Glossary

A glossary of marketing attribution

Definitions written to be understood on the first read — and quoted as they stand. Every term has its own page: what it is for, how it is worked out, the mistake everyone makes.

See the definitions at work

The three words the whole trade rests on

Attribution

ROAS

UTM

Les quarante termes de cette page gravitent autour de ces trois-là : relier une vente à sa cause, diviser le revenu par la dépense, étiqueter l’origine d’un clic.

The first of the three, in full

01

Attributing

Tying a sale back to what produced it — and refusing to invent when the thread breaks.

Attribution model

The rule that decides which touchpoint gets the credit for a sale.

Read the definition →

First click

All the credit to the person’s first known touchpoint.

Read the definition →

Last click

All the credit to the last touchpoint before the purchase.

Read the definition →

Linear attribution

Credit split equally between every touchpoint.

Read the definition →

Attribution window

The maximum delay between a click and a sale for it to count.

Read the definition →

Attributed sale

A sale tied to an identified click, within the window.

Read the definition →

Unattributed revenue

The share of revenue that no identified click explains.

Read the definition →

Customer journey

The sequence of a person’s touchpoints before buying.

Read the definition →

Touchpoint

A recorded interaction between a person and the brand.

Read the definition →

Deduplication

Counting only once an event sent several times.

Read the definition →
02

Tagging and publishing

Saying where a click came from, before it is too late to know.

UTM parameters

Five standard labels added to a URL to state the origin.

Read the definition →

Source (utm_source)

The precise platform that sent the click: instagram, linkedin.

Read the definition →

Medium (utm_medium)

The nature of the channel: email, social, paid advertising.

Read the definition →

Campaign

The dated push you want to judge, across all sources.

Read the definition →

Tracking link

An address that redirects while recording the visit.

Read the definition →

Slug

The part of a short link that identifies the destination.

Read the definition →

301 and 302 redirects

Permanent or temporary: the code that decides whether the click returns.

Read the definition →

Link in bio

The single address allowed on a social profile.

Read the definition →

Channel

Where the link was published, not where it leads.

Read the definition →

White labelling

A deliverable in the sender’s name, not the vendor’s.

Read the definition →
03

Counting

What actually happened — humans on one side, bots on the other.

Human click

A visit coming from a person, not a program.

Read the definition →

Robot

A program that visits a link with no intention of buying.

Read the definition →

Unique click

One person counted once, whatever their number of clicks.

Read the definition →

Click-through rate

Clicks divided by impressions. Judges the hook, nothing else.

Read the definition →

Conversion

The action expected of a visitor, the one you decided to count.

Read the definition →

Conversion rate

Conversions divided by clicks, over the same scope.

Read the definition →

Lead

An identified person who has not bought yet.

Read the definition →

Sales funnel

The steps between the first touchpoint and the purchase.

Read the definition →
04

Counting the money

The four divisions that decide whether a campaign deserves another dollar.

ROAS

A campaign’s revenue divided by its ad spend.

Read the definition →

Average order value

Revenue divided by the number of sales.

Read the definition →

Cost per acquisition (CPA)

Spend divided by the number of customers won.

Read the definition →

Cost per click

Spend divided by the number of clicks obtained.

Read the definition →

Customer lifetime value

A customer’s total revenue over the whole relationship.

Read the definition →
05

Testing

Running two versions, and naming a winner only above the threshold.

A/B test

Comparing two versions by splitting traffic between them.

Read the definition →

Variant

One of the versions compared in a test.

Read the definition →

Statistical significance

The probability that a difference is not down to chance.

Read the definition →
06

Measuring cleanly

Cookies, consent, servers: measuring the campaign without tracking the person.

Third-party cookie

A cookie dropped by a domain other than the one visited.

Read the definition →

First-party data

Data a company collects itself, on its own ground.

Read the definition →

Cookieless measurement

Measuring through the link and the server, with no file in the browser.

Read the definition →

Consent

The free and informed agreement given before collection.

Read the definition →

Tracking pixel

A tiny image that reports a visit to a third-party service.

Read the definition →

Server-side conversion API

Sending a conversion server to server, with no browser involved.

Read the definition →

Webhook

A message sent to an address when an event happens.

Read the definition →

A question the glossary does not cover? The product’s answers

See these terms in the demo

The best definition of attribution is still a report where every sale has found its link. The demo shows one, on made-up data — the 43 terms on this page are all at work in it at once.

See the demo