The Penthouse, Triq Manwel Dimech, Sliema
[email protected]
+356 7950 1630
Shop Cart Checkout

Attribution: What activities have which impact?

Attribution: What activities have which impact?
by
May 3, 2023
in Marketing, OFF-PAGE SEO
236

As we focus on our goals, the next step is attribution. This is a huge topic in marketing, as we try to determine which of our activities are influencing our business results. However, it’s rarely clear and straightforward.

One of the easiest situations is when we place an ad that leads to a product page. We can measure clicks, conversions, and revenue. However, it’s unclear how much of a role brand awareness played in the customer’s decision to purchase. Perhaps they only made a purchase because they were already familiar with the company and product.

In the B2B space, decision-making processes are long, especially for expensive and complex products. The customer journey is longer too.

For example, a blog post may bring a person to a website for the first time. They may read another post, download an e-book, or sign up for a newsletter. Weeks later, they may attend a webinar and eventually click on a LinkedIn ad to make a purchase. How much credit should be given to each touchpoint for this revenue?

Sometimes, a simple “last click” attribution model is used, giving all credit to the LinkedIn ad in the example above. This is easy to understand but distorts the picture. Another approach is to give all touchpoints equal weight, acknowledging that many factors contributed to the sale. For a more accurate picture, touchpoints can be weighted.

To do this, you need a powerful web analytics tool and the ability to track clicks in your emails. All of this must comply with data protection regulations.

It’s important to realize that you’ll never know the complete truth. Not everyone who visits your website will identify themselves. You can get a better idea of which content and offers are popular once someone signs up for your newsletter.

Tim Soulo, the CMO of Ahrefs, an SEO tool provider, provocatively stated on Twitter that calculating the ROI of content marketing is impossible. Despite this, he continues to invest because he knows that it pays off to be found, bring his target audience to the site, and gradually convince them of the value of Ahrefs’ offers.

There will always be some uncertainty, and you’ll need to accept this. At the same time, you can see that it’s possible to make an approximate estimate of the value of your content activities.

The Impact of Attribution in Marketing

Attribution is a crucial factor in determining the effectiveness of marketing campaigns. Understanding the impact of each activity on business results allows marketers to make informed decisions about resource allocation.

However, attribution is a complex topic. There are many touchpoints along the customer journey, and it’s difficult to determine how much credit each should receive. Even with sophisticated tools, it’s impossible to know the complete truth.

In this article, we’ll explore the challenges of attribution and how marketers can approach it to gain valuable insights.

The Challenge of Attribution

Marketing activities often have a cumulative effect, and it’s difficult to isolate the impact of individual touchpoints. Customers may interact with a brand through multiple channels before making a purchase, and it’s challenging to determine the relative importance of each touchpoint.

For example, a customer may first encounter a brand through a social media post, then visit the website to read a blog post, sign up for a newsletter, and eventually make a purchase after receiving a promotional email. Which touchpoint should receive the most credit for the sale?

Last Click Attribution

One common approach is to use last-click attribution, which gives credit to the last touchpoint before the sale. This model is simple to understand but ignores the impact of other touchpoints along the customer journey.

For example, in the example above, last-click attribution would give all credit to the promotional email, despite the fact that the customer interacted with the brand through multiple touchpoints before making a purchase.

Equal Weight Attribution

An alternative approach is to give all touchpoints equal weight, acknowledging that each touchpoint contributed to the final sale. This approach provides a more complete picture of the customer journey but still doesn’t differentiate between the impact of each touchpoint.

Weighted Attribution

For a more accurate picture, marketers can use a weighted attribution model that assigns a value to each touchpoint based on its impact on the customer journey. This approach requires more sophisticated tools and analytics capabilities.

To use a weighted attribution model effectively, marketers need to track customer interactions across multiple channels and use data to determine the relative impact of each touchpoint. This data can be used to adjust marketing strategies and allocate resources more effectively.

Challenges of Attribution

One of the biggest challenges of attribution is the fact that not all customer interactions are easily measurable. For example, it’s difficult to determine the impact of brand awareness on a customer’s decision to make a purchase.

In addition, data privacy regulations can make it difficult to track customer interactions across multiple channels. Marketers need to be careful to comply with these regulations while still collecting the data they need to make informed decisions.

Conclusion

Attribution is a complex topic in marketing, but it’s essential to understanding the impact of marketing activities on business results. Marketers can use last-click attribution, equal weight attribution, or weighted attribution models to gain insights into the customer journey.

However, there are challenges to attribution, including the difficulty of measuring the impact of brand awareness and the need to comply with data privacy regulations.

Despite these challenges, marketers can gain valuable insights by using attribution models to track customer interactions and adjust marketing strategies accordingly.

FAQs

Why is attribution important in marketing?

Attribution allows marketers to understand the impact of their activities on business results and make informed decisions about resource allocation.

What are the challenges of attribution?

Attribution is complex, and it can be difficult to isolate the impact of individual touchpoints. In addition, not all customer interactions are easily measurable, and data privacy regulations can make it challenging to track customer interactions across multiple channels.

What are the different attribution models?

Last-click attribution, equal weight attribution, and weighted attribution are the most common attribution models.

What is last-click attribution?

Last-click attribution gives all credit for a sale to the last touchpoint before the purchase.

How can marketers use attribution to improve their marketing strategies?

Marketers can use attribution to gain insights into the customer journey and adjust marketing strategies accordingly. By understanding the impact of each touchpoint, marketers can allocate resources more effectively and improve overall business results.

Share

I am a PHP and WordPress web developer with over 5 years of experience in web development. I specialize in creating responsive websites for my clients. My expertise lies in various web languages including HTML, HTML5, XHTML, Bootstrap, CSS, CSS3, AJAX, JavaScript, jQuery, PHP, and SQL. In addition to my web development skills, I also have CMS skills with WordPress and can convert PSD files to HTML.

Recommended Posts