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• First-party data explained : Benefits, use cases and best practices

  25 juillet, par Joe

  Third-party cookies are being phased out, and marketers who still depend on them for user insights need to find alternatives.

  Google delayed the complete deprecation of third-party cookies until early 2025, but many other browsers, such as Mozilla, Brave, and Safari, have already put a stop to them. Plus, looking at the number of data leak incidents, like the one where Twitter leaked 200 million user emails, collecting and using first-party data is a great alternative. 

  In this post, we explore the ins and outs of first-party data and examine how to collect it. We’ll also look at various use cases and best practices to implement first-party data collection.

  What is first-party data ?

  First-party data is information organisations collect directly from customers through their owned channels. 

  Organisations can capture data without intermediaries when people interact with their website, mobile app, social media accounts or other customer-facing systems.

  For example, businesses can track visitor behaviour, such as bounce rates and time spent browsing particular pages. This activity is considered first-party data when it occurs on the brand’s digital property.

  Some examples include :

  • Demographics : Age, gender, location, income level
  • Contact information : Email addresses, phone numbers
  • Behavioural insights : Topics of interest, content engagement, browsing history
  • Transactional data : Purchase history, shopping preferences

  A defining characteristic is that this information comes straight from the source, with the customer’s willingness and consent. This direct collection method is why first-party data is widely regarded as more reliable and accurate than second or third-party data. With browsers like Chrome fully phasing out third-party cookies by the end of 2025, the urgency for adopting more first-party data strategies is accelerating across industries.

  How to collect first-party data 

  Organisations can collect first-party data in various ways. 

  Website pixels

  In this method, organisations place small pieces of code that track visitor actions like page views, clicks and conversions. When visitors land on the page, the pixel activates and collects data about their behaviour without interrupting the user experience. 

  Website analytics tools

  With major browsers like Safari and Firefox already blocking third-party cookies (and Chrome is phasing them out soon, there’s even more pressure on organisations to adopt first-party data strategies.

  Website analytics tools like Matomo help organisations collect first-party data with features like visitor tracking and acquisition analysis to analyse the best channels to attract more users. 

  Multi-attribution modelling that helps businesses understand how different touchpoints (social media channels or landing pages) persuade visitors to take a desired action (like making a purchase). 

  

  (Image Source)

  Other activities include :

  • Cohort analysis 
  • Heatmaps and session recordings 
  • SEO keyword tracking
  • A/B testing 
  • Paid ads performance tracking

  

  Heatmap feature in Matomo

  Account creation on websites

  When visitors register on websites, they provide information like names, email addresses and often demographic details or preferences.

  Newsletters and subscriptions 

  With email subscriptions and membership programs, businesses can collect explicit data (preferences selected during signup) and implicit data (engagement metrics like open rates and click patterns).

  Gated content

  Whitepapers, webinars or exclusive articles often ask for contact information when users want access. This approach targets specific audience segments interested in particular topics.

  Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems

  CRM platforms collect information from various touchpoints and centralise it to create unified customer profiles. These profiles include detailed user information, like interaction history, purchase records, service inquiries and communication preferences.

  Mobile app activity

  Mobile in-app behaviours can assist businesses in gathering data such as :

  • Precise location information (indicating where customers interact with the app)
  • Which features they use most often
  • How long they stay on different screens
  • Navigation patterns

  This mobile-specific data helps organisations understand how their customers behave on smaller screens and while on the move, insights that website data alone cannot provide.

  Point of Sale (PoS) systems

  Modern checkout systems don’t just process payments. PepsiCo proved this by growing its first-party data stores by more than 50% through integrated PoS systems. 

  Today’s PoS technology captures detailed information about each transaction :

  • Item(s) sold
  • Price (discounts, taxes, tip)
  • Payment type (card, cash, digital wallet)
  • Time and date
  • Loyalty/rewards number
  • Store/location

  Plus, when connected with loyalty programs where customers identify themselves (by scanning a card or entering a phone number), these systems link purchase information to individuals. 

