Last-click attribution is a model that assigns 100% of the credit for a conversion to the last qualifying click before it. In affiliate programs, this means that if a customer clicks links from several affiliates, only the affiliate whose link was clicked most recently, within the cookie duration, earns the commission.
How it works
Each click on a tracking link is recorded with a timestamp. When a conversion arrives, the tracking system looks at the valid clicks for that user, identified by cookie or stored click ID, and credits the latest one. Earlier clicks receive nothing.
Programs sometimes add rules on top, for example letting the brand's own paid channels override affiliate clicks, or treating coupon-site clicks differently. Any such rules belong in the program terms so partners know how credit is assigned.
Example
Example: a 30-day window and a $40 CPA.
| Day | Event | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Customer clicks Affiliate A (review site) | Click recorded |
| 6 | Customer clicks Affiliate B (coupon site) | Click recorded, now the latest |
| 7 | Customer purchases | Affiliate B earns $40; Affiliate A earns $0 |
Why it matters
Last-click is widely used in affiliate tracking because it is simple, deterministic, and easy to audit: exactly one partner is paid per conversion. Its weakness is that it can over-reward partners close to checkout, such as coupon, cashback, and brand-keyword traffic, and under-reward content partners who introduced the customer.
Brands can balance this with different commission rates by partner type, restrictions on bidding for brand keywords, and clear attribution terms in the affiliate agreement. Affiliates should check those terms before investing in top-of-funnel content. MassPartner uses last-click attribution for its campaigns.
Related: cookie duration, click ID, S2S tracking.