Channel Attribution

import { Aside } from ‘@astrojs/starlight/components’;

analyze.swiss automatically classifies traffic into marketing channels, helping you understand where your visitors come from and which channels drive the most value.

Default Channel Classification

Every visitor is automatically classified into one of these channels:

Channel	Description	Example Sources
Direct	No referrer or direct URL entry	Bookmarks, typed URLs
Organic Search	Search engines (non-paid)	Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo
Paid Search	Paid search ads	Google Ads, Bing Ads
Social	Social media (organic)	Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook
Paid Social	Social media (paid)	Facebook Ads, LinkedIn Ads
Email	Email campaigns	Newsletters, transactional
Referral	Other websites	Partner links, blogs
Display	Display advertising	Banner ads, remarketing
Affiliate	Affiliate programs	Partner referrals
Other	Unclassified traffic	Unknown sources

How Classification Works

analyze.swiss uses multiple signals to classify traffic:

1. UTM Parameters (Highest Priority)

https://yoursite.com?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=spring

Parameter	Used For
utm_source	Traffic source (google, facebook, newsletter)
utm_medium	Marketing medium (cpc, email, social, banner)
utm_campaign	Campaign name
utm_content	Ad variation
utm_term	Paid search keyword

2. Referrer Analysis

If no UTM parameters are present, we analyze the referring URL:

Referrer: https://www.google.com/search?q=analytics
→ Channel: Organic Search
→ Source: Google

3. Click IDs

We detect ad platform click IDs:

Click ID	Platform
gclid	Google Ads
fbclid	Facebook/Meta
msclkid	Microsoft Ads
li_fat_id	LinkedIn Ads
ttclid	TikTok Ads

Channel Definitions

Organic Search

Detected when:

• Referrer contains known search engines
• No paid indicators (gclid, etc.)

Search engines detected:

• Google, Bing, Yahoo, DuckDuckGo
• Baidu, Yandex, Ecosia
• And 50+ more

Paid Search

Detected when:

• utm_medium = cpc, ppc, paid-search, paidsearch
• Or gclid, msclkid present
• Or referrer is Google/Bing with ad indicators

Social (Organic)

Detected when:

• Referrer from social networks
• utm_medium = social, organic-social

Networks detected:

• Facebook, Twitter/X, LinkedIn
• Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest
• Reddit, YouTube, and more

Paid Social

Detected when:

• utm_medium = paid-social, paidsocial, social-paid
• Or fbclid, li_fat_id with ad indicators
• Or utm_source = facebook, instagram with utm_medium = cpc

Email

Detected when:

• utm_medium = email, e-mail, newsletter
• Or utm_source = mailchimp, hubspot, sendgrid, etc.

Referral

Detected when:

• Has referrer from external domain
• Not classified as search or social

Direct

Detected when:

• No referrer present
• No UTM parameters
• Or referrer is the same domain (internal)

Attribution Models

analyze.swiss supports multiple attribution models:

First Touch

100% credit to the first touchpoint that brought the user.

Visit 1: Google Ads → Browse
Visit 2: Email → Browse
Visit 3: Direct → Convert

Credit: Google Ads = 100%

Last Touch

100% credit to the last touchpoint before conversion.

Visit 1: Google Ads → Browse
Visit 2: Email → Browse
Visit 3: Direct → Convert

Credit: Direct = 100%

Linear

Equal credit across all touchpoints.

Visit 1: Google Ads → Browse
Visit 2: Email → Browse
Visit 3: Direct → Convert

Credit: Google Ads = 33%, Email = 33%, Direct = 33%

Time Decay

More credit to touchpoints closer to conversion.

Visit 1: Google Ads → Browse (7 days ago)
Visit 2: Email → Browse (2 days ago)
Visit 3: Direct → Convert (today)

Credit: Google Ads = 15%, Email = 30%, Direct = 55%

Position Based (U-Shaped)

40% to first, 40% to last, 20% distributed to middle.

Visit 1: Google Ads → Browse
Visit 2: Email → Browse
Visit 3: Organic → Browse
Visit 4: Direct → Convert

Credit: Google Ads = 40%, Email = 10%, Organic = 10%, Direct = 40%

Setting Attribution Window

The attribution window defines how far back to look for touchpoints:

// Via SDK
analyze.track('$conversion', {
  attribution_window_days: 30
});

Or set workspace-wide in Settings → Attribution.

Window	Best For
7 days	Impulse purchases, short sales cycles
30 days	SaaS, B2C products
90 days	B2B, enterprise sales

Viewing Attribution Reports

1. Go to Attribution in the dashboard
2. Select your conversion event (e.g., $signup, $purchase)
3. Choose attribution model
4. Analyze channel contribution

Compare different attribution models to understand the full picture. First-touch shows awareness drivers, last-touch shows closers.

Custom Channel Mapping

Override default classification for specific sources:

// Mark specific referrer as Partner
analyze.set({
  channel_override: 'Partner'
});

Or configure in Settings → Channels.

Next Steps

• Paid Ads Attribution – Connect ad platforms
• Content Attribution – Track content performance
• UTM Parameters – Best practices