Affiliate attribution refers to the process of identifying and crediting the affiliate partner responsible for driving a specific customer action, such as a lead, sign-up or sale. This process ensures that affiliates are fairly compensated for their contributions and helps businesses understand which partners are most effective.

Accurate affiliate attribution is critical for optimizing partner programs and maximizing ROI. For example, a SaaS company might use a multi-touch attribution model to determine which affiliate partner influenced a customer’s decision at each stage of the buyer’s journey.