Attribution
Apex captures multi-touch attribution data automatically — connecting ad clicks, UTM parameters, and referral sources to conversions. This lets you see not just which experiments win, but which channels drive the highest-quality traffic.
How Attribution Capture Works
The Apex tracking snippet captures attribution data on every page view. There's nothing extra to configure — once the snippet is installed, it starts collecting:
- UTM parameters from the URL (
utm_source,utm_medium,utm_campaign,utm_term,utm_content) - Click IDs from ad platforms (Google, Meta, LinkedIn, Microsoft)
- Referrer data from the browser (
document.referrer) - Landing page — the first page the visitor saw
All of this is stored against the visitor's anonymous ID, building a complete picture of how they arrived and what they did.
UTM Tracking
UTM parameters are the standard way to tag marketing links. Apex captures all five standard UTM fields:
| Parameter | Purpose | Example |
|---|---|---|
utm_source | Where the traffic came from | google, newsletter, linkedin |
utm_medium | The marketing medium | cpc, email, social, organic |
utm_campaign | The specific campaign | spring-launch, retarget-trial |
utm_term | The paid search keyword | growth analytics tool |
utm_content | Differentiates similar content | hero-cta, sidebar-link |
Tip
Be consistent with UTM naming. google and Google and GOOGLE will show up as three different sources. Pick a convention (lowercase is standard) and stick with it.
UTMs are captured from the URL on the visitor's first page load and persisted for the duration of their session. If a visitor arrives via ?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc, every subsequent conversion in that session is attributed to that source.
Click ID Tracking
Ad platforms append unique click IDs to destination URLs when someone clicks an ad. Apex captures these automatically:
| Click ID | Platform | Example |
|---|---|---|
gclid | Google Ads | ?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI... |
fbclid | Meta (Facebook/Instagram) | ?fbclid=IwAR3... |
li_fat_id | LinkedIn Ads | ?li_fat_id=a2b4c6... |
msclkid | Microsoft Ads (Bing) | ?msclkid=abc123... |
Click IDs are more precise than UTMs because they identify a specific ad click, not just a campaign. When you connect your ad platforms through connectors, Apex can match click IDs back to specific ads, ad groups, and campaigns — and pull in cost data to calculate return on ad spend.
Info
Click IDs and UTMs work together. A visitor might arrive with both gclid=abc and utm_campaign=spring-launch. Apex captures all of them, giving you both the precise click-level data and the human-readable campaign context.
First-Touch vs Multi-Touch
Attribution is rarely simple. A customer might discover you through a blog post, click a retargeting ad a week later, then convert after opening an email. Which channel gets the credit?
Apex supports two attribution models:
First-Touch Attribution
The first touchpoint gets 100% of the credit. This model answers: "What channel introduced this customer to us?"
- Best for understanding top-of-funnel performance
- Simple and easy to act on
- Undervalues nurture campaigns and retargeting
Multi-Touch Attribution
Credit is distributed across all touchpoints in the customer journey. Apex tracks every visit and its source, building a timeline:
- Organic search → blog post (first touch)
- Google Ads retarget → pricing page (second touch)
- Email campaign → signup page (conversion touch)
In a linear multi-touch model, each touchpoint gets equal credit. This gives a more complete picture of how channels work together.
Warning
Multi-touch attribution requires enough data to be meaningful. If most of your conversions happen in a single session, first-touch and multi-touch will look identical. Multi-touch shines when you have longer sales cycles with multiple visits.
Attribution Settings
Configure your attribution model from Settings > Attribution in the dashboard:
- Model: Choose between first-touch and multi-touch (linear)
- Lookback window: How far back to look for touchpoints (default: 30 days)
- Cross-device: Whether to attempt matching visitors across devices using email or login identity
Connecting Ad Spend to Conversions
When you connect ad platform connectors (Google Ads, Meta Ads, LinkedIn Ads), Apex pulls in campaign spend data. Combined with conversion tracking, this lets you calculate:
- Cost per conversion by channel, campaign, and ad group
- Return on ad spend (ROAS) — revenue generated per dollar spent
- Channel efficiency — which sources drive conversions at the lowest cost
This closes the loop between "how much did we spend?" and "what did we get?" — without manual spreadsheet wrangling.
How It Flows Together
The complete attribution flow:
- Visitor clicks an ad or link with UTMs/click IDs
- Apex snippet captures the parameters on page load
- Visitor browses your site — Apex tracks the session
- Visitor converts (triggers a goal)
- Apex attributes the conversion to the traffic source(s)
- If a connector is linked, Apex matches click IDs to ad spend data
- Dashboard shows cost, conversions, and ROAS by channel
All of this happens automatically once the snippet and connectors are in place.
Best Practices
- Tag every marketing link with UTMs. Organic and direct traffic can't be attributed — tagged links can.
- Connect your ad platforms. Click ID matching is far more accurate than UTM-only attribution.
- Set a reasonable lookback window. 30 days works for most B2B SaaS. Shorten it for impulse-purchase products, lengthen it for enterprise sales.
- Review the attribution report weekly. Catch underperforming channels early, before you've spent a full month's budget on them.