Attribution Modeling: An Ultimate Guide | UT Austin Boot Camps

First touch attribution is straightforward. In this model, all credit for customer conversion is assigned to the customer’s first impression. For example, a customer clicks on a YouTube ad for a new pair of boots and buys immediately; YouTube receives the credit for the transaction. In this scenario, it’s very simple as the “first touch” (e.g., the YouTube ad) was the only touch prior to conversion. But, what if the customer first clicks on the same YouTube ad for the boots but then doesn’t purchase and moves on with their web browsing? However, a few days later, they click on a paid Facebook ad for the same pair of boots during a sale and complete their purchase. If the first touch model is in use, then YouTube would still receive full credit for the sale and Facebook would get none.

You may be wondering if this model is a good idea given the example above. Just like tools in a toolbox, a hammer has value but it’s not the right tool to measure baseboard. So, it’s best to consider the pros and cons of each model when applying them to different campaigns. The pros and cons of first touch attribution are:

Pros
Cons

• Simple and easy to use

• Doesn’t split up credit for customer conversion between platforms

• Good for measuring initial impressions

• May cause skewed data results which misinform budget decisions

• Good for short sales cycle/seasonal business snapshots

• May skew KPI results which impact longer-term strategy adjustments

Naturally, this model is attractive to marketers because of its simplicity, and when measuring new impressions (e.g., the first time a customer encounters a brand, product, or service) at the top of the sales funnel, it can be effective if impressions are the sole KPI. In addition, businesses with highly seasonal, shorter sales cycles (e.g., Christmas trees and wreaths) may find this method useful.

However, first touch attribution may not be a good choice for businesses where campaign KPIs are related to bottom-of-funnel conversion or those with numerous touch points. Using the previous boot example, suppose the customer sees the boots on Instagram and admires them, then sees the YouTube ad and clicks for more information but doesn’t buy, and then sees the boots featured in a TikTok with their favorite influencer sharing a discount code for the boots. While our first touch attribution model would capture the first impression (Instagram), it isn’t focused on the retailer’s ultimate KPI for these boots, which is sales. This method could cause the retailer to shift budget to Instagram even though the actual conversion occurred through a specific TikTok influencer, which would ultimately work against the desired KPI.