Attribution Technology
In the world of mobile apps, attribution is a fundamental part, as it allows you to measure the effects of your advertising activities and the overall results of your app install campaign.
What Is Attribution technology?
Attribution can be defined as the activity of matching two events, which are, in the case of an app install campaign, an action performed by users (such as app installs) and their engagement with advertisements.
Attribution technology is the piece of software that can help advertisers identify the way users are led to conversions, identify the most effective ads and, as a result, invest the available budget more properly and increase the app install campaign ROAS.
Attribution technology actually is the most accurate measurement tool available to measure the impact of an app install campaign on users.
The two main types of attribution technology are deterministic attribution and probabilistic attribution. Deterministic attribution links marketing actions and conversions through a unique device identifier (IDFA for Apple and GAID for Google). For this reason, the match between the two events is precisely and unequivocally determined: with deterministic attribution you know which precise ad or other marketing action led to that conversion.
When deterministic attribution is not available, probabilistic attribution can be used. Differently from the first attribution technology, probabilistic attribution is a less accurate tool: as a matter of fact, probabilistic attribution works by collecting data from users trying to match these with conversions driven by a mobile app install campaign.
It is less precise than deterministic attribution, as this second technology works with clues and probabilities, trying to trace the source that drove the install or any other in-app action.
Despite this fact, probabilistic attribution is becoming more and more useful in the so-called post-IDFA world: in fact, after the launch of Apple’s iOS 14.5, users may decide to hide their IDFA, making deterministic attribution impossible. This happens as users are more concerned about issues of privacy and are increasingly asking for data privacy and protection.
Why Is Attribution Technology Important?
Attribution technology is an essential part of any app install campaign, and it actually is a key optimization tool: as measurement is key in the field of mobile apps, attribution technology plays a central role. Attribution technology helps identify the source which drove conversions and consequently the ads which were most effective in doing so. In this sense, attribution technology also helps you save money and increase the app install campaign ROAS.
Both types of attribution technology, deterministic attribution and probabilistic attribution, are important: if on the one hand deterministic attribution is more accurate in matching conversions to their source, on the other hand probabilistic attribution is considered to be more respectful of the users’ data and privacy, so it will become really useful in the post-IDFA world.
What You Need To Know About Attribution Technology?
- Attribution technology is a piece of software matching a conversion to the marketing activity which led to it;
- Attribution technology can tell you what happens when users engage with an ad and install the app;
- Through attribution technology, you can identify the most effective ads, saving money and increasing the app install campaign ROAS;
- The two main types of attribution technology are deterministic attribution and probabilistic attribution;
- Deterministic attribution precisely and unequivocally matches conversions and their sources, so it is more accurate;
- Probabilistic attribution relies on probabilities: it gathers data from users and tries to find the correspondence with a marketing activity;
- Since Apple launched the new iOS 14.5, users may decide to hide their IDFA, so that deterministic attribution is no longer possible, making probabilistic attribution key.