  This creates valuable historical records showing how customer preferences evolve and offering insight into :

  • Which products are frequently purchased together
  • The time of the day, week, month, or year when items sell best
  • Which promotions or special offers are most effective

  Server-side tracking 

  Most websites track user behaviour through code that runs in the visitor’s web browser (client-side tracking). 

  Server-side tracking takes a different approach by collecting data directly on the company’s own servers. 

  Because the tracking happens on company servers rather than browsers, ad-blocking software doesn’t block it. 

  Organisations gain more consistent data collection and greater control over their customer information. This privacy-friendly approach lets companies get the data they need without relying on third-party tracking scripts.

  Now that we understand how organisations can gather first-party data, let us explore its use cases. 

  Use cases of first-party data 

  Businesses can use first-party data in many ways, from creating customer profiles to personalising user experiences.

  Developing comprehensive customer profiles

  First-party data can help create detailed customer profiles. 

  Here are some examples :

  • Demographic profiles : Age, gender, location, job role and other personal characteristics.
  • Behavioural profiles : Website activity, purchase history and engagement with marketing campaigns that focus on how users interact with businesses and their offerings. 
  • Psychographic profiles : Customer’s interests, values and lifestyle preferences.
  • Transactional profiles : Purchase patterns, including the types of products they buy, how often they purchase and their total spending.

  The benefit of developing these profiles is that businesses can then create specific campaigns for each profile, instead of running random campaigns. 

  For example, a subscription service business may have a behavioural profile of ‘inactive users’. To reignite interest, they can offer discounts or limited-time freebies to these users.

  Crafting relevant content

  First-party data shows what types of content customers engage with most. 

  If customers love watching videos, businesses can create more video content. If a blog gets more readership for its tech articles, it can focus on tech-related content to adjust to readers’ preferences. 

  Uncovering new marketing opportunities

  First-party data lets businesses analyse customer interactions in a way that can reveal untapped markets. 

  For example, if a company sees that many website visitors are from a particular region, it might consider launching campaigns in that area to boost sales. 

  Personalising experiences

  89% of decision-makers believe personalisation is key to business success in the next three years. 

  First-party data helps organisations to tailor experiences based on individual preferences. 

  

  For example, an e-commerce site can recommend products based on previous purchases or browsing history. Shoppers with abandoned carts can get reminders. 

  It’s also helpful to see how customers respond to different types of communication. Certain groups may prefer emails, and some may prefer text messages. Similarly, some users spend more time on quizzes and interactive content like wizards or calculators. 

  By analysing this, businesses can adjust their strategies so that users get a personal experience when they visit a website.

  Optimising operations

  The use cases of first-party data don’t just apply to the marketing domain. They’re also valuable for operations. When businesses analyse customer order patterns, they can spot the best locations for fulfilment centres that reduce shipping time and costs.

  For example, an online retailer might discover that most customers are concentrated in urban areas and decide to open fulfilment centres closer to those locations.

  Or, in the public sector, transport companies can use first-party data to optimise routes and fine-tune fare simulation tools. By analysing rider queries, travel preferences and interaction data, they can :

  • Prioritise high-demand routes during peak hours 
  • Adjust fare structures to reflect common trip or rider patterns
  • Make personalised travel suggestions based on individual user history.

  Benefits of first-party data 

  First-party data offers two significant benefits : accuracy and compliance. It comes directly from the customers and can be considered more accurate and reliable. But that’s not it. 

  First-party data aligns with many data privacy regulations, like the GDPR and CCPA. That’s because first-party data collection requires explicit consent, which means the data remains confidential. This builds compliance, and customers develop more trust in the business.

  Best practices to collect and manage first-party data 

  Though first-party data comes with many benefits, how should organisations collect and manage it ? What are the best practices ? Let’s take a look. 

  Define clear goals

  Though defining clear goals seems like overused advice, it’s one of the most important. If a business doesn’t know why it’s collecting first-party data, all the information gathering becomes purposeless. 

  Businesses can think of different goals to achieve from first-party data collection : improving customer relationships, enhancing personalisation or increasing ROI. 

  Once these goals are concrete, they can guide data collection strategies and help understand whether they’re working.

