Lead source attribution assigns an inquiry or outcome to the channel, campaign, or referral that contributed to it. A home service operator may distinguish a paid-search lead, a directory inquiry, or an existing-customer referral. Attribution needs a stated rule because the first interaction, last interaction, and conversion channel can be different.
What is lead source attribution?
It is recording and applying a rule for where a lead or outcome came from. For a contractor, a website form might follow an advertisement, while a later call completes intake. Preserve those events instead of overwriting the source with whichever channel was used last.
How do first-touch and last-touch attribution differ?
First-touch attribution assigns credit to the earliest recorded qualifying interaction. Last-touch attribution assigns it to the latest qualifying interaction before the chosen outcome. Both can be useful, but their results are not directly interchangeable without the model and event definitions.
Does a booking phone number identify the original marketing source?
It may provide source information when call tracking and routing are configured for that purpose. It does not automatically reveal earlier visits or referrals. Combine available evidence and label unknown sources rather than infer a campaign from the caller's area code.
How should duplicate leads affect attribution?
Link repeated interactions to the same underlying inquiry while preserving their timestamps and sources. Decide how merged records receive attribution under the model. Count one actual opportunity once in unique-lead reporting even when it used several channels.
What should attribution quality reviews check?
Look for missing sources, overwritten campaign fields, duplicated outcomes, and bookings that cannot be linked to a lead. Reconcile a sample with call, form, and job records. Unknown attribution is more honest than assigning an unsupported source to make every row complete.
Related terms: HVAC Lead Generation, Lead Deduplication, Cost per Booked Job