Reattribution

Reattribution refers to the attribution of an app install by users who had previously installed the app in the past but then deleted it. A reattribution signal can occur when that user who deleted the app but has not used it for an extended period of time gets retargeted with an ad and subsequently re-installs the app.

This new install or phase of usage can be attributed to a different ad partner than the first install.

After a user uninstalls an app, there exists a reattribution window, which is a set period of time in which the user re-installs the app. For example, a typical user will be considered ‘inactive’ after 7 days of uninstalling an app, and then the reattribution window exists for another 7 days, although both of these time frames can be configured to suit the needs of the app.

The reason that these installs are ‘reattributed’ is that there was already an existing attribution source.

For example, let’s say a user originally installed an app from a certain advertising campaign, and subsequently uninstalled the app. If this user then re-installs the app from another retargeting campaign within the reattribution window, the current install needs to be attributed to the secondary source which caused the user to return to the app.

The reason why reattribution is so important for app marketers is to help them understand which campaigns are causing users to return to an app after uninstalling. The goal of reattribution is to have more accurate marketing data that can then be optimized to bring inactive users back to your app. Additionally, reattribution is used in order to evaluate and optimize the performance of your retargeting campaigns.

Another reason that reattribution is so important is that users that have already installed your app but have become inactive can often make for the best targeting audiences compared to cold audiences. In particular, focusing on previous users that may have forgotten about your app is an excellent way to increase in-app monetization since these users already have some initial experience with the app.

As MyTracker highlights the importance of reattribution:

Sadly, many mobile tracking systems count unique installs only, neglecting re-installs or users returning after a while. Therefore, in case of a re-engaged user (reinstalling an app or resuming it after a while), all subsequent actions are automatically attributed to the source and ad which initially brought in such user. Though, a user might well be driven by a recent campaign or a push notification.

In order to attribute and reattribute app installs, mobile marketers turn to Mobile Measurement Partners (MMPs) to accurately track and report on their campaign results.

Singular is a leader in mobile attribution and app analytics, including reattribution. This gives mobile marketers the ability to accurately measure and analyze the impact of your marketing efforts with advanced attribution solutions tailored to your business. In addition, by combining attribution with cost aggregation tool across platforms, this helps marketers understand the true ROI of their marketing efforts.

As highlighted in our Help Center article on retargeting and reattribution, Singular’s re-engagement tracking allows you to:

• Enable links for retargeting
• Create re-engagement postbacks for ad networks and third parties
• Measure downstream effectiveness of re-engagement campaigns along with your acquisition campaigns
• Re-engagement tracking is available with ad network partners with reengagement offerings and targeted ads where the device ID is available

By combining leading attribution with reattribution tracking, this gives marketers the ability to optimize the performance or the campaigns and understand the true ROI of their marketing efforts.