Glossary: Last-touch Attribution
Last-touch attribution credits a conversion to the latest eligible recorded touchpoint before it, helping teams study closing activity while accounting for identity gaps and attribution windows.
What is last-touch attribution?
Last-touch attribution assigns credit for a conversion to the latest eligible marketing or product touchpoint recorded before the conversion. It helps teams understand which observed interaction most immediately preceded an activation, wallet connection, or onchain action.
How it works
Define the conversion, identity unit, eligible channels, and lookback window. The model finds the most recent qualifying touch before conversion. Decide how to treat direct traffic, returning visits, organic activity, and wallet-linked sessions so the rule is reproducible.
Example
A user first discovers a protocol through a newsletter, later reads a guide, then returns from a search ad and swaps. If each visit can be joined to the same journey, last-touch credits the search ad.
What it is useful for
Use last touch to understand which interaction tends to precede conversion and to monitor lower-funnel campaign performance. Compare it with first-touch attribution to distinguish discovery from closing activity, and check post-conversion retention before shifting budget.
Limitations and common mistakes
Last touch can over-credit branded search, direct visits, or retargeting that reaches people already likely to convert. It does not establish causality. Missing referrers, privacy controls, multiple devices, and incomplete links between web sessions and wallets can alter the result. Keep the conversion window and direct-traffic policy explicit.
Related reading
Explore First-touch Attribution, Attribution Model, Attribution Window, and onchain attribution.
FAQs
What does last-touch attribution answer?
It shows the last observed eligible touchpoint before a conversion under the model’s identity and window rules.
Does last touch prove a channel caused conversion?
No. It assigns credit by a rule and should be interpreted alongside other evidence.
How is it different from first touch?
Last touch credits the latest eligible touchpoint before conversion; first touch credits the earliest.
Related Terms
A/B Testing
An experiment that compares two versions of a page, feature, or campaign to see which performs better.
Account Abstraction
Account abstraction is an approach that turns blockchain accounts into programmable smart contract wallets, enabling features like gasless transactions, social recovery, session keys, and paying fees in any token.
Activation Rate
Activation rate is the percentage of new users or wallets that complete a key activation milestone, such as a first transaction, out of all users who signed up or connected within a given period.
Active Users
Active users are distinct users, accounts, visitors, wallets, or wallet clusters that complete a defined meaningful action during a specified period; the chosen identity unit and activity rule determine the result.
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