searches Google and installs via a Play Store ad. Last-click gives 100% credit to Google. A linear MTA model splits credit evenly across all three touchpoints, revealing TikTok's role in initiating the journey.”
Last-click attribution gives 100% credit for a conversion to the final ad click before the user completed the action.
Learn moreAnalytics & StrategyIncrementality testing measures the true causal lift of advertising by comparing outcomes between users exposed to ads and a holdout control group.
Learn moreMobile AttributionAn attribution window is the time period after an ad interaction within which an install or in-app event is credited to that ad.
Learn moreMobile AttributionAn MMP is an independent third-party platform that attributes app installs and in-app events to the advertising sources that drove them.
Learn moreConnect your ad networks and MMP in 5 minutes. AI tags every creative automatically.
Start Free Trial