Understanding Linear Attribution Using UTM Source with Lookback Window

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Linear attribution is a multi-touch attribution model in Mixpanel that gives equal credit to every touchpoint seen leading up to a conversion within the attribution lookback window. When applied to UTM sources, it helps you understand how different traffic sources contribute to conversions.Here's how linear attribution by UTM source with an X-day lookback window works: 1. Lookback Window: The lookback window defines the time period before a conversion event where touchpoints are considered relevant. If you set an X-day lookback window, Mixpanel will only consider touchpoints that occurred within X days before the conversion event Attribution: Multi-touch segmentation in the user conversion journey.2. Equal Credit Distribution: With linear attribution, each UTM source touchpoint within the lookback window receives equal credit for the conversion. For example, if a user interacts with your product through three different UTM sources before converting, each source would receive 33.33% of the credit Attribution Models.3. User Journey Analysis: Linear attribution helps you see the complete user journey and understand how different UTM sources contribute to conversions, rather than only crediting the first or last touchpoint How multi-touch attribution helps teams make data-driven decisions.To implement linear attribution by UTM source in Mixpanel: 1. Add your conversion metric 2. Go to the breakdown section and choose "Attributed by..." 3. Select the UTM source property 4. Change the attribution model to "Linear" in the metric section 5. Set your desired lookback window (X days)Linear attribution is particularly useful when you want to give equal importance to all marketing channels in your analysis, especially when you're starting out and don't have enough historical data to determine which touchpoints are more valuable How multi-touch attribution helps teams make data-driven decisions.

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The linear attribution model in Mixpanel doesn't work based on the percentage of visits from each source, but rather gives equal credit to each unique touchpoint that occurred within the lookback window before a conversion.Based on the knowledge sources, here's how linear attribution would work in your scenario: If user A had touchpoints from sources A, B, and C within the lookback window before converting, the linear model would assign equal credit to each unique source, regardless of how many times each source was visited. So each source would receive 33.33% of the conversion credit (1/3 for each unique source).The linear attribution model is defined as: "Gives equal credit to every touchpoint seen leading up to a conversion within the attribution lookback window" Attribution Models.It's important to note that the frequency of visits (80% from source A, 10% from source B, 10% from source C) doesn't factor into the linear attribution calculation. What matters is that each unique source that appeared in the user journey gets equal credit for the conversion.If you're looking to account for the frequency of touchpoints in your attribution model, you might want to explore custom attribution models or data-driven attribution approaches that can be configured to weigh touchpoints differently based on your specific needs.

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