> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.hockeystack.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.hockeystack.com/marketing-intelligence/report-examples-and-insights/attribution/what-touchpoints-get-credit-in-attribution.md).

# What touchpoints get credit in attribution?

An attribution report assigns credit for a KPI to certain engagements along the customer journey.

There are tens of thousands of actions recorded by HockeyStack for each company. Therefore we have to have a way of filtering to the exact engagements we want to receive credit. **Attribution touchpoints** are the engagements along the customer journey selected for credit distribution towards a KPI.

To give an example, see the below table for actions that a company has recorded. The actions written in **bold text** are ones that a HockeyStack user might want to keep. The actions written in regular text are ones that a HockeyStack user might want to filter out.  The action at the end is our KPI.

| Timestamp               | Action Name                     |
| ----------------------- | ------------------------------- |
| 2024-04-06 09:21:30     | Marketing Email Sent            |
| **2024-04-05 09:15:32** | **Website Session Started**     |
| 2024-04-05 09:16:05     | Scrolled down on webpage        |
| 2024-04-05 09:16:45     | Website Session Ended           |
| 2024-04-05 10:00:30     | Outbound Email Sent             |
| **2024-04-06 09:23:13** | **Marketing Email Clicked**     |
| 2024-04-07 07:07:00     | Tradeshow Invited               |
| **2024-04-07 10:27:50** | **Tradeshow Attended**          |
| 2024-04-08 11:00:00     | Deal Created (Pipeline) - $100k |

Looking at the above journey, we need to distribute $100k in total credit into actions along the journey.

If we weren’t filtering out touchpoints, the credit distribution would be:

| Action Name                     |                   |
| ------------------------------- | ----------------- |
| Marketing Email Sent            | $12.5k            |
| **Website Session Started**     | $12.5k            |
| Scrolled down on webpage        | $12.5k            |
| Website Session Ended           | $12.5k            |
| Outbound Email Sent             | $12.5k            |
| **Marketing Email Clicked**     | $12.5k            |
| Tradeshow Invited               | $12.5k            |
| **Tradeshow Attended**          | $12.5k            |
| Deal Created (Pipeline) - $100k | → This is our KPI |

But it doesn’t make sense for a “scroll down” action to be attributed $12.5k, so we instead want the below distribution:

| Action Name                     |                   |
| ------------------------------- | ----------------- |
| Marketing Email Sent            | 0                 |
| **Website Session Started**     | $33.3k            |
| Scrolled down on webpage        | 0                 |
| Website Session Ended           | 0                 |
| Outbound Email Sent             | 0                 |
| **Marketing Email Clicked**     | $33.3k            |
| Tradeshow Invited               | 0                 |
| **Tradeshow Attended**          | $33.3k            |
| Deal Created (Pipeline) - $100k | → This is our KPI |

HockeyStack does this filtering using the “**attribute by**” option in reports.

**If the property that is selected as the "attribute by" is not empty *****and***** the action it is tied to has a timestamp that is before the timestamp of the KPI chosen for attribution, then that property is** **used as an attribution touchpoint.**

If your attribute by does not have an associated timestamp, it won’t be usable in attribution. Examples include company properties & user properties. For example, many HockeyStack users try to use Lead Source in their breakdown using an attribution model. This doesn’t make sense because Lead Source is not attached to any timestamp, and does not exist on the customer journey — it’s just a property.


---

# Agent Instructions
This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com.

## Querying This Documentation
If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.hockeystack.com/marketing-intelligence/report-examples-and-insights/attribution/what-touchpoints-get-credit-in-attribution.md?ask=<question>&goal=<endgoal>
```

`ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
`goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal.

The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.