Table of Contents



Overview

Attribution is the process of determining whether a conversion was driven by exposure to an ad, and assigning credit to a given ad or ads. Two common types of attribution include last click attribution and last view attribution. The last click method attributes a conversion to the last ad that user clicked on, and the last view method attributes a conversion to the last ad that user viewed. Beeswax uses a combination of last click and last view attribution in reporting.

Attribution

When a conversion event occurs:

There is no need to associate a conversion event to a specific line item, as conversions are attributed at the advertiser, campaign, or line item level. A conversion event can be linked to a click or impression from any line item within the advertiser.

  1. In a desktop or mobile web environment, Beeswax captures the user_id on the conversion event via the Beeswax cookie ID found in the header of the http call to Beeswax. In mobile apps, Beeswax receives the auction_id or device_id in the postback call.

  2. Within the event's lookback window, Beeswax searches the advertiser's impression logs to find a matching click. For desktop and mobile web, it looks for a matching user_id. For mobile apps, it searches for either a matching auction_id or device_id.

  3. If matching clicks are found, the conversion is attributed to the most recent matching click within the event’s lookback window.

  4. If no matching click is found within the lookback window, but matching impressions exist, the conversion is attributed to the most recent matching impression within the event’s lookback window.

Lookback Windows

A lookback window is the time period during which an ad impression can be credited for a conversion. It's important to note that there are separate lookback windows for clicks and views. For example, if the click lookback window is set to 30 days and the view lookback window is set to 30 days, a user must complete a conversion within 30 days of either clicking or viewing an ad for the conversion to be counted. If the user clicks or views the ad and converts after 31 days, the conversion falls outside the respective lookback window and will not be attributed to that ad impression.

Custom Attribution

Beeswax offers both real-time and batch log data to implement an attribution model using raw event data. Attribution requires both win logs and conversion logs. Win logs provide impression details, including auction_id and user_id, while conversion logs capture all raw events, including user_id for desktop conversions and auction_id or device ID for postbacks. Conversion logs can be delivered in near real time or in batches, while win logs are always batched but delivered in near real time. Conversion logs can be delivered in near real time or batched, while win logs are always batched but delivered in near real time.

Auction_ID is only included in conversion logs for postbacks when the attribution provider has attributed a conversion to a specific auction_ID.

To enable win and/or conversion logs, please reach out to your Beeswax Account Representative.