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The Madison Avenue Field GuideA field guide to marketing & advertising, by Brandon Mina

GlossaryMeasurement & AttributionMulti-Touch Attribution (MTA)

Measurement & Attribution

Multi-Touch Attribution (MTA)

Attribution that distributes conversion credit across multiple touchpoints in a journey.

By Brandon MinaCEO, BrandPilot AIUpdated November 2026

Appears in Lesson 8 of Programmatic 101

Short answer

Multi-touch attribution (MTA) is a measurement approach that distributes credit for a conversion across the multiple marketing touchpoints a person encountered along the way. Models range from rules such as linear or time decay to algorithmic approaches. MTA depends on user-level tracking, so cookie loss and privacy restrictions have reduced its coverage and accuracy.