Glossary

Revenue attribution: definition and examples

Revenue attribution assigns credit for a verified payment to an observed acquisition touch. It needs two separate decisions: which visitor made the payment, and which of that visitor’s visits receives credit.

Match the buyer, then choose a touch

AnalyticFast first tries checkout metadata containing the visitor ID. Existing return-page claims, provider customer correlation, explicitly identified email and constrained timing evidence can supply fallback matches. These signals have different confidence; timing is an inference, not an identifier. A signed webhook verifies a payment but does not by itself reveal its original traffic source.

After matching a visitor, the default model credits the latest observed non-direct visit before payment. The first-touch model credits the earliest observed visit. Changing models changes source allocation, not the amount the customer paid.

A worked example

A visitor arrives from a tagged X post, returns through a Google result, then types the URL directly and buys for $40. With a successful metadata handoff, first touch credits X; last non-direct touch credits Google. The direct return does not replace Google in the default model. A later $10 refund reduces the payment’s net contribution to $30.

What attribution cannot establish

Credit is not proof of causation. A missing referrer, deleted browser storage, a second device or a missing checkout handoff can hide part of the journey. Keep unattributed revenue visible instead of forcing every dollar into a campaign. Analytics revenue also differs from a payout after fees, taxes or settlement timing.

Related definitions

• First-touch attribution
• Last-touch attribution
• UTM parameters

Install AnalyticFast and connect verified revenue to use these definitions with your own data.