Understanding Attribution for LinkedIn Ads

Attribution tells you which touchpoints led to conversions. It's complex but essential.

Attribution models:

First-touch - Credits the first interaction
Last-touch - Credits the final interaction before conversion
Linear - Spreads credit equally across all touches
Time decay - Recent interactions get more credit
Position-based - First and last touches get most credit

LinkedIn's attribution:

Uses last-touch by default
Limited cross-device tracking
Only tracks LinkedIn interactions
Can't see full customer journey alone

The reality of B2B attribution:

Long sales cycles mean many touchpoints
Multiple decision-makers per account
Interactions span months or years
Perfect attribution is impossible

Building better attribution:

Use UTM parameters consistently
Track source in your CRM
Survey customers about how they found you
Use unique landing pages per campaign
Ask sales where leads came from

Multi-touch attribution:

Requires advanced tools
More accurate picture of what works
Shows assist conversions, not just final touches
Helps justify upper-funnel spending

What to actually track:

Influence - did the ad touch the account at any point?
Assist - did the ad play a role before conversion?
Direct - did the ad directly drive the conversion?

LinkedIn and other channels:

LinkedIn rarely works alone
It's often an assist, not last touch
Upper-funnel awareness still matters
Judge LinkedIn on entire funnel contribution

View-through attribution:

Did seeing (but not clicking) an ad influence conversion?
LinkedIn provides view-through conversion data
Typically 1-day or 7-day windows
Valuable for awareness campaigns

Common attribution mistakes:

Over-crediting last touch (ignores awareness work)
Under-valuing assists (awareness campaigns look bad)
Changing attribution models mid-campaign (can't compare)
Expecting perfect data (some ambiguity is normal)

Practical attribution approach:

Track what you can accurately
Use surveys for qualitative data
Look at account-level journeys, not just individual clicks
Give credit where credit is due
Accept some uncertainty

Reporting attribution:

Show multiple views - first touch, last touch, multi-touch
Explain assists vs. direct conversions
Connect to revenue, not just leads
Track trends over time

Attribution and budget:

Don't cut awareness spend just because attribution is unclear
Understand the role each channel plays
Test incrementally (pause a channel and see what happens)
Balance short-term ROI with long-term brand building

Stirling helps you create trackable campaigns with consistent messaging. When your ads and landing pages align, attribution becomes clearer and you can better understand what's working.

Perfect attribution doesn't exist. But good-enough attribution helps you make smarter decisions.