How to Set Up Attribution

This guide covers setting up attribution tracking, comparing attribution models, and analyzing which channels drive onchain conversions.

What you’ll learn

Set up UTM tracking for all marketing channels
Understand first-touch vs. last-touch attribution
Measure true ROI by channel (to the transaction level)
Optimize budget allocation based on conversion data

Part 1: The Attribution Challenge in Crypto

Why traditional attribution fails

Traditional analytics measure clicks and visits. For crypto apps, this misses what matters:

What traditional tools measure	What actually matters
Page views	Wallet connects
Time on site	Transactions completed
Form submissions	Volume/revenue generated
Bounce rate	User quality (net worth, labels)

The crypto user journey

A typical onchain user touches multiple channels:

Discovery: Sees your tweet, ad, or mention
Research: Reads about you on Discord, docs, or DeFiLlama
First visit: Lands on your site (often without converting)
Return visit: Comes back from a different source
Conversion: Connects wallet and transacts

Each touchpoint matters. The question is: which one gets credit?

Part 2: How to Set Up UTM Tracking

UTM parameter basics

UTM parameters let you track where users come from:

https://yourapp.xyz/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=launch_2024

Parameter	Purpose	Examples
`utm_source`	The platform	twitter, discord, newsletter, defillama
`utm_medium`	The channel type	social, email, paid, referral
`utm_campaign`	The campaign name	launch_2024, airdrop_promo, partnership_xyz
`utm_content`	The creative variant	banner_a, thread_1, video_ad
`utm_term`	Keywords (for paid)	defi, swap, yield

Where to add UTMs

Add UTM parameters to every link you control: Social media:

https://yourapp.xyz/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=daily_content

Email campaigns:

https://yourapp.xyz/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=weekly_update

Partner/referral links:

https://yourapp.xyz/?utm_source=partner_name&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=collab_jan

Paid ads:

https://yourapp.xyz/?utm_source=twitter_ads&utm_medium=paid&utm_campaign=retargeting&utm_content=banner_v2

You can use this free UTM link generator to generate UTM links.

UTM naming conventions

Use consistent naming to make analysis easier:

Bad	Good
`twitter`, `Twitter`, `tw`	Always `twitter`
`paid ad`, `paid_ad`, `paidAd`	Always `paid`
`Launch`, `launch2027`, `jan-launch`	`launch_2024_jan`

Recommended format:

Lowercase only
Underscores for spaces
Include date/month for campaigns: campaign_name_mmyy

Part 3: How to Set Up Referral Tracking

Formo automatically captures referral codes alongside UTM parameters.

Referral code basics

Add a ref parameter to your referral links:

https://yourapp.xyz/?ref=alice

When a user lands with a ref parameter, Formo captures it and associates it with the user’s session. You can then trace connect sessions, events, and users back to specific referral codes.

Where to add referral codes

User-generated referral links:

https://yourapp.xyz/?ref=0x1234...abcd

Partner referral links:

https://yourapp.xyz/?ref=partner_name

Influencer referral links (combine with UTMs for full attribution):

https://yourapp.xyz/?ref=influencer_handle&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=influencer_jan

Referral naming conventions

Bad	Good
Mixed case (`Alice`, `alice`, `ALICE`)	Always lowercase (`alice`)
Spaces or special characters (`my ref`)	Underscores only (`my_ref`)
Generic names (`partner1`)	Descriptive names (`uniswap_collab`)

Analyze referral performance

The Overview page has a dedicated referral chart, and the Users page and Wallet Profiles show you which referral code acquired each user. Use Ask AI or the Explorer to query referral data:

“Show me wallet connects and transactions grouped by ref parameter for the last 30 days”

SELECT
  JSONExtractString(properties, 'ref') AS referrer,
  countDistinct(address) AS wallets,
  count(*) AS transactions
FROM events
WHERE JSONExtractString(properties, 'ref') != ''
  AND timestamp >= now() - INTERVAL 30 DAY
GROUP BY referrer
ORDER BY wallets DESC

Part 4: Understand Attribution Models

Formo supports multiple attribution models. Each gives credit differently.

