In terms of advertising, what's attribution?

Attribution in advertising refers to the process of identifying which touchpoints in a customer's journey contributed to a conversion and assigning appropriate credit to each. This helps advertisers understand the effectiveness of different channels and interactions. For instance, if a customer sees a display ad, clicks a search ad, and then converts directly, attribution models determine how much credit each of those steps (display ad, search ad, direct visit) should receive for the conversion. The other options are incorrect because they describe cost allocation for assets or channels, or client referral credit, which are distinct concepts from attributing conversion credit across touchpoints.