Quick answer: Affiliate attribution is how a program decides which affiliate gets credit, and commission, for a customer. The most common rule is last click: the final affiliate link clicked before the conversion gets all of it. Other models share credit across several touches. The model and the time window decide who is paid.
I'm Rihards, founder of Seven Affiliates, and I've spent five years in iGaming. Attribution is the answer to a question affiliates rarely ask until the day it costs them: "why didn't I get paid for that player?"
Think of a football goal. [Celebrates wildly. Was in the stands.] One player scores, but somebody passed it to them, and somebody won the ball in the first place. Attribution is the rule for who gets their name on the scoresheet, and in affiliate marketing the scoresheet is the payslip.
The attribution models at a glance
| Model | Who gets the credit | Favours |
|---|---|---|
| Last click | The final link clicked before converting | Whoever is closest to the decision |
| First click | The link that introduced the customer | Whoever starts the journey |
| Position-based | Mostly first and last, some to the middle | Openers and closers |
| Time-decay | More to recent touches, some to early ones | Later touches, gently |
| Data-driven | Split by measured contribution | Whoever the data says helped |
Model descriptions follow ReferralCandy and We Can Track. The "favours" column is my reading.
What is affiliate attribution?
PartnerStack defines it as "the process of identifying and crediting the affiliate partner responsible for driving a specific customer action, such as a lead, sign-up or sale" (PartnerStack).
Google's general definition is wider: "Attribution is the act of assigning credit for important user actions to different ads, clicks, and factors along the user's path to completing the action" (Google Analytics Help).
The important word in both is "credit". Tracking records what happened. Attribution decides who it counts for. You can have perfect tracking and still not be paid, because the click was recorded and the rule gave the credit to someone else.
What is last click attribution?
The rule that the last link wins. We Can Track describes it: "the most common model is last-click attribution, where the final affiliate link clicked before purchase receives 100% of the credit."
Why is it so common? The same source says it's "the easiest kind to use". There's one click to find and one partner to pay, so there's nothing to argue about. Well, nothing for the program to argue about.
We Can Track's own criticism is that last click "leaves out the prior communication sessions that may have played a crucial role in the customer's choice". That's a polite way of describing Affiliate A's afternoon.
What are the alternatives to last click?
First click, and models that share. First click flips the rule and credits whoever introduced the customer. ReferralCandy sums up the shared versions: "Multi-touch attribution splits credit across the journey."
| Model | How ReferralCandy describes it |
|---|---|
| Position-based | "Heavier weight to first and last, with the remainder shared among middle touches" |
| Time-decay | "More weight to recent touches while still rewarding early influence" |
| Data-driven | Credit "based on measured contribution" |
Shared models sound fairer, and the same source lists why programs hesitate: data-driven attribution "Needs more volume and cleaner data to be trustworthy" and is "Harder to explain to newer partners". Fair and simple pull in opposite directions.
Google describes its data-driven model as one that "distributes credit for the key event based on data for each key event". That's the video referee of attribution. [Draws a rectangle in the air.] More accurate, slower, and nobody in the stadium fully understands the decision.
What is an attribution window?
The time limit on a click. The ad network PropellerAds defines it as "the timeframe during which a given touchpoint can be credited for a conversion" (PropellerAds).
Its illustration: "if your window is 7 days, then any click within that 7-day span prior to conversion may be eligible for credit". A player who clicks your link today and registers on day eight isn't yours under that window, however good your review was.
| Window length | Effect | Suits |
|---|---|---|
| Short | Only recent clicks count | Quick decisions |
| Long | Older clicks still count | Slow, considered decisions |
| Unknown | You can't tell which of your clicks are still live | Nobody |
The third row is the one to avoid. It's easy to know your commission rate to the decimal and have no idea how long your clicks last. Browsers can shorten it further, since some limit how long tracking cookies survive.
What does attribution mean for iGaming affiliates?
It decides which kind of site gets paid. Under last click, the page nearest the sign-up wins. This is my reading of how the rule plays out, not a published study.
| Type of affiliate | Where they sit in the journey | Under last click |
|---|---|---|
| Guides and explainers | Early: the player is learning | Often lose the credit |
| Reviews and comparisons | Middle to late: the player is choosing | Win when they're the final stop |
| Bonus and offer pages | Late: the player has decided | Often win the credit |
| Brand-name ads | Last: the player typed the brand | Would win nearly every time |
The last row explains a rule that puzzles new affiliates. Someone who searches for a brand by name has already chosen it. An ad on that search adds one more click right at the end and collects the whole commission under last click.
That's taking credit for a goal by standing on the line and touching the ball as it rolls in. It's why programs restrict it, and our brand bidding guide has the detail.
What can you do about attribution?
You can't choose the model. You can find out what it is and build for it. Most of the damage comes from not knowing the rules of the game you're in.
| Do this | Because |
|---|---|
| Ask which attribution model the offer uses | It tells you which pages can earn |
| Ask how long the attribution window is | It tells you how long a click is worth something |
| Give early-stage pages a path to a decision page | So your guide hands over to your own comparison |
| Use sub IDs on every link | So you can see which page was the last click |
| Build an audience you can reach again | A return visit through your link renews the click |
The third row is the practical one. If your guide introduces a player and your comparison page is where they decide, you made the pass and scored. Our guides to the affiliate funnel and email marketing cover how to keep the whole move on your side of the pitch.
Attribution at Seven Affiliates
Each offer in our network has its own terms, agreed privately with your account manager. So the honest answer to "which model and which window?" is to ask for the offer you're promoting, and get it in writing.
| Ask your account manager | Why |
|---|---|
| How is credit assigned on this offer? | It decides which of your pages can earn |
| How long does a click stay valid? | It sets your follow-up timing |
| Which event am I paid on? | CPA, RevShare and Hybrid count different things |
| Is brand bidding allowed? | Not by default, unless the specific offer explicitly allows it |
What we do publish: RevShare is calculated on NGR, 35% by default, with no negative carryover, and our dashboard tracks your traffic in real time. Our metrics guide covers what to watch there.
FAQ
What is affiliate attribution?
Affiliate attribution is the process of identifying and crediting the affiliate responsible for a customer action such as a sign-up or sale. It decides which affiliate is paid commission.
What is last click attribution?
Last click attribution gives all of the credit to the final affiliate link the customer clicked before converting. It is the most common model in affiliate marketing because it is the simplest to apply.
What is an attribution window?
An attribution window is the period after a click during which a conversion can still be credited to it. If the customer converts after the window ends, that click earns no credit.
Is last click attribution fair to affiliates?
It is simple and predictable, but it ignores earlier touches. Affiliates whose content introduces a customer can lose the credit to whoever supplies the final click.
What is the best attribution model for affiliate marketing?
There is no single best model. Last click is simple and common. Multi-touch and data-driven models share credit more evenly but need more data and are harder to explain.
Want to know the rules before you play? See how the Seven Affiliates iGaming affiliate program works, then apply here.