Introducing Attribution Analytics: TikTok's first-party measurement solution

TikTok users don't just check TikTok, they watch TikTok. The immersive nature of TikTok content means users often see and take inspiration from ads but don't want to disrupt their browsing experience. Instead, they continue their browsing on TikTok and resume their purchase journey later. This means that not all conversions are captured through common measurement methods. According to a post-purchase survey, 79% of all conversions attributed to TikTok by users themselves were missing from last-click models.¹

To capture the holistic value driven by TikTok, we are excited to launch Attribution Analytics within TikTok Ads Manager to help advertisers measure the results of their TikTok advertising campaigns and gain deeper insight into users' behavior on TikTok.

Attribution Analytics is a first-party measurement solution that enables advertisers to understand the customer journey on TikTok—awareness, discovery and action — by providing a clearer view of the non-linear customers' path to purchase.

We will launch a series of features for Attribution Analytics. The first feature, included as part of this release, is Performance Comparison, a measurement tool that visualizes conversions across different time windows to help advertisers find an attribution strategy that works for their business.

Compare conversions from different attribution windows

With Performance Comparison, you can:

• Analyze and compare the number of events reported under different attribution windows for key actions like View Content, Add to Cart, Initiate Checkout, Purchase, and the impact on KPIs like cost per acquisition (CPA).

• Visualize the change in click-through and view-through conversions as well as your CPA across different combinations of click and view attribution windows.

• Gain insights beyond current attribution settings to determine future measurement strategy.

"Having visibility into extra click-through and view-through event data has made it easier to prove TikTok's value and scale our clients' campaigns. This tool has allowed them to look beyond a standard last-click window with more confidence."

Thomas Carter

Senior TikTok Strategist, Power Digital Marketing

4 ways to use the Performance Comparison tool

1. Finding an attribution window that works for your business

TikTok Ads Manager's default attribution windows (7-day click and 1-day view) do not always capture the true value driven by your marketing efforts, as the number of days a prospective buyer spends shopping for a product can vary by industry. (For example, it generally takes longer for someone to make a car purchase than a clothing purchase.)

Performance Comparison reveals the impact on key performance metrics when measured across different attribution windows, such as the number of conversions that occurred across a 7-day click-through window compared to a 28-day click-through window. This can help you decide the best window for your goals to maximize the value of your campaign.

2. Understanding the value of TikTok views in driving conversions

Performance Comparison can also help answer your questions about the effectiveness of TikTok views in driving view-based conversions. The tool offers both 1-day and 7-day view-through attribution (VTA) options to help you visually compare the impact of your ad on driving assisted conversions.

Moreover, the additional information captured from view-based conversions fuels our optimization system to learn more about what works or doesn't work toward your campaign goals. A TikTok-led study revealed that combining VTA and click-through attribution (CTA) models accelerates the campaign learning period by 113% across certain verticals.² As a result, advertisers observe lower fluctuations in ad spend, thus increasing performance stability, allowing them to scale more quickly.

3. Moving beyond last-click attribution methods

Click-based conversions alone cannot capture the true impact that TikTok has on your business. According to a conversion lift meta-study conducted by TikTok, click attribution undervalues TikTok conversions by 73%.³

Performance Comparison data helps to bridge that attribution gap by providing advertisers with granular insights into user behavior. This tool will show you the number of conversions that happen after seeing or clicking an ad, and how long it takes for these conversions to happen.

4. Onboarding new measurement solutions

Leverage the new insights discovered through the Performance Comparison tool to implement a holistic measurement strategy—one that helps you to capture the full impact of your TikTok ads. TikTok offers both first-party and third-party measurement solutions that enable you to build multiple sources of truth about your campaign performance.

For instance, you can use post-purchase surveys to hear directly from your customers how they discovered your brand or product. You can also use conversion lift studies to help you see the number of conversions that happened as a result of your campaign, or work with multi-touch attribution providers to quantify TikTok's performance using statistical approaches.

Advancing measurement transparency

TikTok is committed to continuously innovating our measurement solutions to give advertisers an objective and transparent view into their advertising investments. We will continue to develop Attribution Analytics to house multiple features, and support other campaign types including app, offline, shops and others, to give advertisers transparency into their ad impact.

Get started with Attribution Analytics to gain a clearer picture of your customer journey to fuel your business growth.

To read more about how TikTok views drive performance, read our blog Beyond the click: Understanding the impact of views on TikTok.

Sources:

1. TikTok Marketing Science Post-Purchase Analysis conducted by KnoCommerce, 2022

2. TikTok-AppsFlyer report, Video is on the rise: View-through attribution (VTA) insights for Southeast Asia

3. TikTok Data Science Conversion Lift meta-study, conducted in June 2023