Title: How conversions are attributed
Author: bethurban
Published: June 9, 2025
Last modified: November 6, 2025

---

 1. [User handbook](https://docs.parse.ly/user-handbook/)
 2. [The Parse.ly Dashboard](https://docs.parse.ly/user-handbook/dashboard/)
 3. [Optimization menu](https://docs.parse.ly/user-handbook/dashboard/optimization-menu/)
 4. [Conversions page](https://docs.parse.ly/user-handbook/dashboard/optimization-menu/conversions-tab/)
 5. How conversions are attributed

#  How conversions are attributed

Parse.ly has four models when crediting content for a conversion: First Touch, Linear,
Last Post Touched, and Last Touch. Each of these is an attribution option when [filtering by conversions](https://docs.parse.ly/dashboard/conversions-tab/filtering/).

![Conversion attributions can be adjusted when filtering the Dashboard.](https://
docs.parse.ly/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2025/05/Attributions.png)

Conversion attributions can be adjusted when filtering the Dashboard.

Each model reveals a unique insight — here are a few examples, with more details
on each below:

 * **First Touch:** This is where the journey to conversion begins. This might be
   a homepage, a landing page where a [campaign](https://docs.parse.ly/dashboard/campaigns-tab/)
   directed readers, or viral or evergreen content.
 * **Linear:** This shows all of the pages within the conversion journey, including
   pages captured by the other attribution models. There may be overlap with the
   other models, but you will also be able to identify influential content in the
   middle of conversion journeys.
 * **Last Post Touched:** This can show the posts read before a conversion (or transaction)
   takes place on a non-post page, like a shopping cart or a form.
 * **Last Touch:** This is where the conversion actually happens. In many cases,
   it could be a purely transactional page, like a landing page listing newsletters
   to check off. In others, it’s a post page with a newsletter popup.

## First Touch

First Touch gives 100 percent of the credit to the page that was first seen in the
30 days before the conversion occurred.

This allows you to see what pages were responsible for first bringing converting
visitors to your site.

![](https://docs.parse.ly/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2022/07/webinar-attribution-
first.png "The first touch attribution model")

An example of First Touch conversion credit.

In the example above, a visitor viewed six pages over two sessions and converted
on the last page:

 * The page “10 Interview Questions You Should Be Asking” and its author, section,
   and tags get credit for conversion.
 * The other visted pages and their associated metadata don’t get any conversion
   credit.

## Linear

Linear attribution divides credit equally among every page viewed within 30 days
of the conversion event, including the page where conversion occurred. This allows
you to see which pages contributed to a conversion.

![](https://docs.parse.ly/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2022/07/webinar-attribution-
linear.png "The linear attribution model")

An example of Linear conversion attribution.

In the example above, a visitor viewed six pages over two sessions and converted
on the last page:

 * All six pages and their associated authors, tags, and sections get credit for
   1/6 (0.17) of a single conversion. This means that conversions using Linear attribution
   often appear as decimals (e.g., one page may have 10.8 conversions).

## Last Post Touched

Last Post Touched attribution gives 100 percent of the credit to the last **post**
seen before conversion occurred. This attribution model is particularly useful for
seeing the last “meaningful” page a visitor looked at before purchasing something.

**Note**

The Last Post Touched attribution is dependent on transactional pages (order confirmation
pages, shopping cart pages, newsletter sign-up pages, etc.) being set as **non-posts**
and “meaningful content” (blog posts, landing pages, articles, etc.) being set as**
posts**. This can be adjusted in the [page type metadata](https://docs.parse.ly/metadata/)
provided to Parse.ly.

The example below demonstrates the difference between the Last Post Touched and 
Last Touch attributions:

![An example of the difference between Last Post Touched and Last Touch.](https://
docs.parse.ly/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2025/05/Last-Post-Touched.png?w=1024)

An example of the difference between Last Post Touched and Last Touch.

In this example, the conversion occurred at the visitor’s final destination during
their second session on March 4 — on a **non-post** (a confirmation page). The last**
post** they saw was several destinations prior (“Article 4”).

With the Last Post Touch attribution applied:

 * “Article 4” and its author, section, and tags get credit for the conversion. 
   This is because Article 4 is the the last **post** seen before the visitor passed
   through several **non-post** pages to convert.
 * Any other visited pages and their associated metadata don’t get any conversion
   credit.

## Last Touch

Last Touch attribution gives 100 percent of the credit to the page where conversion
occurred:

![An example of Last Touch conversion credit.](https://docs-admin-wpvip-com-staging-
content.go-vip.net/docs-parsely/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2022/07/webinar-attribution-
last.png "The last touch attribution model")

An example of Last Touch conversion attribution.

In the example above, a visitor viewed six pages over two sessions and converted
on the last page:

 * The page “5 Free Accounting Tools to Get You Started” and its author, section,
   and tags get credit for the conversion.
 * The other pages visited and their associated metadata don’t get any conversion
   credit.

## Attribution window

How far back does conversion attribution go? Using the [Linear attribution model](https://docs.parse.ly/user-handbook/dashboard/optimization-menu/conversions-tab/attribution?output_format=md#linear),
Parse.ly can give credit to pages that were viewed during the 30 days leading up
to conversion.

For instance, a visitor comes to your site in three sessions. During the last session,
they make a purchase.

 1. 31 days ago: Visits pages A and B.
 2. 30 days ago: Visits pages C and D.
 3. Today: Visits pages E, F, and G. Makes a purchase on page G.

With Linear attribution, pages C, D, E, F, and G split credit for the conversion
on page G.

## Multiple conversions by the same visitor in 30 days

A visitor may complete multiple conversions within the same 30-day attribution period,
such as signing up for a webinar (Lead Capture) and buying a ticket to an event (
Purchase):

![An example of multiple conversions by a user.](https://docs.parse.ly/wp-content/
uploads/sites/5/2025/05/image3.png "A visualization of multiple conversions")

An example of multiple conversions by a visitor.

In the example above, during the same 30-day period, the visitor visited six pages
and converted on the fourth (D) and sixth page (F). With [Linear attribution](https://docs.parse.ly/user-handbook/dashboard/optimization-menu/conversions-tab/attribution?output_format=md#h-linear):

 * Pages A, B, C, and D split credit for the conversion on page D.
 * Pages A, B, C, D, E, and F split credit for the conversion on page F.

Last updated: November 06, 2025