First-touch attribution

How it works: 100% credit to the first channel that introduced the user. Best for: Understanding discovery channels. Example:

User finds you via Twitter (first touch)
Returns via Discord link
Converts via direct visit

→ Twitter gets 100% credit

Last-touch attribution

How it works: 100% credit to the last channel before conversion. Best for: Understanding what drives final conversions. Example:

User finds you via Twitter
Returns via Discord link
Converts via direct visit (last touch)

→ Direct gets 100% credit

Which model to use?

Goal	Model	Why
Grow awareness	First-touch	Shows which channels introduce new users
Optimize conversions	Last-touch	Shows what pushes users to convert

Part 5: How to Analyze Attribution in Formo

View attribution in Overview

Go to Overview in the Formo Dashboard

Find the Channels, Referrers, Referrals, and UTM tabs

These sit alongside your other traffic breakdowns (Pages, Countries, Devices).

Select different units (users, volume, revenue)

You can apply filters on the overview page to see attribution by different segments.

Each tab answers a different attribution question:

Tab	Shows
Channels	Traffic auto-classified into one of 13 acquisition channels (Paid Search, Organic Social, Direct, etc.)
Referrers	The specific referring domain (twitter.com, google.com, defillama.com)
Referrals	Traffic from `ref` codes, plus `affiliate`/`referral` UTM traffic
UTM	Breakdown by `utm_source`, `utm_medium`, `utm_campaign`, `utm_content`, and `utm_term`

Formo automatically classifies every session into a channel at ingestion time, using a priority-ordered ladder over the referrer domain, utm_medium, and ad-platform click IDs. See the full channel classification table for how each of the 13 channels is detected.

Key metrics by source

For each traffic source, the Channels/Referrers/Referrals/UTM tabs show raw counts:

Metric	What it tells you
Visitors	Reach/awareness
Wallet connects	Engagement quality
Transactions	Conversion performance
Volume	Revenue contribution

These tabs show one metric at a time, not a percentage. To see an actual connect rate (visitor → wallet) or transaction rate (wallet → transaction) by source, build a funnel with a breakdown dimension, covered below.

Create custom attribution charts

Beyond the built-in tabs, build custom charts to track attribution over time. Use Ask AI for quick answers, or the SQL editor for full control. See Charts for the full guide to creating, organizing, and sharing charts. Ask AI examples:

“Compare wallet connects by utm_source for the last 30 days”

“Show me transactions and volume by utm_campaign this month”

“What are the top 5 first-touch sources for users who transacted?”

“Which utm_source has the highest transaction volume per visitor?”

Attribution chart ideas:

Chart	Query
Visitors by Source	Daily visitors grouped by utm_source
Conversion by Source	Transaction rate by first-touch source
Revenue by Campaign	Volume grouped by utm_campaign
Source Trend	Weekly wallet connects by top 5 sources

Attribution funnel:

Go to Dashboards, click Add Chart, and select the Funnel chart type

Add steps: Visit → Connect → Transaction

Add a breakdown dimension: Referrer, Referral, UTM Source/Medium/Campaign/Content/Term, Builder Codes, Device, Country, Browser, or OS

Compare conversion rates across each value

Calculate true ROI

For paid campaigns, calculate cost per conversion:

Cost per Transaction = Campaign Spend / Transactions from Campaign

Example:

Channel	Spend	Transactions	Cost/Transaction
Influencer	$5,000	100	$50
Discord Ads	$2,000	80	$25
Twitter Ads	$3,000	150	$20

In this example, Twitter Ads has the best ROI.

Part 6: How to Optimize Your Marketing

Identify your best channels

From your attribution data, categorize channels: High-volume, high-conversion:

Scale these immediately
Allocate more budget
Test similar channels

High-volume, low-conversion:

Improve landing pages
Refine targeting
Test different messaging

Low-volume, high-conversion:

Increase investment
Find ways to scale
Understand what makes them work

Low-volume, low-conversion:

Reduce or cut spend
Test improvements before continuing
Consider audience mismatch

Optimize by user quality

Don’t just measure conversions. Measure user quality:

Filter users by UTM source
Compare average net worth by source
Compare retention by source
Compare volume per user by source

Example insight:

Twitter drives more users, but Discord users have 3x higher average net worth and 2x better retention.

