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What is attribution?

Attribution is the process of giving credit to the marketing touchpoints that contributed to a sale. When a customer sees a Facebook ad on Monday, Googles your brand on Wednesday, and buys on Friday — which channel gets credit? The answer depends on your attribution model.

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Available models

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Last-click (default)

Gives 100% of the credit to the last ad click before the purchase. 
Facebook ad (Mon) → Google search (Wed) → Purchase (Fri)
                                               ↑
                                          100% credit
Best for: Performance marketers focused on direct response. Shows which channel closes sales. Limitation: Undervalues top-of-funnel channels (awareness, discovery) that don’t get the last click.

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First-click

Gives 100% of the credit to the first ad click in the customer journey. 
Facebook ad (Mon) → Google search (Wed) → Purchase (Fri)
     ↑
100% credit
Best for: Understanding which channels introduce your brand to new customers. Limitation: Undervalues retargeting and bottom-of-funnel channels.

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Linear

Distributes credit equally across all touchpoints in the journey. 
Facebook ad (Mon) → Google search (Wed) → Purchase (Fri)
     ↑                    ↑
   33.3%                33.3%              (+ 33.3% direct)
Best for: Stores with long consideration cycles where multiple channels contribute.

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Time-decay

Gives more credit to touchpoints closer to the purchase, with exponentially decreasing weight for older touches. 
Facebook ad (Mon, 4 days ago) → Google search (Wed, 2 days ago) → Purchase (Fri)
           ↑                              ↑
         ~20%                           ~80%
Best for: Subscription or high-consideration purchases where recent touchpoints are most influential.

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How to change your attribution model

  1. Go to Dashboard → Settings → Attribution
  2. Select your preferred model from the dropdown
  3. Click Save
Changes apply to new conversions only. Historical data is not retroactively recalculated.

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Attribution windows

The click window determines how far back NSM looks for an ad click when an order comes in.
WindowDefaultNotes
Click window30 daysCan be set to 1, 7, 14, 30, or 60 days
View window1 dayFor view-through attribution (impressions)
Shorter windows give you cleaner attribution but may miss customers with long consideration cycles. Longer windows may over-attribute to ads that weren’t the real cause.

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Multi-channel journeys

NSM tracks the full customer journey — every touchpoint from first visit to purchase. You can view individual journeys in Dashboard → Customers → [Customer]. Example journey: 
Day 1  — Facebook ad click (campaign: Summer Sale)
Day 3  — Organic search
Day 5  — Direct visit (returned to add to cart)
Day 6  — Purchase — $127
This full journey is visible in the customer detail view, regardless of which attribution model you use.

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Matching methods

NSM uses three matching methods in order of priority:
  1. Click ID match — Direct match via gclid/fbclid/ttclid. Highest accuracy (~100%).
  2. Fingerprint match — Device fingerprint links session to click. High accuracy (~90%).
  3. Email hash match — Logged-in customer matched via hashed email across devices.
If none match, the order shows as Organic or Direct.