  Establish a privacy policy

  A privacy policy is a document that explains why a business is collecting a user’s data and what it will do with it. By being open and honest, this policy builds trust with customers, so customers feel safe sharing their information. 

  For example, an e-commerce privacy policy may read like : 

  “At (Business name), your privacy is important to us. We collect your information when you create an account or buy something. This information includes your name, email and purchase history. We use this data to give you a better shopping experience and suggest products that you’ll find useful. We follow all data privacy laws like GDPR to keep your personal information safe.” 

  For organisations that use Matomo, we suggest updating the privacy policy to explain how Matomo is used and what data it collects. Here’s a privacy policy template for Matomo users that can be easily copied and pasted. 

  For a GDPR compatible privacy policy, read How to complete your privacy policy with Matomo analytics under GDPR.

  Simplify consent processes

  Businesses should obtain explicit user consent before collecting their data, as shown in the image below. 

  

  (Image Source) 

  To do this, integrate user-friendly consent management platforms that let customers easily access, view, opt out of, or delete their information.

  To ensure consent practices align with GDPR standards, follow these key steps :
  

  GDPR-compliant consent checklist
  ✅ State the purpose clearly	Describe data usage in plain terms.
  ✅ Use granular opt-ins	Separate consents by purpose.
  ✅ Avoid pre-ticked boxes	Active choices only.
  ✅ Enable easy opt-out	Simple and accessible withdrawal.
  ✅ Log consent	Timestamp and record every opt-in.
  ✅ Review periodically	Audit for accuracy and relevance.

  Comply with platform-specific restrictions

  In addition to general consent practices, businesses must comply with platform-specific restrictions. This includes obtaining explicit permissions for :

  • Location services : Users must consent to sharing their location data.
  • Contact lists : Businesses need permission to access and use contact information.
  • Camera and microphone Use : Users must consent to using the camera and microphone 
  • Advertising IDs : On platforms like iOS, businesses must obtain consent to use advertising IDs. 

  For example, Zoom asks the user if it can access the camera and the microphone by default.

  Utilise multiple data collection channels

  Instead of relying on just one source to collect first-party data, it is better to use multiple channels. Gather first-party data from diverse sources such as websites, mobile apps, CRM systems, email campaigns, and in-store interactions (for richer datasets). This way, businesses get a more complete picture of their customers.

  Implementing a strong data governance framework with proper tooling, taxonomy, and maintenance practices is also vital for better data usability.

  Use privacy-focused analytics tools 

  Focus on not just collecting data but also doing it in a way that’s secure and ethical. 

  Use tools like Matomo to track user interactions and gather meaningful analytics. For example, Matomo heatmaps can give you a visual insight into where users click and scroll, all while following all the data privacy laws.

  

  (Image Source) 

  What is second-party data ? 

  Second-party data is information that one company collects from its customers and shares with another company. It’s like “second-hand” first-party data because it’s collected directly from customers but used by a different business.

  Companies purchase second-party data from trusted partners instead of getting it directly from the customer. For example, hotel chains can use customer insights from online travel agencies, like popular destinations and average stay lengths, to refine their pricing strategies and offer more relevant perks.

  When using second-party data, it’s essential to :

  • Be transparent : Share with customers that their data is being shared with partners. 
  • Conduct regular audits : Ensure the data is accurate and handled properly to maintain strong privacy standards. If their data standards don’t seem that great, consider looking elsewhere.

  What is third-party data ? 

  Third-party data is collected from various sources, such as public records, social media or other online platforms. It’s then aggregated and sold to businesses. Organisations get third-party data from data brokers, aggregators and data exchanges or marketplaces. 

  Some examples of third-party data include life events from user social media profiles, like graduation or facts about different organisations, like the number of employees and revenue.

  For example, a data broker might collect information about people’s interests from social media and sell it to a company that wants to target ads based on those interests.

  Third-party data often raises privacy concerns due to its collection methods. One major issue is the lack of transparency in how this data is obtained. 

  Consumers often don’t know that their information is being collected and sold by third-party brokers, leading to feelings of mistrust and violation of privacy. This is why data privacy guidelines have evolved. 

  What is zero-party data ? 

