Attribution Report

The Attribution Report helps you understand which traffic sources, marketing campaigns, and channels drive conversions and revenue. This is essential for optimizing your marketing spend and understanding the customer journey.

What is an Attribution Report?

Attribution is the process of assigning credit to the marketing touchpoints that led to a conversion. The Attribution Report shows:

Which referrers drive conversions
Which paid advertising platforms generate results
Which UTM campaign parameters perform best
How different traffic sources contribute to goals and revenue

Key Concepts

Attribution Model

The method used to assign credit to touchpoints (first-click or last-click)

Touchpoint

Any interaction a user has with your marketing (ad click, referral visit, etc.)

Conversion Event

The goal or revenue event you’re measuring (signup, purchase, etc.)

Attribution Window

The time period before conversion to consider for attribution

Attribution Models

Umami supports two attribution models:

First-Click Attribution
Last-Click Attribution

First-Click (First-Touch) Attribution

Gives 100% credit to the first touchpoint that brought the user to your site.When to use:

Understanding top-of-funnel effectiveness
Measuring awareness campaigns
Evaluating new user acquisition channels
Planning brand marketing budgets

Example:

User Journey:
1. Google Organic → First visit
2. Facebook Ad → Return visit
3. Direct → Return visit (conversion)

Credit: 100% to Google Organic

Advantages:

Shows which channels introduce new customers
Simple to understand and explain
Good for measuring brand awareness

Limitations:

Ignores the role of nurturing touchpoints
May overvalue top-of-funnel channels

First-click attribution is ideal for businesses focused on customer acquisition and brand awareness.

Last-Click (Last-Touch) Attribution

Gives 100% credit to the last touchpoint before conversion.When to use:

Measuring direct conversion drivers
Optimizing retargeting campaigns
Understanding what closes the deal
Evaluating bottom-of-funnel tactics

Example:

User Journey:
1. Google Organic → First visit
2. Facebook Ad → Return visit
3. Email Campaign → Return visit (conversion)

Credit: 100% to Email Campaign

Advantages:

Shows what directly drives conversions
Easy to implement and understand
Aligns with short sales cycles

Limitations:

Ignores the awareness and consideration phases
May undervalue top-of-funnel efforts

Last-click attribution works well for businesses with short sales cycles and direct conversion paths.

Attribution Report Components

The Attribution Report breaks down performance across multiple dimensions:

Referrers

Shows which external websites drive conversions.Includes:

Referrer domain (e.g., google.com, facebook.com)
Number of conversions or revenue attributed

Use cases:

Identify valuable partnerships
Find guest posting opportunities
Track PR and link-building results

Only shows external referrers. Direct traffic and same-domain referrers are excluded.

Paid Ads

Automatically detects traffic from major advertising platforms.Supported platforms:

Google Ads (gclid parameter)
Facebook/Meta Ads (fbclid parameter)
Microsoft Ads (msclkid parameter)
TikTok Ads (ttclid parameter)
LinkedIn Ads (li_fat_id parameter)
Twitter/X Ads (twclid parameter)

What you see: Platform name and conversions/revenue attributed to each.

Paid ad detection happens automatically based on click ID parameters in the URL.

UTM Parameters

Shows performance of your UTM-tagged campaigns.Available breakdowns:

utm_source: Campaign source (e.g., google, newsletter, affiliate)
utm_medium: Marketing medium (e.g., cpc, email, social)
utm_campaign: Campaign name (e.g., summer_sale_2024)
utm_content: Ad variant (e.g., banner_a, text_ad_b)
utm_term: Keyword terms for paid search

Use cases:

Compare campaign performance
Optimize ad creative and copy
Measure channel effectiveness
Calculate campaign ROI

Setting Up Attribution Tracking

Define Your Conversion Event

Choose what action you want to attribute (goal or revenue event).

Page view (e.g., /thank-you)
Custom event (e.g., purchase)

Choose Attribution Model

Decide whether first-click or last-click attribution best fits your business.

Add UTM Parameters

Tag all marketing campaigns with UTM parameters.

https://yoursite.com/landing?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=spring_sale

Configure the Report

Set the conversion event and attribution model in your report parameters.

