At a glance: Measure the broader impact of media sources that engaged your users and assisted before the last touch.
Assisted installs
Assisted installs (AKA multi-touch attribution) are installs where the media source/campaign didn't have the last touch but did touch the user before the install and during the attribution window. One install can have up to 3 assisted installs.
Analytical data of assisted installs are available at both the media source and campaign levels to measure the broader impact of each media source and campaign.
View assisted installs metrics in the Overview dashboard
To view assisted installs in the Overview dashboard:
- In AppsFlyer, from the side menu, select Analyze > Overview.
- Select the Extended Overview report.
- Scroll down to the trend over time charts.
- Select the Media source or Campaign dimension.
- Select the Assisted installs metric.
The assisted installs chart displays. The blue indicates non-organic installs and the orange indicates assisted installs.
Why are assists important
In many cases, potential users get familiar with an app via the assisting source but fail to install it for some reason. Thus measuring and recognizing assists is important in campaign optimization and measurement.
Assisted installs reporting
AppsFlyer attributes up to 3 contributing networks in addition to the attributed install source.
In aggregate dashboards and raw data reports, the (up to 3) contributor networks are consolidated into one metric called "assisted installs". Meaning, 1 install can have up to 3 assisted installs counted.
In raw data reports, data on the contributing networks is broken down into separate fields for Contributors 1-3.
For each of the contributing networks, the raw data report includes the following:
- Network name (Media source)
- Campaign name
- Engagement time (touch time)
- Engagement type (click or impression)
- Name of the involved agency (partner), if there was one
- Match type (The same as install match types.)
Note
Media sources with user-level data restrictions
If a
media source restricts user-level data,
it cannot be attributed as a contributor or an assist to a winning attribution.
This means that certain sources, do not
appear as contributors even if they engaged the user before the install.
Note
Agency considerations
Several major ad networks restrict sharing their data with 3rd party platforms, including agencies. Therefore, assisted installs do not appear in the agency dashboard for these networks.
In raw data reports, data on the contributing networks is broken down into separate fields for Contributors 1–3.
Total candidates field
In addition to the Contributors 1–3 fields, the total_candidates field shows the number of engagements (such as clicks or impressions) associated with the same device at the time of the install or re-engagement.
However, not every engagement counted in total_candidates is eligible for attribution. For example, some engagements may have been:
- Outside of the lookback window
- Blocked by fraud protection
- Affected by app or partner integration settings
- Otherwise not meeting AppsFlyer’s attribution conditions
In practice, this means:
- If the install was attributed to organic, it is because none of the engagements in
total_candidatesmet all the conditions required for attribution. - If there are no contributors, it is for the same reason: the engagements recorded under
total_candidateswere not eligible to serve as contributors.
To summarize, total_candidates indicates engagements received, which are not necessarily valid candidates for attribution. It is possible to see value in this field while still having the install attributed to organic or without contributors.
Note
AppsFlyer Support will not provide engagement-level explanations or breakdowns of total_candidates due to the complexity of the attribution logic.