  Zero-party data is the information that customers intentionally share with a business. Some examples include surveys, product ratings and reviews, social media polls and giveaways.

  Organisations collect first-party data by observing user behaviours, but zero-party data is the information that customers voluntarily provide. 

  

  Zero-party data can provide helpful insights, but self-reported information isn’t always accurate. People don’t always do what they say. 

  For example, customers in a survey may share that they consider quality above all else when purchasing. Still, looking at their actual behaviour, businesses can see that they make a purchase only when there’s a clearance or a sale.

  First-party data can give a broader view of customer behaviours over time, which zero-party data may not always be able to capture. 

  Therefore, while zero-party data offers insights into what customers say they want, first-party data helps understand how they behave in real-world scenarios. Balancing both data types can lead to a deeper understanding of customer needs.

  Getting valuable customer insights without compromising privacy 

  Matomo is a powerful tool for organisations that want to collect first-party data. We’re a full-featured web analytics tool that offers features that allow businesses to track user interactions without compromising the user’s personal information. Below, we share how.

  Data ownership

  Matomo allows organisations to own their analytics data, whether on-premise or in their chosen cloud. This means we don’t share your data with anyone else. This aligns with GDPR’s requirement for data sovereignty and minimises third-party risks.

  Pseudonymisation of user IDs

  Matomo allows organisations to pseudonymise user IDs, replacing them with a salted hash function. 

  

  (Image Source)

  Since the user IDs have different names, no one can trace them back to a specific person.

  IP address anonymisation

  Data anonymisation refers to removing personally identifiable information (PII) from datasets so individuals can’t be readily identified.

  Matomo automatically anonymises visitor IP addresses, which helps respect user privacy. For example, if the visitor’s IP address is 199.513.1001.123, Matomo can mask it to 199.0.0.0. 

  It can also anonymise geo-location information, such as country, region and city, ensuring this data doesn’t directly identify users.

  

  (Image Source) 

  Consent management

  Matomo offers an opt-out option that organisations can add to their website, privacy policy or legal page. 

  Matomo tracks everyone by default, but visitors can opt out by clicking the opt-out checkbox. 

  Our DoNotTrack technology helps businesses respect user choices to opt out of tracking from specific websites, such as social media or advertising platforms. They can simply select the “Support Do Not Track preference.”

  These help create consent workflows and support audit trails for regulators. 

  Data storage and deletion

  Keeping visitor data only as long as necessary is a good practice by default. 

  To adhere to this principle, organisations can configure Matomo to automatically delete old raw data and old aggregated report data. 

  Here’s a quick case study summarising how Matomo features can help organisations collect first-party data. CRO:NYX found that Google Analytics struggled to capture accurate data from their campaigns, especially when running ads on the Brave browser, which blocks third-party cookies.

  They then switched to Matomo, which uses first-party cookies by default. This approach allowed them to capture accurate data from Brave users without putting user privacy at stake. 

  The value of Matomo in first-party data strategies 

  First-party data gives businesses a reliable way to connect with audiences and to improve marketing strategies. 

  Matomo’s ethical web analytics lets organisations collect and analyse this data while prioritising user privacy. 

  With over 1 million websites using Matomo, it’s a trusted choice for organisations of all sizes. As a cloud-hosted service and a fully self-hosted solution, Matomo supports organisations with strong data sovereignty needs, allowing them to maintain full control over their analytics infrastructure.

  Ready to collect first-party data while securing user information ? Start your free 21-day trial, no credit card required.

• Find a great Google Tag Manager alternative in Matomo Tag Manager

  29 avril 2020, par Joselyn Khor — Analytics Tips, Development, Marketing, Plugins
  If you’re looking for a tag management system that rivals Google’s, then Matomo Tag Manager is a great Google Tag Manager alternative that takes your tracking to the next level.

  What’s a tag manager ?

  If you’re not familiar with Google Tag Manager or Matomo Tag Manager – they’re both free tag management systems that let you manage all your website code snippets (tags) in one place. 

