Definition
Attribution is how you decide which partner, channel, or touchpoint gets credit when a customer converts. In affiliate marketing, this usually means determining which affiliate's link the customer clicked before making a purchase or completing a signup. The attribution model you choose directly affects who gets paid and how much.
How it works
A customer might interact with multiple affiliates before buying. They read a blog review from Affiliate A on Monday, click a comparison link from Affiliate B on Wednesday, and finally buy through a retargeting ad on Friday. Who gets the commission?
The two most common models are last-click and first-click attribution. Last-click gives all credit to the final touchpoint before conversion, which is the default in most affiliate programs. First-click gives credit to the partner who originally introduced the customer to your brand. Some programs use linear attribution, splitting credit equally across all touchpoints, or time-decay models that weight recent interactions more heavily.
Last-click is simple and easy to explain, which is why it dominates. But it undervalues partners who drive awareness at the top of the funnel. A content creator who writes an in-depth review might introduce hundreds of customers who then convert through a coupon site's link. Under last-click, the coupon site gets all the credit.
Why it matters
Your attribution model shapes your entire affiliate ecosystem. Last-click rewards closers like coupon and deal sites. First-click rewards content creators and reviewers. Multi-touch rewards everyone proportionally. The model you pick determines which types of affiliates find your program attractive and which ones leave.
Getting attribution wrong leads to misaligned incentives. If content partners consistently lose credit to coupon sites at the last moment, they stop investing in your program. You lose the top-of-funnel content that was actually generating demand.
Trcker tip
Trcker supports last-click, first-click, and custom attribution rules so you can match your model to your actual customer journey instead of defaulting to whatever was easiest to implement.