Attribution Models

Attribution models determine which marketing touchpoints get credit for conversions. DATALYR uses session-based attribution with first-touch and last-touch tracking to give you complete visibility into customer journeys.

How Attribution Works

When a user converts (makes a purchase, signs up, etc.), DATALYR attributes the conversion to marketing sources based on their journey: Example Journey:

Day 1, 10:00 AM - User clicks Facebook ad (fbclid captured)
Day 1, 10:05 AM - Views product page (anonymous)
Day 1, 10:10 AM - Leaves site

Day 3, 2:00 PM - Googles brand name (organic search)
Day 3, 2:05 PM - Returns to site, creates account (identified)
Day 3, 2:10 PM - Browses catalog

Day 7, 8:00 AM - Types URL directly (direct traffic)
Day 7, 8:05 AM - Completes purchase

Attribution Question: Which marketing source should get credit for the $99 purchase?

Facebook ad (Day 1)?
Google organic search (Day 3)?
Direct traffic (Day 7)?

Different attribution models answer this differently.

Session-Based Attribution

DATALYR tracks attribution at the session level, not the page level.

What is a Session

A session is a continuous period of user activity:

Starts: First page view or after 30 minutes of inactivity
Duration: Continues while user is active (clicks, scrolls, navigates)
Ends: 30 minutes of inactivity or browser close

Session Attribution Capture: When a new session starts, DATALYR captures:

UTM parameters (utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign)
Click IDs (fbclid, gclid, ttclid)
Referrer (where user came from)
Landing page (first page of session)
Source and medium (computed from above)

Important: Attribution data persists for the entire session and is attached to all events in that session.

Session Example

Session 1 (Facebook Ad Click):

{
  "session_id": "sess_1727634645123_a1b2c3d4",
  "utm_source": "facebook",
  "utm_medium": "cpc",
  "utm_campaign": "summer_sale",
  "fbclid": "IwAR...",
  "source": "facebook",
  "medium": "cpc",
  "landing_page": "https://example.com/products?utm_source=facebook",
  "session_start": "2025-09-29T10:00:00Z"
}

All events in this session are attributed to Facebook. Session 2 (Google Search - 3 days later):

{
  "session_id": "sess_1727894845123_e5f6g7h8",
  "utm_source": null,
  "fbclid": null,
  "referrer": "https://google.com/search?q=example+store",
  "source": "google",
  "medium": "organic",
  "landing_page": "https://example.com/",
  "session_start": "2025-10-02T14:00:00Z"
}

All events in this session are attributed to Google Organic.

DATALYR provides multiple attribution models:

First-Touch Attribution

Credits the first touchpoint in the customer journey. Journey:

Day 1: Facebook Ad (fbclid) → Product viewed
Day 3: Google Search → Returned to site
Day 7: Direct → Purchase ($99)

First-Touch Result:

Facebook Ad gets 100% credit
Purchase attributed to: source: facebook, medium: cpc

When to Use:

Measure top-of-funnel performance
Understand initial discovery channels
Optimize awareness campaigns
Evaluate new customer acquisition sources

In DATALYR:

{
  "first_touch_source": "facebook",
  "first_touch_medium": "cpc",
  "first_touch_campaign": "summer_sale",
  "first_touch_timestamp": 1727634645123,
  "days_since_first_touch": 7
}

Last-Touch Attribution

Credits the last touchpoint before conversion. Journey:

Day 1: Facebook Ad → Product viewed
Day 3: Google Search → Returned to site
Day 7: Direct → Purchase ($99)

Last-Touch Result:

Direct traffic gets 100% credit
Purchase attributed to: source: direct, medium: direct

When to Use:

Measure bottom-of-funnel performance
Understand closing channels
Optimize conversion campaigns
Evaluate retargeting effectiveness

In DATALYR:

{
  "last_touch_source": "direct",
  "last_touch_medium": "direct",
  "last_touch_timestamp": 1728239245123,
  "source": "direct",
  "medium": "direct"
}

Session-Based (Current Touch)

Credits the session where the conversion happened. Journey:

Session 1: Facebook Ad → Browsed products
Session 2: Google Search → Signed up
Session 3: Direct → Purchased ($99)

Session-Based Result:

Direct traffic (Session 3) gets credit
Same as last-touch in most cases

When to Use:

Accurate session tracking
Real-time conversion analysis
Understanding immediate conversion drivers

In DATALYR: Every event includes the session’s attribution data automatically.

