Introduction to attribution
Attribution denotes whether a user installed your app organically or after watching one of your ads. If the user watched one of your ads, attribution also identifies which ad network displayed the ad.
To accurately report installs and campaign performance, you must obtain install postbacks called attribution links. The recommended best practice is to retrieve attribution links from an MMP. If you use a custom integration with your app’s server to generate links, Unity can only offer limited support for issues that arise in the integration process.
For detailed instructions on how to generate attribution links with your preferred attribution partner, refer to your MMP’s individual Partner integration documentation.
Note: To differentiate campaigns according to an iOS device's Limited Ad Tracking (LAT) setting, ensure that you choose an attribution partner that supports LAT.
Refer to Integrate attribution links with Unity for step-by-step instructions to integrate your attribution links in the User Acquisition dashboard.
App-level attribution links
If you create more than one campaign for an app, you can assign your attribution links as app-level links in the User Acquisition dashboard. App-level links automatically apply to all of your app’s associated campaigns.
By integrating your attribution links as app-level links, you can create multiple campaigns without individually entering individual attribution links for each campaign. You can also edit the links for all associated campaigns by editing just the app-level link. Refer to Integrate attribution links with Unity for step-by-step instructions for creating app-level links.
Important: If you set an attribution link as app-level, the campaigns associated with that app will inherit the app-level link.
Testing attribution links
Testing your attribution links is an important step in your campaign setup and partner integration, as successful attribution is critical for correct reporting and campaign performance data.
The Attribution Links Tester is a feature of Unity’s Ad Testing app, which you can download from the Apple App Store for your iOS device, or from the Google Play Store for your Android device.
The recommended best practice is to test your attribution links when you generate them with your MMP or send them with a custom server-to-server integration. Testing your links with the Attribution Links Tester does two important things:
- Simulates a user installing the advertised game, and checks that Unity attributes the install correctly.
- Reduces your risk of failed attribution, incorrect reporting, misleading campaign performance data, and related issues.
Before you go live with a new campaign, use the Attribution Links Tester to ensure that your links are properly configured. Refer to Test attribution links with the Ad Testing app for detailed instructions.
Unattributed install data
Unattributed install data is any of your app’s engagement data that comes from outside of the Unity Ads network. This data is from both organic installs (when a user downloads your app organically) and installs from other ad networks.
In general, MMPs don’t pass unattributed install data to Unity by default. The recommended best practice is to pass unattributed install data with your attribution links because it enriches the User Acquisition models with additional data that can improve campaign performance.
Refer to your preferred partner’s integration instructions for details on how to enable passing unattributed install data to Unity: