Attribution

Attribution connects conversions to the clicks that drove them. Configure attribution settings for each conversion type in Events & Conversions settings.

How It Works

1. Visitor clicks your link - They receive a unique visitor ID stored in a cookie
2. Visitor browses your site - The tracking pixel maintains the visitor ID
3. Visitor converts - The conversion is linked to their click(s) based on the attribution model configured for that conversion type

Attribution Window

The time period during which a conversion can be attributed to a click.

• Default: 30 days
• Range: 1-90 days

If a visitor clicks your link today and converts within your attribution window, the conversion is attributed to that click. Clicks outside the window are not attributed.

Attribution Models

Each conversion type can have its own attribution model. When a visitor clicks multiple links before converting, the model determines how credit is distributed:

First-Touch

100% credit goes to the first link the visitor clicked.

• Best for: Lead generation, understanding initial discovery
• Use case: Content marketing, brand awareness, newsletter signups
• Recommended for: Register, Subscribe, Download conversions

Last-Touch

100% credit goes to the last link the visitor clicked before converting.

• Best for: Understanding what drove the final decision
• Use case: Direct response campaigns, sales promotions
• Recommended for: Add to Cart, Begin Checkout conversions

Position-Based

Credit is distributed across multiple touchpoints: 40% to first click, 40% to last click, and 20% split among middle clicks.

• Best for: Valuing both discovery and closing
• Use case: E-commerce purchases with longer consideration cycles
• Recommended for: Purchase conversions

Default Attribution Models

Each predefined conversion type comes with a recommended attribution model:

Conversion Type	Default Model	Rationale
Purchase	Position-Based	Both discovery and closing matter for sales
Register	First-Touch	What initially brought them in matters most
Add to Cart	Last-Touch	Intent signal driven by most recent interaction
Begin Checkout	Last-Touch	Strong purchase intent from final push
Download	First-Touch	Lead magnet attribution tracks discovery
Subscribe	First-Touch	Acquisition metric values initial contact

Post-Purchase Survey Attribution

Not all traffic sources are visible through behavioral tracking. Channels like word of mouth, podcasts, and organic social often appear as "Direct" traffic because visitors type your URL directly or use untracked links.

The Post-Purchase Survey asks customers "How did you hear about us?" after a conversion, capturing these dark funnel channels that behavioral attribution misses.

How Survey Attribution Works

1. Enable the survey in Survey Settings
2. A modal appears automatically after conversion events — no extra script needed
3. Responses are collected and shown on the Attribution dashboard alongside behavioral data

What Visitors See

After a conversion event fires (e.g. a purchase), a small modal slides in from the bottom-right corner of the page. It displays your configured question (default: "How did you hear about us?") with clickable option buttons. If "Other" is enabled, visitors can type a free-text response. After submitting, a thank-you message appears briefly before the modal fades away.

The modal uses your configured brand color for the submit button and selected option styling. It won't show again to the same visitor after they've responded (tracked via localStorage).

Testing the Survey

To verify the survey works on your site:

1. Go to Survey Settings and toggle the survey on
2. Visit a page on your site that has the qklnk tracking pixel installed
3. Open your browser's developer console and run: qklnk.event('register')
4. The survey modal should appear in the bottom-right after a short delay
5. Select an option and submit — you should see the thank-you message
6. Check Survey Submissions to confirm the response was recorded

To test again, clear the ql_survey_{your_site_id} key from localStorage in your browser's developer tools — this resets the "already responded" flag.

Survey Results on the Attribution Page

As soon as you receive your first survey response, the Attribution page shows a Survey Attribution section with:

• Response breakdown — what channels customers are reporting, with counts and revenue
• Behavioral vs survey comparison — where tracking data and self-reported data agree or disagree
• Dark funnel discoveries — channels like word of mouth and podcasts that only appear through surveys

Survey-Enhanced Model

Once you collect 10+ survey responses, the Survey-Enhanced attribution model unlocks (a progress indicator on the Attribution page tracks your progress). To enable it, turn on Attribution Blending in Survey Settings.

What Attribution Blending Does

Normally, attribution credit goes entirely to behavioral tracking data (clicks, UTMs, referrers). When you enable blending, a "Survey-Enhanced" model appears on the Attribution page that adjusts channel credit when survey responses disagree with behavioral tracking.

Example: A visitor arrives with no UTMs and no referrer — behavioral tracking labels this as "Direct." But the customer tells you "I heard about you on a podcast." With blending enabled, credit shifts from Direct toward Podcast.

How much credit shifts depends on two factors:

• Behavioral confidence — if behavioral data is strong (multiple touchpoints with UTMs), the survey has little influence. If behavioral data is weak (single Direct visit), the survey becomes the primary signal.
• Survey weight slider — controls how aggressively to trust surveys when they disagree with behavioral data. 0.3-0.5 is recommended for most teams.

When survey and behavioral data agree (e.g., both say "Google"), blending uses 100% behavioral — the survey simply confirms what tracking already showed.

Best Practices

• Match model to goal - Use first-touch for acquisition metrics, last-touch for intent signals, position-based for purchases
• Set appropriate windows - Longer windows for considered purchases, shorter for impulse buys
• Use unique links - Create separate links for each placement to see which performs best
• Review periodically - As your marketing mix changes, revisit attribution settings