Most players in the app marketing ecosystem have a very clear ROI model in place, but they launch campaigns without investing much time in defining attribution settings. They usually attribute conversions following the last impression or last click model, with some small variations regarding the attribution window.

So, what is the mistake many advertisers make? Trusting the attributed results without question. The problem also arises when those results are distorted and do not really show which partners or which actions are generating value and bringing in new users.

Current attribution models used by app tracking partners can be misleading because when you attribute to the last impression or the last click, you create an incentive for advertising players to serve as many impressions as possible or to generate as many clicks as possible. They can buy cheap and low-profile creative formats and low quality inventory, simply to increase their chances of getting conversions attributed to them. Some players might even go a step further and use illegal tactics such as forced clicks, click spamming, click flooding or anything that will make them appear as offering a fantastic ROI in the reporting tool.