Last-click vs platform attribution in plain terms
Platform attribution means each ad platform decides, by its own rules, which conversions its ads caused. Last-click attribution starts from your own customer list and gives each paying customer to the last ad they clicked. The first answers "what did this platform touch?"; the second answers "which campaign brought this customer?".
How do the two methods differ?
| Question | Platform attribution | Last click (Datarithms) |
|---|---|---|
| Who decides the credit? | Each platform, for its own ads | One rule applied to every platform |
| What counts as the result? | The event you chose: often a sign-up or lead | A payment not refunded within 14 days |
| Do views count? | Often, inside a view window | No, only clicks |
| Can a customer be counted twice? | Yes, by different platforms | No, once, for one campaign |
| Window | Set per platform and per campaign | 90 days before payment |
| Customers with no ad click | Not shown | Shown as unmatched |
What does last click get wrong?
It ignores everything before the last click. A video that first made someone curious gets no credit if they later searched your name and clicked a search ad. That is a real limit. We accept it because the result is countable, checkable against your payments, and never exceeds the customers you really have.
When is platform attribution still useful?
Inside one platform, for comparing ads against each other on the same rules, and for feeding the platform's own bidding. It is not a good basis for moving budget between platforms, because each platform grades its own work.
Common questions
Why not use a multi-touch model?
Multi-touch models need every touch of every customer, which exports rarely give. They also spread credit by a formula that is hard to check. We prefer a rule you can verify by hand.
Why 90 days?
Software and service purchases often follow the first click by weeks. A 90-day window keeps those customers matched without reaching back so far that old clicks collect credit.
Related pages
- Why platform conversions add up to more customers than you haveWhy Google, Meta, TikTok and LinkedIn together report more customers than you have.
- How it worksThe matching rules behind the weekly table: last ad click within 90 days, refunds within 14 days excluded, no verdict under 30 paying customers.
- GlossaryPlain definitions of the ad measurement terms used on this site: paying customer, CAC, attribution window, last click, view-through, ROAS and more.
- Google Ads and paying customersSearch and Performance Max conversions vs paying customers, and the export we need.
Want your own table?
Tell us which ad platforms you use and roughly what you spend. We reply by email within two working days.
Early access: we prepare your weekly table with you from your own exports while the direct connections are built.