Marketing attribution is the practice of assigning credit for a sale to the marketing touches that influenced it. Models range from single-touch, which credits one interaction, to multi-touch, which spreads credit across the journey. Attribution aims to show which marketing actually drives revenue.

Attribution is useful and dangerous in equal measure. It tries to answer which marketing drove the sale, but every model embeds assumptions that can be gamed to flatter a channel. Treat it as a directional guide, not gospel. The cleaner signal is whether total marketing spend moves total pipeline, regardless of which model claims credit.

Example:

 A customer sees a LinkedIn post, clicks a Google ad, then converts from an email. Single-touch attribution credits one of these. Multi-touch splits the credit across all three.

What is the difference between single-touch and multi-touch attribution?

 Single-touch credits one interaction, usually the first or last. Multi-touch distributes credit across every interaction in the journey, giving a fuller but more complex picture.

Is marketing attribution accurate?

 No model is fully accurate. Each makes assumptions about how credit should flow. Attribution is best used directionally alongside overall spend-to-pipeline trends.