In Web3 marketing, traditional tools such as cookies and pixels fall short in tracking user actions. Onchain attribution provides a better way to measure campaign effectiveness. Imagine running a hybrid campaign, Web2 ads paired with a Web3 NFT giveaway. With Web3 attribution tools, you can track a user’s journey from ad click to NFT claim, gaining actionable insights into what works. In this article, we'll explore what onchain attribution is, why it's critical for Web3 marketing, its key benefits, and best practices for successful implementation.

What is Onchain attribution?

Onchain attribution tracks and verifies user onchain activity, linking them to specific marketing campaigns, channels, and referrals. Unlike Web2 attribution, which relies on cookies or personal identifiers, onchain attribution uses wallet addresses, public blockchain data, UTM parameters, and privacy-friendly techniques to understand the user’s journey.

Onchain attribution allows marketers to understand which campaigns are driving meaningful user actions, without compromising user privacy. Once the system links the user to a source, that connection persists across sessions, providing a deeper and more reliable view of user behavior than traditional tools.

Challenge of Onchain Attribution

In Web2, attribution is relatively straightforward. A "last-touch" model simply credits the final advertiser before the user takes a desired action, such as making a purchase. In Web3, attribution shifts: the first onchain interaction, such as minting an NFT or using a dApp, often becomes the focal point, especially in multi-channel strategies. 

Traditional attribution methods, which rely heavily on personal data, no longer apply. Web3 users engage with decentralized applications (DApps) via wallets, without logging in through identifiable accounts, making it difficult for marketers to directly connect campaign efforts to user actions.

This is where onchain attribution becomes critical.

• Wallets as User Identifiers: A wallet address serves as the user’s unique identity. Onchain attribution links blockchain activities, such as token purchases, NFT mints, or governance participation, back to specific marketing actions, even without collecting personal information.

• Pseudonymous and Privacy-First: By analyzing wallet behaviors and transaction histories instead of personal data, onchain attribution preserves user anonymity while still delivering data-driven insights into campaign performance and user journeys.

Web2 vs. Web3 Attribution

In Web2, clear data defines the path from acquisition to conversion: click an ad, visit an app, complete a purchase, or install. Major attribution platforms such as AppsFlyer, Branch, and Facebook’s internal systems process billions of events using methods like "last-touch" or "view-through" attribution.

Web3 disrupts this model in 3 ways:

• New Campaign Formats: Campaigns such as quests, incentive rewards, and staking challenges drive engagement through onchain activities, demanding attribution models that understand wallet behaviors and blockchain interactions.

• Onchain-to-Offchain Loops: Onchain activity, like claiming a token, can trigger offchain outcomes, such as mobile app installs—connections that traditional attribution methods would entirely miss.

• Everyone is a Publisher and Advertiser: Web3 projects often co-market and cross-promote. Attribution becomes a layered system, tracking influence across multiple interconnected players rather than a single source of truth.

How does onchain attribution work in practice?

Onchain attribution tracks which user touchpoints (e.g., Twitter clicks, Discord joins, onchain quests) led to a conversion event like a transaction. Since you can’t predict conversions in advance, attribution logic runs backward from the conversion moment.

The key principle is simple but worth emphasizing: while time moves forward, attribution moves backward. A conversion event triggers retrospective analysis over previously logged events.

You never know if a user will convert when they view an ad, click a link, or browse your app. All you can do is log events as they happen, and once a conversion occurs, reconstruct a likely user journey using an identity graph (Web2/Web3) that links the relevant events.

The first step in this rearward look is checking for a Proof of Life:

• Is this a currently active user (‘live’ user) who converted?

• Or are they a new user, or perhaps a resurrected one?

Attribution logic with a 45-day churn window (no activity for 45 days or more reclassifies the user as new)

Attribution logic often uses a churn window, for example, 45 days, meaning if a user has no meaningful activity for 45 days, they are classified as new. Dapps can configure their churn window based on what counts as "meaningful activity." Once a user is marked as active, they remain tied to their attribution source. Only after churning are they eligible to be (re)attributed to a new source.

In this case, the user had no meaningful activity in the past 45 days. Simply clicking through from Discord, Twitter, or Google wasn’t enough to qualify as ‘proof of life’ on the protocol, so the user is considered churned.

Next, attribution logic checks the lookback window, examining recent activity to find touchpoints that might explain their return.

The lookback window retrieves all touchpoints within the timeframe and selects a winner. Most Web3 dApps default to a first-touch model (though last-touch is also supported). The choice between first-touch and last-touch may seem subtle, but it can shift attribution results in non-linear, non-obvious ways.

In this case, the first-touch model attributes credit to Twitter for the blockchain transaction.

In Formo, you can easily visualize your users’ onchain attribution with no-code solutions. Formo’s Web3 Product Analytics lets you effortlessly track, analyze, and maximize ROI from your Web3 marketing campaigns.

Key Benefits of Onchain Attribution

1. Improved ROI Measurement

Onchain attribution lets marketers identify which channels and campaigns drive meaningful action. This level of precision leads to better ROI measurement and ensures every marketing dollar works harder.

2. Deeper Wallet Insights

By tracking user behavior onchain, you gain richer insights into wallet activity. You can segment users based on transaction types, frequency, or investment levels within your ecosystem, helping you to tailor future campaigns to whales, early adopters, collectors, and other key groups.

3. Stronger Growth Loops

Onchain attribution helps you identify which referral programs, influencer campaigns, or initiatives truly drive wallet actions. By understanding these growth loops, you optimize your marketing strategies for stronger user retention and engagement.

4. Privacy-First Analytics

Onchain attribution doesn’t require personal data. Instead, it focuses on public blockchain data that is inherently open, secure, and private. This transparency is critical for Web3 projects that want to build trust with their users while also collecting meaningful marketing insights.

Best Practices for Implementing Onchain Attribution

Follow these best practices to successfully leverage onchain attribution:

1. Define Clear Goals

Before launching any attribution strategy, set clear, measurable goals. Are you aiming to track meaningful transactions, revenue, or new user signups? Defining your desired outcomes upfront ensures you focus on tracking the right actions.

2. Tag and Track Marketing Channels

Tag your marketing efforts using tracking links such as UTM parameters. By labeling campaigns and referral sources, you can trace user actions back to the original marketing channels that drove them.

3. Segment Users by Wallet Behavior

Go beyond simple conversion tracking. Segment users based on wallet activity, such as transaction volume, staking participation, or governance voting. Behavioral segmentation enables more personalized marketing and richer user experiences.

4. Build Attribution Dashboards

Use tools like Formo Analytics to create real-time attribution dashboards. These dashboards help you visualize campaign performance, track ROI, and monitor user engagement over time—all in one place.

5. Align Incentives with Goals

Design incentives, such as referral bonuses or incentive rewards, that align with your product goals. Incentivizing a specific onchain activity may boost your long-term adoption metrics and encourage more wallet-driven conversions.

As Web3 marketing matures, mastering onchain attribution will become a key growth driver for product and marketing teams. By deeply understanding wallet behaviors and tracking Web3 user journeys, marketers can unlock actionable insights to achieve product-market fit. Make impactful decisions with onchain and offchain data.

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