What is Mobile Attribution?
Mobile attribution is the process of determining which marketing touchpoint (ad, email, social post, referral link) led a user to install your app or take an action inside it.
Why attribution matters
Section titled “Why attribution matters”Without attribution, you cannot answer basic marketing questions:
- Which campaign drove the most installs last month?
- Which channel has the best click-to-install conversion rate?
- Is the referral program generating more valuable users than paid ads?
Attribution connects the dots between a click and the resulting install or in-app event, giving you the data to make these decisions.
How attribution works with deep links
Section titled “How attribution works with deep links”Tolinku tracks attribution automatically through deep links:
- A user clicks a Tolinku link with UTM parameters (e.g.
?utm_campaign=spring-sale&utm_source=email). - Tolinku records the click with all UTM parameters, device info, and geographic data.
- The user installs the app and opens it.
- The SDK claims the deferred deep link, connecting the install to the original click.
- Any subsequent in-app events tracked via the SDK are associated with the same source.
UTM parameters
Section titled “UTM parameters”Tolinku supports standard UTM parameters on all deep links:
| Parameter | Purpose | Example |
|---|---|---|
utm_campaign | Campaign name | spring-sale |
utm_source | Traffic source | email, twitter, facebook |
utm_medium | Marketing medium | newsletter, cpc, social |
utm_term | Paid search keyword | running-shoes |
utm_content | Ad variation or CTA | banner-a, hero-cta |
Add these as query parameters to your Tolinku links:
https://myapp.tolinku.com/product/123?utm_campaign=spring-sale&utm_source=emailThe UTM data flows into your analytics dashboard, where you can filter and compare campaigns.
Attribution models
Section titled “Attribution models”Last-click attribution
Section titled “Last-click attribution”Tolinku uses last-click attribution: the credit goes to the last link the user clicked before installing. This is the most straightforward model and matches what most teams expect.
Referral attribution
Section titled “Referral attribution”For referral programs, Tolinku attributes the install to the referrer whose link was clicked. This works through deferred deep linking, so the attribution survives the app store install flow.
Ecommerce revenue attribution
Section titled “Ecommerce revenue attribution”On paid plans, Tolinku extends attribution beyond clicks and installs to actual revenue. When a user who clicked a deep link later makes a purchase (tracked via the ecommerce SDK module), the revenue is attributed to the campaign that drove the click.
Tolinku supports three attribution models for revenue:
- Last Click: 100% of revenue credit goes to the last campaign the user clicked before purchasing.
- Linear: Revenue is split equally across all campaigns the user clicked within the attribution window.
- Time Decay: More recent clicks receive proportionally more credit, with older clicks decaying exponentially.
You can configure the attribution window (7, 14, 30, 60, or 90 days) and switch between models in the Attribution tab of the analytics dashboard. Revenue attribution requires setUserId() to be called in the SDK so that clicks and purchases can be linked to the same user.
Privacy considerations
Section titled “Privacy considerations”Tolinku’s attribution is based on first-party data (your own links, your own domains) rather than third-party tracking pixels or device identifiers like IDFA/GAID. This means:
- No dependency on Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) permission.
- No reliance on third-party cookies.
- Data stays within your Appspace.
Signal-based deferred deep linking uses probabilistic matching (IP, User-Agent, timezone, screen size) rather than device advertising identifiers. This data is transient and used only for matching, not stored long-term for profiling.
Viewing attribution data in Tolinku
Section titled “Viewing attribution data in Tolinku”- Analytics dashboard. The overview shows total clicks, installs, and conversion rate. Filter by date range.
- Campaign breakdown. The campaigns view shows clicks and installs per UTM campaign.
- Geographic breakdown. See where your clicks are coming from by country.
- CSV export. Export all events with full UTM data for analysis in external tools.
- API. Query attribution data programmatically via the Analytics API.