API Usage

curl -X POST https://your-umami-instance.com/api/reports/attribution \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "websiteId": "your-website-id",
    "parameters": {
      "startDate": "2024-01-01T00:00:00Z",
      "endDate": "2024-01-31T23:59:59Z",
      "model": "last-click",
      "type": "path",
      "step": "/thank-you",
      "currency": "USD"
    },
    "filters": {}
  }'

Parameters

model: Attribution model (first-click or last-click)
type: Conversion type (path for page views, event for custom events)
step: The page path or event name that represents a conversion
currency (optional): For revenue attribution, specify currency code

Response Format

{
  "referrer": [
    { "name": "google.com", "value": 245 },
    { "name": "facebook.com", "value": 123 }
  ],
  "paidAds": [
    { "name": "Google Ads", "value": 189 },
    { "name": "Facebook / Meta", "value": 98 }
  ],
  "utm_source": [
    { "name": "newsletter", "value": 156 },
    { "name": "affiliate", "value": 87 }
  ],
  "utm_medium": [
    { "name": "email", "value": 156 },
    { "name": "cpc", "value": 287 }
  ],
  "utm_campaign": [
    { "name": "spring_sale", "value": 312 },
    { "name": "welcome_series", "value": 156 }
  ],
  "utm_content": [
    { "name": "banner_a", "value": 178 },
    { "name": "text_ad", "value": 134 }
  ],
  "utm_term": [
    { "name": "web analytics", "value": 45 },
    { "name": "privacy analytics", "value": 32 }
  ],
  "total": {
    "pageviews": 45230,
    "visitors": 12456,
    "visits": 15678
  }
}

Use Cases and Insights

Channel Performance
Campaign ROI
Content Attribution
A/B Testing Attribution

Compare Marketing Channels

Understand which channels drive the most conversions.Analysis:

Review utm_medium breakdown
Compare conversions across email, social, paid, organic
Calculate conversion rate by channel
Determine which channels to invest in

Example insights:

Email drives 30% of conversions at lowest cost
Paid search has high volume but low conversion rate
Social media introduces new users (first-click) but email closes sales (last-click)

Run the same attribution report with both first-click and last-click models to understand the full customer journey.

Calculate Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)

Measure revenue generated by each campaign.Steps:

Run attribution report with currency parameter
Get revenue attributed to each utm_campaign
Compare to campaign costs
Calculate ROAS

Example:

Campaign: spring_sale_2024
Revenue: $25,000 (from attribution report)
Cost: $5,000 (from ad platform)
ROAS = $25,000 / $5,000 = 5.0x

For every $1 spent, you earned $5 in revenue.

A ROAS of 3-4x is often considered good, but it varies by industry and profit margins.

Measure Content Marketing Impact

Track which content sources drive conversions.Sources to track:

Guest posts on other sites
Social media posts
Email newsletters
Partner websites

Implementation:

Guest Post Link:
https://yoursite.com/landing?
  utm_source=partner_blog&
  utm_medium=referral&
  utm_campaign=guest_post_series

Newsletter Link:
https://yoursite.com/blog/post?
  utm_source=newsletter&
  utm_medium=email&
  utm_campaign=weekly_digest

Insights:

Which guest posts drive the most conversions?
Are newsletter subscribers converting?
Which partners should you work with more?

Test Ad Variations

Use utm_content to compare different ad variations.Setup:

Ad Variation A:
utm_content=banner_hero_image

Ad Variation B:
utm_content=banner_product_shot

Ad Variation C:
utm_content=banner_testimonial

Analysis: Compare conversions/revenue from each utm_content value to determine the winning variation.What to test:

Ad creative (images, videos)
Ad copy and headlines
Call-to-action buttons
Landing page variations

Ensure sufficient traffic to each variation for statistically significant results (typically 100+ conversions per variation).

UTM Parameter Best Practices

Use Consistent Naming

Create a naming convention and stick to it. Use lowercase and underscores.

Don't Use for Internal Links

UTM parameters are for external campaigns only. Don’t use on internal site links.

Document Your Campaigns

Keep a spreadsheet of all UTM parameters for consistency across your team.

Keep It Simple

Use clear, descriptive values. Avoid codes that only you understand.