Hybrid (DATALYR Default)

DATALYR tracks both first-touch and last-touch simultaneously, giving you flexibility in analysis. Every Conversion Event Includes:

{
  "event_name": "purchase",
  "revenue": 99.99,

  // First-touch attribution
  "first_touch_source": "facebook",
  "first_touch_medium": "cpc",
  "first_touch_campaign": "summer_sale",
  "first_touch_timestamp": 1727634645123,

  // Last-touch attribution (current session)
  "source": "direct",
  "medium": "direct",
  "utm_source": null,
  "utm_campaign": null,

  // Journey metrics
  "touchpoint_count": 3,
  "days_since_first_touch": 7,
  "session_duration": 180000
}

Benefits:

View conversions from multiple perspectives
Compare acquisition vs. closing channels
Build custom attribution models
Understand full customer journey

Click ID Attribution

DATALYR uses click IDs for accurate cross-device attribution.

What are Click IDs

Click IDs are unique identifiers appended to ad URLs by platforms:

fbclid (Facebook): ?fbclid=IwAR...
gclid (Google): ?gclid=Cj0KCQ...
ttclid (TikTok): ?ttclid=123...
li_fat_id (LinkedIn): ?li_fat_id=456...
epik (Pinterest): ?epik=789...

Click ID Tracking

When a user clicks an ad, DATALYR:

Captures click ID from URL
Stores in anonymous visitor profile
Links to user ID when they identify (login/signup)
Attributes conversion even on different device

Cross-Device Example: Mobile (Day 1):

User clicks Facebook ad on phone
URL: https://example.com/?fbclid=IwAR123
DATALYR captures: fbclid → anon_mobile_abc

Desktop (Day 7):

User purchases on desktop
User ID: user_456
DATALYR links: anon_mobile_abc → user_456
Finds: fbclid from Day 1
Attributes purchase to Facebook

Result: Purchase correctly attributed to Facebook ad from 7 days ago on different device.

Attribution Windows

Attribution windows determine how far back to look for attribution data.

Default Windows

DATALYR Default:

30-day attribution window for all click IDs and UTM parameters
Configurable per workspace

Platform-Specific:

Meta Ads: 7-day click, 1-day view (platform default)
Google Ads: 30-day click, 1-day view (platform default)
TikTok Ads: 28-day click, 1-day view (platform default)

How Windows Work

Example: 30-Day Window

Day 1: User clicks Facebook ad (fbclid captured)
Day 10: User signs up (identified)
Day 20: User browses (engaged)
Day 35: User purchases

Result: NOT attributed to Facebook (outside 30-day window)

Example: Within Window

Day 1: User clicks Facebook ad (fbclid captured)
Day 10: User signs up (identified)
Day 20: User browses (engaged)
Day 25: User purchases

Result: Attributed to Facebook (within 30-day window)

Configuring Windows

Attribution windows can be customized in workspace settings:

// DATALYR automatically respects configured attribution window
{
  "attribution_window_days": 30, // Default
  "respect_platform_windows": true // Respect Meta/Google defaults
}

UTM Parameter Attribution

UTM parameters provide detailed campaign attribution.

Standard UTM Parameters

Format:

https://example.com/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=summer_sale&utm_term=wireless+headphones&utm_content=carousel_ad

Parameters:

utm_source: Traffic source (facebook, google, newsletter)
utm_medium: Marketing medium (cpc, email, social)
utm_campaign: Campaign name (summer_sale, black_friday)
utm_term: Keyword (for paid search)
utm_content: Ad variation (carousel_ad, video_ad)

UTM Attribution Priority

DATALYR uses this priority for source/medium: Priority 1: UTM Parameters

?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=cpc
→ source: facebook, medium: cpc

Priority 2: Click IDs

?fbclid=IwAR...
→ source: facebook, medium: cpc

Priority 3: Referrer

referrer: https://google.com/search
→ source: google, medium: organic

Priority 4: Direct

No UTM, click ID, or referrer
→ source: direct, medium: direct

Source and Medium Classification

DATALYR automatically computes source and medium from available data.

Computed Source

From Click IDs:

fbclid → facebook
gclid → google
ttclid → tiktok
li_fat_id → linkedin
epik → pinterest

From Referrer:

google.com → google
facebook.com → facebook
youtube.com → youtube
twitter.com → twitter
linkedin.com → linkedin

AI Tools:

chat.openai.com → chatgpt
claude.ai → claude
gemini.google.com → gemini
grok.x.ai → grok
perplexity.ai → perplexity

Computed Medium

From Click IDs:

fbclid, gclid, ttclid → cpc (cost per click)

From Referrer:

Search engines → organic
Social media → social
Same domain → internal
No referrer → direct

Journey Tracking

DATALYR tracks the complete customer journey across sessions.

