The linear attribution model distributes equal credit across all touchpoints in a customer’s journey leading to a conversion. For instance, if a customer interacted with a display ad, then a social media post, and finally a paid search advertisement before making a purchase, each of these three touchpoints would receive 33.3% of the credit for the conversion.
This allocation method offers simplicity and a broad overview of channel effectiveness. It’s valuable for organizations beginning to understand the contributions of different marketing channels, particularly when granular data is limited. Historically, it served as an initial step in moving beyond the limitations of single-touch attribution models, providing a more balanced perspective.