Last-click attribution is the default because it's easy to implement, not because it's correct. Every marketing platform can track when someone clicked their thing right before converting. So every platform reports conversions based on last-click. It's the path of least resistance.
How Customers Actually Buy
Real customer journey: Saw Facebook ad (didn't click) → Searched your brand on Google a week later → Read three blog posts → Signed up for email list → Got nurture sequence → Visited pricing page → Converted via direct traffic. Last-click attribution says: Direct traffic drove this conversion.
Systematic Misattribution
Last-click creates predictable errors:
- Top-of-funnel channels get zero credit (Facebook looks ineffective).
- Bottom-of-funnel channels get all credit (Email looks amazing).
- Platforms optimize for final clicks instead of relationship building.
What Actually Matters
"The real insight isn't 'multi-touch attribution is better.' It's 'attribution accuracy is valuable enough to justify infrastructure investment at certain scales.'"
