Field notes
When last-click still helps — and when multi-touch should lead
A practical guide for campaign managers deciding whether last-click tables belong in the same pack as multi-touch attribution views.
Last-click remains useful when you need a simple operational scoreboard for search teams who bid close to conversion. It is a weak sole source of truth for brand and mid-funnel programs.
Multi-touch models distribute credit across the path. Position-based models, for example, weight first and last touch more heavily — a compromise many Bangkok retail advertisers find easier to brief than fully algorithmic scores.
We often keep last-click as an appendix table, not the lead narrative. The lead narrative should match how the brand actually acquires customers: short paths favor last-click; longer consideration journeys need multi-touch.
Whatever you choose, avoid mixing model outputs in one column without labeling. Campaign managers lose trust when numbers jump without a model footnote.
If your analytics export cannot support path-level data, say so early. A clean last-click brief beats a speculative multi-touch story built on incomplete paths.