  Tags are typically JavaScript code or HTML that lets you integrate various features into your site in just a few clicks. For example : analytics codes, conversion tracking codes, exit popups and surveys, remarketing codes, social widgets, affiliates, and ads. With a tag manager, you get to easily look into and manage these different tracking codes.

  Why use a tag manager ?

  Tag management systems are game changers because they let you track important data more effectively by easily adding code snippets (tags) to your website. 

  By not needing to hard code each individual code you also save time. Rather than waiting for someone to make tag changes and to deploy your website, you can make the changes yourself without needing the technical expertise of a developer.

  Why is Matomo Tag Manager a great Google Tag Manager alternative ?

   Matomo Tag Manager is a great Google Tag Manager alternative. Not only does it let you manage all your tracking and marketing tags in one place, it also offers less complexity and more flexibility. 

  By tagging your website and using Matomo Tag Manager alongside Matomo Analytics, you can collect much more data than you’d be able to otherwise. 

  A bonus to using Matomo is the privacy and data ownership aspect. With Matomo you also get the added peace of mind that comes with 100% data ownership and privacy protection. You will never be left wondering what’s happening to your data. Rest assured knowing you’re doing the best to protect user privacy, while getting useful insights to improve your website. 

  And since Matomo Tag Manager is the one of the best alternatives to Google Tag Manager, you’ll gain more than you lose by having full confidence that your data is yours to own.

  

  Three key benefits of using Matomo Tag Manager :

  • Empowers you to deploy and manage your own tags
    This takes the hassle out of needing a web developer to hard code and edit every tag on your website. Now you can deploy tracking code on chosen pages and track various data yourself. 

  • Open up endless possibilities on data tracking
    Dig a lot deeper to track analytics, conversions, and more. Now you can implement advanced tracking solutions without needing to pay an external source. 

  • Save time and create your own impact
    With limited resources you certainly don’t want to be wasting any time having to go back and forth with an external party over what tags to add or take away. An over-dependence on web developers or agencies carrying out tag management for you, stalls growth and experimentation opportunities. With a tag management system you have the convenience of inserting your own tags and getting to a desired outcome faster. You won’t have to forgo tracking opportunities because now it’s in your hands.

  Next step : free tag manager training

• Attribution Tracking (What It Is and How It Works)

  23 février 2024, par Erin

  Facebook, TikTok, Google, email, display ads — which one is best to grow your business ? There’s one proven way to figure it out : attribution tracking.

  Marketing attribution allows you to see which channels are producing the best results for your marketing campaigns.

  In this guide, we’ll show you what attribution tracking is, why it’s important and how you can leverage it to accelerate your marketing success.

  What is attribution tracking ?

  By 2026, the global digital marketing industry is projected to reach $786.2 billion.

  With nearly three-quarters of a trillion U.S. dollars being poured into digital marketing every year, there’s no doubt it dominates traditional marketing.

  The question is, though, how do you know which digital channels to use ?

  By measuring your marketing efforts with attribution tracking.

  

  So, what is attribution tracking ?

  Attribution tracking is where you use software to keep track of different channels and campaign efforts to determine which channel you should attribute conversion to.

  In other words, you can (and should) use attribution tracking to analyse which channels are pushing the needle and which ones aren’t.

  By tracking your marketing efforts, you’ll be able to accurately measure the scale of impact each of your channels, campaigns and touchpoints have on a customer’s purchasing decision.

  If you don’t track your attribution, you’ll end up blindly pouring time, money, and effort into activities that may or may not be helpful.

  Attribution tracking simply gives you insight into what you’re doing right as a marketer — and what you’re doing wrong.

  By understanding which efforts and channels are driving conversions and revenue, you’ll be able to properly allocate resources toward winning channels to double down on growth.

  Matomo lets you track attribution across various channels. Whether you’re looking to track your conversions through organic, referral websites, campaigns, direct traffic, or social media, you can see all your conversions in one place.

  Try Matomo for Free

  Get the web insights you need, without compromising data accuracy.

  Start for free

  No credit card required

  Why attribution tracking is important

  Attribution tracking is crucial to succeed with your marketing since it shows you your most valuable channels.

  It takes the guesswork out of your efforts.

  You don’t need to scratch your head wondering what made your campaigns a success (or a failure).

