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Multi-touch attribution for email: the model that finally made sense to our team

conversion_cathyCRO Expert

We used last-click attribution for years. It made email look like our best channel. Then we implemented multi-touch attribution and got a more honest — and more useful — picture.

The model

We use a position-based model: 40% credit to first touch, 40% to last touch, 20% distributed across middle touches. Simple enough to explain to executives, nuanced enough to be useful.

What changed

  • Email revenue attribution dropped 30% (from overstated last-click)
  • Social and content marketing got proper credit as awareness drivers
  • Our nurture emails (middle of funnel) got credit they deserved
  • Budget allocation shifted — we invested more in top-of-funnel content

Implementation

We use UTM parameters on every email link, GA4 for tracking, and Looker for the attribution model. Total setup took about 2 weeks. The insights have been worth it many times over.

#attribution#analytics#multi-touch
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3 Comments

ab_test_adam

The 30% drop in email attribution sounds scary but it is actually healthier. Overstating email's contribution led us to under-invest in top-of-funnel content for years.

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metrics_mikeData Analyst

Position-based models are a good balance. Data-driven models are more accurate but require significantly more data and technical setup to implement properly.

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data_diego

Two weeks for the full setup is realistic. The hardest part is getting consistent UTM parameters across all email links. We built a UTM generator tool to enforce consistency.

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