Journey Data

Every event includes:

{
  "touchpoint_count": 5,           // Total sessions
  "days_since_first_touch": 14,    // Days since first visit
  "session_duration": 240000,      // Current session duration (ms)
  "session_page_views": 8,         // Pages viewed this session
  "session_events": 45             // Events fired this session
}

Journey Array

DATALYR stores a journey array in localStorage:

[
  {
    "source": "facebook",
    "medium": "cpc",
    "timestamp": 1727634645123,
    "landing_page": "/products"
  },
  {
    "source": "google",
    "medium": "organic",
    "timestamp": 1727808445123,
    "landing_page": "/signup"
  },
  {
    "source": "direct",
    "medium": "direct",
    "timestamp": 1728239245123,
    "landing_page": "/checkout"
  }
]

This enables multi-touch attribution analysis.

Platform-Specific Attribution

Meta Ads (Facebook/Instagram)

Data Captured:

fbclid: Facebook Click ID
_fbp: Facebook Browser Pixel (first-party cookie)
_fbc: Facebook Click cookie (contains fbclid)

Attribution:

DATALYR sends conversions back to Meta with fbclid
Meta attributes based on their 7-day click, 1-day view window
Cross-device attribution via Meta’s identity graph

Google Ads

Data Captured:

gclid: Google Click ID
_gcl_aw: Google Ads conversion cookie
_gac: Google Ads Click cookie

Attribution:

DATALYR sends conversions to Google Ads API with gclid
Google attributes based on their 30-day click, 1-day view window
Cross-device via Google signed-in users

TikTok Ads

Data Captured:

ttclid: TikTok Click ID
_ttp: TikTok Pixel cookie

Attribution:

DATALYR sends conversions to TikTok Events API with ttclid
TikTok attributes based on 28-day click, 1-day view window
Cross-device via TikTok’s identity resolution

Attribution Best Practices

Use UTM Parameters Consistently

// Good - Consistent naming
utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=summer_sale
utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=summer_sale

// Bad - Inconsistent
utm_source=fb&utm_medium=paid&utm_campaign=Summer Sale 2024
utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=summer-sale

Let Click IDs Flow Don’t strip click IDs from URLs. They’re essential for attribution:

// Good - Preserve click IDs
https://example.com/products?fbclid=IwAR...

// Bad - Stripped click ID
https://example.com/products

Call identify() Early Link anonymous visitors to users ASAP for cross-device attribution:

// After signup
datalyr.identify(user.id, {
  email: user.email
});

// After login
datalyr.identify(user.id);

Track Key Conversion Events Define clear conversion events for attribution:

datalyr.track('purchase', {
  order_id: 'ORDER_123',
  revenue: 99.99,
  currency: 'USD'
});

datalyr.track('signup', {
  user_id: 'user_456',
  plan: 'pro'
});

Attribution Reports

DATALYR provides multiple views of attribution data: Dashboard:

First-touch attribution (acquisition channels)
Last-touch attribution (conversion channels)
Journey length distribution
Source/medium breakdown

Customer Journeys:

Visual timeline of touchpoints
Source/medium for each session
Conversion path analysis
Time to convert

Conversion Rules:

Attribute conversions from Shopify, Stripe, webhooks
Link server-side conversions to marketing sources
Retroactive attribution via user/email matching

Troubleshooting Attribution

Conversions Not Attributed? Check:

Click IDs present in event data (fbclid, gclid, etc.)
Attribution window not exceeded (default 30 days)
User identified via identify() for cross-device
UTM parameters captured in session

Wrong Attribution Source? Verify:

UTM parameters spelled correctly
Click IDs not stripped from URL
Referrer data available
Session started correctly

Missing Cross-Device Attribution? Ensure:

identify() called on both devices with same user_id
User logged in after clicking ad
Attribution window hasn’t expired

Next Steps

Visitor Identification

How DATALYR identifies visitors

Identity Calls

Link users across devices

Customer Journeys

View complete customer paths

Conversion Rules

Attribute server-side conversions

Need Help?

Questions about attribution? Check our troubleshooting guide or contact support.

Introduction

Getting Started

Installation

Container & Tag Management

Understanding Your Data

Integrations

Features

Account & Billing

SDKs & Developer Tools

Troubleshooting

​How Attribution Works

​Session-Based Attribution

​What is a Session

​Session Example