  While most tools show you last click attribution by default, using attribution tracking, or marketing attribution, you can track revenue and conversions for each touchpoint.

  For example, a Facebook ad might have no led to a conversion immediately. But, maybe the visitor returned to your website two weeks later through your email campaign. Attribution tracking will give credit over longer periods of time to see the bigger picture of how your marketing channels are impacting your overall performance.

  Here are five reasons you need to be using attribution tracking in your business today :

  

  1. Measure channel performance

  The most obvious way attribution tracking helps is to show you how well each channel performs.

  When you’re using a variety of marketing channels to reach your audience, you have to know what’s actually doing well (and what’s not).

  This means having clarity on the performance of your :

  • Emails
  • Google Ads
  • Facebook Ads
  • Social media marketing
  • Search engine optimisation (SEO)
  • And more

  Attribution tracking allows you to measure each channel’s ROI and identify how much each channel impacted your campaigns.

  It gives you a more accurate picture of the performance of each channel and each campaign.

  With it, you can easily break down your channels by how much they drove sales, conversions, signups, or other actions.

  With this information, you can then understand where to further allocate your resources to fuel growth.

  2. See campaign performance over longer periods of time

  When you start tracking your channel performance with attribution tracking, you’ll gain new insights into how well your channels and campaigns are performing.

  The best part — you don’t just get to see recent performance.

  You get to track your campaign results over weeks or months.

  For example, if someone found you through Google by searching a question that your blog had an answer to, but they didn’t convert, your traditional tracking strategy would discount SEO.

  But, if that same person clicked a TikTok ad you placed three weeks later, came back, and converted — SEO would receive some attribution on the conversion.

  Using an attribution tracking tool like Matomo can help paint a holistic view of how your marketing is really doing from channel to channel over the long run.

  Try Matomo for Free

  Get the web insights you need, without compromising data accuracy.

  Start for free

  No credit card required

  3. Increase revenue

  Attribution tracking has one incredible benefit for marketers : optimised marketing spend.

  When you begin looking at how well your campaigns and your channels are performing, you’ll start to see what’s working.

  Attribution tracking gives you clarity into the performance of campaigns since it’s not just looking at the first time someone clicks through to your site. It’s looking at every touchpoint a customer made along the way to a conversion.

  By understanding what channels are most effective, you can pour more resources like time, money and labour into those effective channels.

  By doubling down on the winning channels, you’ll be able to grow like never before.

  Rather than trying to “diversify” your marketing efforts, lean into what’s working.

  This is one of the key strategies of an effective marketer to maximise your campaign returns and experience long-term success in terms of revenue.

  4. Improve profit margins

  The final benefit to attribution tracking is simple : you’ll earn more profit.

  Think about it this way : let’s say you’re putting 50% of your marketing spend into Facebook ads and 50% of your spend into email marketing.

  You do this for one year, allocating $500,000 to Facebook and $500,000 to email.

  Then, you start tracking attribution.

  You find that your Facebook ads are generating $900,000 in revenue. 

  That’s a 1,800% return on your investment.

  Not bad, right ?

  Well, after tracking your attribution, you see what your email revenue is.

  In the past year, you generated $1.7 million in email revenue.

  That’s a 3,400% return on your investment (close to the average return of email marketing across all industries).

  In this scenario, you can see that you’re getting nearly twice as much of a return on your marketing spend with email.

  So, the following year, you decide to go for a 75/25 split.

  Instead of putting $500,000 into both email and Facebook ads and email, you put $750,000 into email and $250,000 into Facebook ads.

  You’re still diversifying, but you’re doubling down on what’s working best.

  The result is that you’ll be able to get more revenue by investing the same amount of money, leaving you with higher profit margins.

  Different types of marketing attribution tracking

  There are several types of attribution tracking models in marketing.

  Depending on your goals, your business and your preferred method, there are a variety of types of attribution tracking you can use.

  Here are the six main types of attribution tracking :

  

  1. Last interaction

  Last interaction attribution model is also called “last touch.”

  It’s one of the most common types of attribution. The way it works is to give 100% of the credit to the final channel a customer interacted with before they converted into a customer.

