Overview

This article outlines how to use Tallies and Timelines in Tealium CDP to track attribution-related events and interactions over specific defined periods of time.

This method enables brands to classify, categorize, and analyze attribution across multiple visits. We’ll use this method to capture and analyze campaign source types, traffic channels, or UTM parameters—enabling more accurate attribution modeling, remarketing logic, and performance analysis.

Key Objectives:

• Track which marketing sources or channels brought users to the site.
• Identify the most frequent sources contributing to engagement.
• Maintain a rolling history of attribution events over a 180-day window.
• Use this data for campaign performance analysis, remarketing, and personalization.

Step 1: Creating a Visit-Scoped Tally for Attribution Events

Start by capturing attribution-related values during each session.

1. Define a Visit-Scoped Tally Attribute named Attribution Source Tally.
2. Create Enrichments to populate the Tally using Rules associated with:
   1. Values from UTM parameters (e.g., utm_source, utm_medium, keyword, or referrer domain) present in the data layer.
   2. Values from email or paid media attribution campaigns (querystring parameters, fbclid or gclid parameters, or campaign-specific attribution values in the data layer)
   3. Values from specific attribution events in the data layer (for example, entering a coupon code at checkout associated with a specific campaign would trigger an attribution event to be enriched into the the Tally)
3. What This Does: Tracks specific attribution sources associated with the current visit.

Step 2: Storing Tally Visit Data in a Timeline

To extend tracking of the tally beyond a single session, store visit-scoped data in a Timeline Attribute.

1. Create a Visitor-Scoped Timeline Attribute named Attribution Events Timeline. 
2. When creating the Timeline, set an expiration retention window of 180 days.
3. At the end of each session, populate the Timeline by setting an Update enrichment that includes the visit-scoped Tally.
4. What This Does: Preserves historical attribution trends, such as multiple sessions attributed to email or paid search over a rolling time period defined by the retention window.

Step 3: Creating a Visitor-Scoped Tally for Rolling Long-Term Attribution Measurement

To maintain an up-to-date count of attribution events over time, we enrich a Visitor-Scoped Tally Attribute with data from the timeline.

1. Define a Visitor-Scoped Tally Attribute named180-Day Attribution Source Tally.
2. Set the enrichment rule to sum the tally of values from the Attribution Events Timeline.
3. What This Does: Rather than endlessly increasing, this tally keeps a rolling count of each attribution source, maintaining an accurate attribution window covering only the last 180 days of visitor activity. 

Step 4: Creating a Set of Strings for Attribution Sources

To power audience segmentation or suppression logic based on source exposure:

1. Create a Visitor-Scoped Set of Strings Attribute named Attribution Sources Seen.
2. Populate it by creating a Set to Tally Items Above Target Value enrichment to extract the unique sources from the 180-Day Attribution Source Tally.
3. What This Does: Maintains a deduplicated list of all attribution channels a visitor has interacted with in the past 180 days.

Use Cases

Attribution Analysis & Campaign Optimization

• Evaluate which sources drive the most engagement over time.
• Personalize site experiences based on the most frequent referring channel.
• Build audiences based on dominant source exposure (e.g., “frequent organic users”).

Audience Suppression & Remarketing

• Suppress acquisition campaigns to users who’ve already engaged through bottom-funnel channels.
• Dynamically adjust ad messaging or bidding based on top historical sources.
• Re-engage visitors based on a drop-off in source frequency.

Beyond UTM Parameters

• Apply this method to track referrer domains, campaign IDs, or internal promotional banners.
• Segment users who have interacted with specific content sources (e.g., blog newsletter vs. product landing page).
• Align internal performance metrics with long-term channel exposure patterns.

Summary

Using Tallies, Timelines, and Sets of Strings, Tealium CDP enables brands to capture, store, and analyze long-term visitor engagement. These insights can drive personalization, audience segmentation, and marketing optimization for better customer experiences.