About App Attribution

Last updated: September 2024

Attribution is used with conversion tracking to understand actions taken by potential customers after an ad is viewed or clicked. You'll be able to determine which customers are more likely to convert and lead to better results for your business.


Benefits and features

To effectively measure attribution in your app, TikTok provides 3 types of data integration:

  • Mobile Measurement Partner (MMP) integration. To connect with a MMP, create an app in Event Manager.

  • TikTok SDK integration (Beta)

  • TikTok App Events API integration (Beta)


Note: Reach out to your TikTok rep for access to TikTok SDK & App Events API features.


Key terms

Below are important terms to be familiar with:

  • Click-through Attribution (CTA): When a user clicks on a TikTok ad and then completes the desired conversion actions (such as downloading the app or making an in-app purchase), it will be recorded as a click through conversion.

  • View-through Attribution (VTA): When a user views and doesn't click on a TikTok ad, but then completes the desired conversion action (such as downloading the app or making an in-app purchase), it will be recorded as a view through conversion. Note: Turning on VTA is highly recommended. This gives marketers a more holistic picture of TikTok's advertising value while also giving TikTok more conversion data to be used for optimizations leading to better overall outcomes for the campaign.

  • Engaged View-through Attribution (EVTA): When a user views a TikTok ad for 6 seconds or more and then completes the desired conversion action (such as downloading the app or making an in-app purchase), it will be recorded as an Engaged View-through attribution. Learn more about engaged view-through attribution.

  • Attribution Window: This refers to the period of time where eligible conversions can be claimed. For example, if you have a click conversion window of 7 days, this means that a user has 7 days from the time of the click to complete the desired conversion action.


Note: Every conversion is attributed only to one touch point such as click, view, or engaged view.


Attribution is important in the bidding, targeting, and optimization used in your ad campaigns. When a user clicks, views an ad, downloads the app, activates, or makes an in-app purchase within the set conversion window, the MMP records and sends this data back to TikTok as a conversion.


Over time, conversion data provides the necessary information for machine learning models to learn and adjust to provide better advertising outcomes.