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Attribution is the science of matching two data points to each other. At Adjust, we match your app users to the source that drove their install. You can use this attribution data to measure campaign performance, run effective retargeting campaigns, optimize your creative assets, and more.
Users can interact with ads in two ways: by clicking and tapping on them, or by viewing them. An ad view is called an impression, and it is counted whenever an ad is displayed within view on a user's screen. By matching these ad interactions to installs, marketers can measure the effectiveness of their campaigns at driving conversions and calculate the returns from them.
Here's what the attribution flow looks like:
A user interacts with an ad.
The ad network serving the ad captures the engagement data and gives the user a unique ID.
The user downloads the app from the app store.
The user opens the app.
The Adjust SDK initializes, and requests ad engagement data from the network.
Using engagement data from the network and install data, Adjust uses its attribution logic to determine the source of install.
In some instances, a user may install the app and be attributed to a source, but become inactive after a period. They then become eligible for reattribution, which is when they return to the app after engaging with a new ad.
An assist is an ad engagement which occured within the attribution window, but was not awarded the attribution. Visiblity into your assists can help to define which channels are supporting your installs, even if they are not driving the conversion.
Learn more about how Adjust can help you with assists reporting using the Assists dashboard.
Install
An install takes place after a user downloads an app and opens it for the first time. Keep in mind, if a user downloads an app and never opens it, Adjust will not count an install.
Attribution methods
The attribution method refers to the logic used to perform attribution. Adjust uses several attribution methods depending on the type and quality of user engagement.
Attribution source
The attribution source refers to the engagement that Adjust attributes to converting a user to install or re-engage with your app. Another term for attribution source might be acquisition source.
There are typically two types of attribution source: engagements that result from a marketing campaign, and those that do not. For engagements generated by a campaign, we refer to paid users, otherwise we say organic users. (Organic engagements are still considered an attribution source even though they are technically not attributed).
Attribution window
An attribution window determines how long a click or impression is eligible for attribution. You can customize your attribution window at the app-level and the link-level.
Self-attribution
Self-attributing networks like Meta, TikTok, Google Ads, and X (formerly Twitter) let Adjust measure your campaigns without a link URL. They receive all of your installs from Adjust and then self-attribute using their own engagement data. For example, if someone views an Instagram ad before downloading your app, Instagram will attribute that install to their ad.
We consider all self-attributions and engagements that Adjust measured before attributing installs in Adjust.
Reattribution
Reattribution is when an inactive user engages with a retargeting campaign, returns to your app, and gets assigned a new attribution source in Adjust.
New user
New users are people downloading and installing an app to their device for the first time.
Existing user
Existing users are people who already have the app on their device.
Organic
An install is attributed as Organic if the download occurs without any recognized engagement with a paid or owned media campaign.
