Building a successful Web3 app without knowing where your users come from is like navigating without a map. Traditional analytics tools like Google Analytics can track clicks and page views, but they can't see what happens onchain—where the real value is created. This gap leaves Web3 builders in the dark about which marketing efforts actually drive meaningful user actions.
Onchain attribution bridges this gap by connecting offchain touchpoints to onchain conversions, giving you the clarity needed to make smart growth decisions. Here's how it works and why it's essential for your Web3 project.
Why Web2 Analytics Don't Work for Web3
Traditional analytics tools weren't built for the Web3 world. They rely on cookies and device IDs—tracking methods that privacy-conscious Web3 users often block. Browsers like Brave, popular among crypto users, automatically disable many of these tracking mechanisms.
The bigger problem? These tools can't connect the dots between offchain activity and onchain conversions. A user might click your campaign link, browse your app, and then complete a swap—but traditional analytics can't trace that journey from click to transaction. This creates a blind spot in understanding your true marketing ROI.
Without this connection, you're left guessing which campaigns actually drive value versus which ones just generate clicks.
How Onchain Attribution Works
Onchain attribution solves this by linking user activity from the first offchain touchpoint to the final onchain conversion. Instead of relying on personal data, it uses wallet addresses as pseudonymous identifiers.
Here's the process: when a user interacts with your campaigns, Formo tracks these events in real-time. Once a conversion occurs—like a token swap or NFT mint—the system works backward to identify the source.
For example, a user clicks a campaign link from Twitter, connects their wallet to your app, and completes a swap. Onchain attribution traces this path backward from the swap transaction to the original Twitter click, giving you clear visibility into what drove the conversion.
Key Benefits of Onchain Attribution
Identify Effective Channels
Pinpoint exactly which marketing campaigns are driving onchain activity. See whether your Twitter campaigns, partner programs, or ads are actually converting users into active participants.
Measure True ROI
Move beyond vanity metrics like clicks and impressions. Track the actual value generated by your marketing spend through real onchain conversions.
Understand Wallet Activity
Gain insights into what users do after they arrive. See which wallets are most active, what assets they hold, and how they engage with your app over time.
Privacy-Friendly Growth
Build trust with your community by tracking performance without relying on cookies or personal data. Onchain attribution respects user privacy while delivering the insights you need.
Get Started with Formo's Web3 Analytics
Formo makes implementing onchain attribution simple with no-code solutions designed specifically for Web3 teams.
Real-time Analytics
See what users are doing right now with live activity feeds and instant insights into wallet behavior.
Unified Data
Connect offchain touchpoints with onchain actions in one view. No more juggling multiple analytics tools or complex SQL queries.
Wallet Intelligence
Turn anonymous addresses into rich user profiles. Understand user segments, track high-value wallets, and identify your most engaged community members.
Formo provides these insights without needing a dedicated data team, making advanced analytics accessible to teams of any size.
Start Tracking What Matters
Onchain attribution is no longer optional for Web3 teams that want to grow. It provides the clarity needed to understand which efforts drive real results and which ones waste resources.
Understanding where your users come from is the first step to building better products and stronger communities. With the right attribution tools, you can optimize your marketing spend, improve user acquisition, and make data-driven decisions that fuel sustainable growth.
Ready to see where your users are really coming from? Try Formo's Web3 analytics platform and start making decisions based on data, not guesswork.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is onchain attribution and why does it matter for Web3 marketing?
Onchain attribution is the method of linking marketing efforts to user actions on a blockchain. For Web3 marketing, it provides a clear view of how your campaigns influence user behavior, such as a user interacting with a smart contract after clicking an ad. By using wallets as the central user identifier, you can accurately measure the effectiveness of your marketing spend and understand which channels drive valuable onchain activity. This allows you to optimize campaigns and prove the ROI of your marketing activities directly through blockchain data, moving beyond estimates to concrete results.
How can I track a Web3 user's journey from an ad click to an onchain action?
You can connect offchain to onchain conversions by linking traditional tracking parameters with wallet addresses. The process starts when a user clicks a link with UTM parameters. When they connect their wallet to your app, you can associate that click data with their wallet address. This creates a unified view of the user journey, from the initial touchpoint to their final onchain transaction. This method allows you to see exactly which ad, social post, or email led to a specific onchain action, giving you clear insight into your conversion funnels.
Is it possible to implement onchain attribution without compromising user privacy?
Yes, privacy-first onchain attribution is achievable. Instead of relying on invasive tracking methods like cookies or fingerprinting, this approach uses the wallet address as the primary identifier for analytics. The connection between offchain marketing data (like a UTM source) and an onchain action is made only when a user voluntarily connects their wallet. This user-consented linkage ensures you can measure campaign effectiveness and track conversions from click to transaction while respecting user privacy and avoiding third-party data sharing. This model gives you the data you need without compromising trust.
