Last-Click Attribution

Last-click attribution is an attribution model that gives 100% of the credit for a conversion to the last touchpoint before it. All earlier contacts in the customer journey are ignored.

How the model works

When a user converts, the model only looks at the source of the session in which the conversion happened – the last click. That source gets full credit for the lead, the deal and the revenue. Many ad platforms also work click-based from their own point of view, but each one only sees clicks on its own ads.

Example

A coach spends $3,000 a month on Meta and $1,500 on Google Ads, $500 of it on brand keywords. Under last click, 70% of leads come through Google, most of them via the brand campaign. Its cost per lead is $8, compared to $45 on Meta.

The coach turns off Meta – and a few weeks later, branded search drops too. People had discovered the coach through Meta and only googled the name later. Last click had systematically undervalued Meta.

Last-click attribution for lead generation

Last click answers one question well: which channel gets people to submit the form or buy right now? That’s useful for conversion campaigns, retargeting and landing page optimization. On its own, it is not enough to judge channels that create demand.

LeadMetrics offers exactly two attribution models: last click and first click. Combined with deals and payments from the CRM integration, you see per channel, campaign and ad which deals and how much revenue each model attributes. You can share the results with clients in reports.

Last click vs. first click

First-click attribution rewards the channel that creates the first contact, last click rewards the channel that triggers the conversion. A big gap between the two models tells you that your customer journey has several steps – and that you shouldn’t judge channels by one model alone.

Common mistakes

• Overrating branded search: People who search for your name usually already know you from another channel.
• Judging awareness campaigns by last click: They almost always look expensive.
• Ignoring direct traffic: Part of your “direct” conversions comes from users who arrived via ads earlier.