UTM Naming Convention Example

utm_source:
  - google (paid)
  - facebook (paid)
  - newsletter (email)
  - linkedin (organic posts)

utm_medium:
  - cpc (cost-per-click)
  - cpm (cost-per-impression)
  - email (email marketing)
  - social (organic social)
  - referral (partner/affiliate)

utm_campaign:
  - {season}_{year}_{product} 
  - spring_2024_sale
  - q4_2024_product_launch

Use a URL builder tool to create consistently formatted UTM links and avoid typos.

Common Attribution Patterns

Social → Search → Email (Conversion)

Paid Ad → Direct → Direct (Conversion)

User clicks a paid ad, returns directly twice before converting.First-click: Credit to paid ad Last-click: Credit to paid ad (last non-direct touchpoint)Strategy:

Paid ads are effective at introduction
Strong brand recall (direct returns)
Consider retargeting for users who don’t convert immediately

Organic → Email → Paid Ad (Conversion)

User finds you organically, subscribes to email, converts from retargeting ad.First-click: Credit to organic search Last-click: Credit to paid adStrategy:

SEO brings quality traffic
Email list is valuable
Retargeting seals the deal

Troubleshooting Attribution

Direct traffic getting too much credit

Issue: Last-click model attributes too much to direct traffic.Why: Users often return directly after initial discovery.Solution: Use first-click attribution or track the last non-direct touchpoint.

Attribution doesn't match ad platform data

Issue: Conversion numbers differ between Umami and ad platforms.Why:

Different attribution windows
Ad blockers affecting tracking
View-through conversions counted differently

Solution: Understand that some variance is normal. Focus on trends rather than exact numbers.

Missing UTM parameters in report

Issue: Some traffic shows “(not set)” or empty UTM values.Why: UTM parameters weren’t included in the link or were stripped.Solution:

Audit all campaign links
Use link shorteners that preserve parameters
Implement link validation before campaigns launch

Best Practices

Compare attribution models: Run reports with both first-click and last-click to see the full picture
Set up consistent UTM tagging: Use the same naming convention across all campaigns
Track both goals and revenue: Measure both conversion events and monetary value
Regular reporting: Review attribution weekly to catch issues and optimize campaigns
Combine with other reports: Use Funnel and Journey reports to understand the complete user path

Attribution models are simplifications. No single model tells the complete story. Use multiple models and reports to inform decisions.

Overview

Report Types

Attribution Report

What is an Attribution Report?

Key Concepts

Attribution Model

Touchpoint

Conversion Event

Attribution Window

Attribution Models

First-Click (First-Touch) Attribution

Last-Click (Last-Touch) Attribution

Attribution Report Components

Setting Up Attribution Tracking

API Usage

Parameters

Response Format

Use Cases and Insights

Compare Marketing Channels

Calculate Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)

Measure Content Marketing Impact

Test Ad Variations

UTM Parameter Best Practices

Use Consistent Naming

Don't Use for Internal Links

Document Your Campaigns

Keep It Simple

UTM Naming Convention Example

Common Attribution Patterns

Troubleshooting Attribution

Best Practices

Next Steps

UTM Tracking

Revenue Report

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Overview

Report Types

​What is an Attribution Report?

​Key Concepts

Attribution Model

Touchpoint

Conversion Event

Attribution Window

​Attribution Models

​First-Click (First-Touch) Attribution

​Last-Click (Last-Touch) Attribution

​Attribution Report Components

​Setting Up Attribution Tracking

​API Usage

​Parameters

​Response Format

​Use Cases and Insights

​Compare Marketing Channels

​Calculate Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)

​Measure Content Marketing Impact

​Test Ad Variations

​UTM Parameter Best Practices

Use Consistent Naming

Don't Use for Internal Links

Document Your Campaigns

Keep It Simple

​UTM Naming Convention Example

​Common Attribution Patterns

​Troubleshooting Attribution

​Best Practices

​Next Steps

UTM Tracking

Revenue Report

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

What is an Attribution Report?

Key Concepts

Attribution Models

First-Click (First-Touch) Attribution

Last-Click (Last-Touch) Attribution

Attribution Report Components

Setting Up Attribution Tracking

API Usage

Parameters

Response Format

Use Cases and Insights

Compare Marketing Channels

Calculate Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)

Measure Content Marketing Impact

Test Ad Variations

UTM Parameter Best Practices

UTM Naming Convention Example

Common Attribution Patterns

Troubleshooting Attribution

Best Practices

Next Steps