Multi-touch optimization

If using linear attribution:

Identify common multi-touch paths
Ensure each touchpoint is optimized
Don’t cut channels that assist conversions

Example path: Twitter (awareness) → DeFiLlama (research) → Direct (conversion) All three channels contributed. Cutting Twitter would reduce DeFiLlama traffic.

Part 7: Advanced Attribution Tactics

Cross-channel attribution

Track users across marketing channels:

Use consistent UTM naming
Track first-touch and last-touch separately
Analyze common paths with Flows

Cohort-based attribution

Compare user quality by acquisition cohort:

Create segments by first-touch source
Measure retention for each segment
Calculate LTV by acquisition source

Example:

Source	30-day Retention	Avg LTV
Twitter	15%	$50
Discord	25%	$120
DeFiLlama	35%	$200

Attribution checklist

UTM parameters on all social links
UTM parameters on all email links
UTM parameters on all partner links
UTM parameters on all paid ads
Referral codes on all partner and influencer links
Consistent naming conventions
Attribution dashboard created
Weekly review of channel performance

Summary

You’ve learned how to:

Set up UTM tracking across all marketing channels
Set up referral tracking with ref codes
Understand attribution models and when to use each
Analyze attribution in Formo with Channels, Referrers, Referrals, and UTM, plus custom charts
Calculate true ROI including conversion and user quality
Optimize budget allocation based on data

FAQ

Does Formo capture attribution parameters automatically?

Yes. When a user lands on your app, Formo automatically captures UTM parameters, the referrer, and any ref referral code in the URL, and associates them with the user’s session and wallet.

What happens if a user visits from multiple sources before converting?

Formo records both first-touch and last-touch attribution. You can view either model on the Users page to understand the full user journey.

Can I use both UTM parameters and ref codes on the same link?

Yes. Combine them for full attribution: ?ref=alice&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social. Both are captured independently.

​What you’ll learn

​Part 1: The Attribution Challenge in Crypto

​Why traditional attribution fails

​The crypto user journey

​Part 2: How to Set Up UTM Tracking

​UTM parameter basics

​Where to add UTMs

​UTM naming conventions

​Part 3: How to Set Up Referral Tracking

​Referral code basics

​Where to add referral codes

​Referral naming conventions

​Analyze referral performance

​Part 4: Understand Attribution Models

​First-touch attribution

​Last-touch attribution

​Which model to use?

​Part 5: How to Analyze Attribution in Formo

​View attribution in Overview

​Key metrics by source

​Create custom attribution charts

​Calculate true ROI

​Part 6: How to Optimize Your Marketing

​Identify your best channels

​Optimize by user quality

​Multi-touch optimization

​Part 7: Advanced Attribution Tactics

​Cross-channel attribution

​Cohort-based attribution

​Attribution checklist

​Summary

​FAQ

What you’ll learn

Part 1: The Attribution Challenge in Crypto

Why traditional attribution fails

The crypto user journey

Part 2: How to Set Up UTM Tracking

UTM parameter basics

Where to add UTMs

UTM naming conventions

Part 3: How to Set Up Referral Tracking

Referral code basics

Where to add referral codes

Referral naming conventions

Analyze referral performance

Part 4: Understand Attribution Models

First-touch attribution

Last-touch attribution

Which model to use?

Part 5: How to Analyze Attribution in Formo

View attribution in Overview

Key metrics by source

Create custom attribution charts

Calculate true ROI

Part 6: How to Optimize Your Marketing

Identify your best channels

Optimize by user quality

Multi-touch optimization

Part 7: Advanced Attribution Tactics

Cross-channel attribution

Cohort-based attribution

Attribution checklist

Summary

FAQ