Last-Click Attribution

Last-Click Attribution assigns 100% of the credit for a conversion to the most recent affiliate click in the cookie window. It is the default in most affiliate programs because it is simple to administer, though it undervalues partners earlier in the journey.

Last-click attribution assigns the full commission to whichever affiliate generated the final qualifying click before the conversion. It is the default model across most affiliate networks because it is simple to compute, hard to dispute, and requires tracking only the most recent click rather than reconstructing an entire journey. The model treats the touchpoint closest to the sale as the one that closed it.

In practice the network stores the latest qualifying click ID and overwrites earlier ones, so each new click can reassign credit right up until the purchase fires. This makes the timing of the final interaction decisive and rewards affiliates positioned late in the funnel, such as coupon, deal, and cashback sites that users visit moments before checkout. Advertisers get a clean, auditable payout trail with little attribution ambiguity.

The obvious weakness is that last-click undervalues the content, reviews, and social posts that introduced the product and built intent earlier. A blogger who spent months persuading a reader may earn nothing if the buyer passes through a coupon site on the way to checkout. This dynamic can distort the affiliate mix over time, pushing advertisers to over-reward bottom-funnel partners and starve the ones driving discovery.

Sophisticated programs counter this with commission rules that exclude or reduce payouts to certain last-click sources, or by layering a partial multi-touch view on top for internal analysis while still paying last-click. Understanding exactly which click qualifies, and whether coupon extensions can inject a last click at checkout, is essential for any affiliate evaluating a program's fairness.