linear attribution
Also called: linear attribution model, linear multi-touch attribution
Linear attribution is a measurement model that gives every touchpoint in a conversion path equal credit. If four channels touched one sale, each gets 25%. Google retired it from GA4 and Google Ads in 2023, leaving data-driven and last-click, but you can still apply it in spreadsheets and BI tools.
Linear sits between the two extremes of attribution. Last-click hands 100% of the credit to the final touch; first-click hands it all to the opener. Linear refuses to pick a winner and splits credit evenly. For a path of Organic Search then Email then Direct, each channel earns one-third.
That even split is linear’s whole pitch and its whole weakness. It credits the assisting channels that last-click ignores, so organic search (which often starts or nurtures a journey rather than closing it) stops looking worthless. The trade-off: it also values a throwaway touch exactly the same as a decisive one.
Currency note: it left Google’s platforms
Google removed linear, along with first-click, time-decay, and position-based, from GA4 (June 2023) and from Google Ads (complete by September 2023), citing under-3% adoption and the rise of data-driven attribution. Those two platforms now offer only data-driven and last-click.
Linear did not disappear, it moved. You can still compute it anywhere you control the logic:
credit_per_touch = conversion_value / number_of_touchesSpreadsheets, CRMs, BI dashboards, and marketing-mix models still run linear because it is transparent and easy to defend to stakeholders who distrust black-box scoring. It is a useful sanity check against data-driven output, not a rival to it.
How it affects your traffic
Under last-click, organic pages that open or assist journeys but rarely close them report as zero-value, which quietly starves your SEO work of budget and internal support. A linear lens re-credits those assist touches, and an SEO Audit is where you map which organic pages actually carry the funnel: top-of-funnel guides, comparison pages, branded landings. Since GA4 now only shows you data-driven or last-click, an audit is how you reconstruct the assist picture your reporting hides and defend the pages worth investing in.
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