  This could be through a paid ad, direct traffic, or organic search.

  One potential drawback of last interaction is that it doesn’t factor in other channels that may have assisted in the conversion. However, this model can work really well depending on the business.

  2. First interaction

  This is the opposite of the previous model.

  First interaction, or “first touch,” is all about the first interaction a customer has with your brand.

  It gives 100% of the credit to the channel (i.e. a link clicked from a social media post). And it doesn’t report or attribute anything else to another channel that someone may have interacted with in your marketing mix.

  For example, it won’t attribute the conversion or revenue if the visitor then clicked on an Instagram ad and converted. All credit would be given to the first touch which in this case would be the social media post. 

  The first interaction is a good model to use at the top of your funnel to help establish which channels are bringing leads in from outside your audience.

  3. Last non-direct

  Another model is called the last non-direct attribution model. 

  This model seeks to exclude direct traffic and assigns 100% credit for a conversion to the final channel a customer interacted with before becoming a customer, excluding clicks from direct traffic.

  For instance, if someone first comes to your website from an emai campaignl, and then, a week later, directly visits and buys a product, the email campaign gets all the credit for the sale.

  This attribution model tells a bit more about the whole sales process, shedding some more light on what other channels may have influenced the purchase decision.

  4. Linear

  Another common attribution model is linear.

  This model distributes completely equal credit across every single touchpoint (that’s tracked). 

  Imagine someone comes to your website in different ways : first, they find it through a Google search, then they click a link in an email from your campaign the next day, followed by visiting from a Facebook post a few days later, and finally, a week later, they come from a TikTok ad. 

  Here’s how the attribution is divided among these sources :

  • 25% Organic
  • 25% Email
  • 25% Facebook
  • 25% TikTok ad

  This attirubtion model provides a balanced perspective on the contribution of various sources to a user’s journey on your website.

  5. Position-based

  Position-based attribution is when you give 40% credit to both the first and last touchpoints and 20% credit is spread between the touchpoints in between.

  This model is preferred if you want to identify the initial touchpoint that kickstarted a conversion journey and the final touchpoint that sealed the deal.

  The downside is that you don’t gain much insight into the middle of the customer journey, which can make it hard to make effective decisions.

  For example, someone may have been interacting with your email newsletter for seven weeks, which allowed them to be nurtured and build a relationship with you.

  But that relationship and trust-building effort will be overlooked by the blog post that brought them in and the social media ad that eventually converted them.

  6. Time decay

  The final attribution model is called time decay attribution.

  This is all about giving credit based on the timing of the interactions someone had with your brand.

  For example, the touchpoints that just preceded the sale get the highest score, while the first touchpoints get the lowest score.

  For example, let’s use that scenario from above with the linear model :

  • 25% SEO
  • 25% Email
  • 25% Facebook ad
  • 25% Organic TikTok

  But, instead of splitting credit by 25% to each channel, you weigh the ones closer to the sale with more credit.

  Instead, time decay may look at these same channels like this :

  • 5% SEO (6 weeks ago)
  • 20% Email (3 weeks ago)
  • 30% Facebook ad (1 week ago)
  • 45% Organic TikTok (2 days ago)

  One downside is that it underestimates brand awareness campaigns. And, if you have longer sales cycles, it also isn’t the most accurate, as mid-stage nurturing and relationship building are underlooked. 

  Leverage Matomo : A marketing attribution tool

  Attribution tracking is a crucial part of leading an effective marketing strategy.

  But it’s impossible to do this without the right tools.

  A marketing attribution tool can give you insights into your best-performing channels automatically. 

  

  One of the best marketing attribution tools available is Matomo, a web analytics tool that helps you understand what’s going on with your website and different channels in one easy-to-use dashboard.

  With Matomo, you get marketing attribution as a plug-in or within Matomo On-Premise or for free in Matomo Cloud.

  The best part is it’s all done with crystal-clear data. Matomo gives you 100% accurate data since it doesn’t use data sampling on any plans like Google Analytics.

  To start tracking attribution today, try Matomo’s 21-day free trial. No credit card required.

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