False Mobile Attributions: What Are They and How to Avoid Them

Would you like less users churning from your app and improved ROI from ad campaigns? Then you need to take advantage of mobile
attribution.

It is the process of tracking how users interact and engage with your app. This data is then used to improve the user experience, features, and cost-efficiency of mobile campaigns.

As a matter of fact, it increases campaign performance up to 15-30%!

Don’t you want results like that?

More and more businesses are taking advantage of mobile attribution for
exactly these reasons. That’s great and all, too, but there’s a new problem to take care of as a result of this trend: false attributions.

Every company that runs mobile attribution campaigns needs to know what these are they can be costing you serious money and user churn.

Don’t know what false attributions are or how to avoid them? No problem, because today we’ll be teaching you everything you need to know if you keep reading.

What are false attributions in mobile marketing?

False attributions are errors in mobile marketing when data conflicts between platforms and users. This causes campaigns to attribute users to the incorrect step or app because of the wrong information being picked up.

These incorrect attributions hurt the user experience because the customer isn’t being forwarded to where they wish to be. Furthermore, poor attribution costs advertisers more dollars and can cause damage if false data is taken as truth and used for marketing.

Reasons for false attributions

There are several reasons why false attributions can occur, to begin with.

Understanding them will ensure that your company deters them before they happen, preventing damage to campaigns and the user experience.

Here are some of the main causes to be aware of.

Lack of IP uniqueness when fingerprinting

While fingerprinting offers many benefits for the mobile attribution process, not measuring each individual IP address can cause serious problems.

This normally manifests as fingerprinting losing accuracy as it interprets hundreds to thousands of IP’s as the same. Users sharing IP’s can then be falsely attributed like such:

Think about public WiFi, for example. Users at airports or coffee shops downloading your app could easily be mistaken as the same individuals and attributed incorrectly like above.

Double attribution

Do you use multiple different ad networks to run mobile campaigns? If so, you are very likely to become a victim of double attribution.

This is when two different platforms don’t integrate with one another, so they aren’t aware if the other attributes a user. The result is both of them
performing the same action, wasting ad budgets.

Biased attribution

When you work with an analytics company, they are usually either full-stack or strictly focused on attribution. The first type of company deals with everything from media buying to attribution and measuring campaigns. The second simply helps you set up mobile attribution campaigns and self-serve tools.

Biased attribution can occur when full-stack companies gear towards a certain type of media or advertising based on their strategies and history.

Fraudulent installs

The total cost of ad fraud is expected to reach $87 billion by 2022.
While security measurements, processes, and tools are becoming more advanced, there are always a few blackhats who slip through the cracks.

Since mobile attribution is normally based on CPI, or cost per install, fraud is possible when criminals use bots to mimic human and fake installations.

Similarly, there are fake installs that are done through
the equivalent of cookie stuffing. Fraudsters are able to misappropriate
attributions through spoofed clicks and redirects with this method.

Working with trusted ad networks and marketing platforms is a top-down approach your company can take to avoid these problems altogether. Additionally, it’s wise to have fraud specialists available for both prevention and resolving any issues you experience.

Incorrect data from platforms

Discrepancies between platforms and tools used for mobile attribution is another culprit for false attributions.

This is because they can contain conflicting data which is sometimes as simple as timezone differences. Data in one period can spill over into another, causing campaigns to attribute incorrectly.

If you outsource your campaigns, ensure the mobile
PPC agency you work with has steps in place to avoid this.

Final thoughts on false attributions

Mobile attribution helps businesses keep more users on their apps and improve the ROI of campaigns, but false attributions have to watched closely to avoid pitfalls.

False attributions are commonly caused by a lack of IP uniqueness, meaning each IP address isn’t fingerprinted individually. Many users are grouped up and attributed similarly as a result.

Double attribution is caused when multiple ad networks or platforms are used and not integrated with one another. This causes multiple clicks for the same action to be recorded and taken out of the budget. Additionally, incorrect data such as time spillovers can occur.

Lastly, you should only use major trusted networks to avoid fraudulent activities or biased attributions based on their own media.

Be aware of these false attribution causes and you can look forward to mobile campaigns performing consistently over the long term!