---
title: "What Is an Attribution Model? Definition and Types"
description: "An attribution model is the rule for giving credit for a conversion to the touchpoints before it. Learn first-touch, last-touch and multi-touch models."
canonical: https://www.onegtmlab.dev/glossary/attribution-model
---

# What Is an Attribution Model? Definition and Types

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GTM Glossary

# Attribution Model

An attribution model is the rule a company uses to assign credit for a conversion, such as a lead or a closed deal, to the marketing and sales touchpoints that came before it.

Also called: marketing attribution, first-touch attribution, last-touch attribution

## Why it matters

Attribution decides which of those get credit, and that credit drives budget decisions. A model that credits only one touch can make some channels look far better or worse than they really are.

Common single-touch models are first-touch, which credits the first interaction, and last-touch, which credits the final one. Multi-touch models spread credit across several interactions. No model is exact, because many influences, such as word of mouth or private conversations, are never tracked. Many teams pair a model with self-reported attribution, asking new leads how they heard about the company.

## Example

A deal closes after the buyer clicked a LinkedIn ad, read two blog posts, attended a webinar and replied to a sales email. Under last-touch attribution, the sales email gets all the credit. Under first-touch, the LinkedIn ad does. The team reviews both views, plus the buyer's own answer on the demo form, before deciding on next quarter's budget.

## Related terms

-   [Multi-Touch Attribution](/glossary/multi-touch-attribution)
-   [UTM Parameters](/glossary/utm-parameters)
-   [Paid Media](/glossary/paid-media)
-   [First-Party Data](/glossary/first-party-data)
-   [Sales Pipeline](/glossary/sales-pipeline)

## Related service

[RevOps Clean CRM data, lead routing and reporting your team can trust.](/services/revops)

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