What is Clicks + Deterministic Views?

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Northbeam’s C+DV model is a transformative shift in attribution.
With C+DV, you can see the true, proven impact of your ads—even on platforms that are more impression-focused. This helps you capture the real value of awareness-driven ads and move beyond the limitations of last-click attribution.

Watch this video for the full tour and explanation!

Today’s marketing landscape is more fragmented than ever, and we know that different ad platforms drive different user behavior. On view-heavy platforms, users often don’t click directly through an ad to purchase.

However, research shows that users have high brand recall from ads they’ve seen on these platforms—and we know that brand recall ultimately helps drive conversions. So how do we connect the two?

The solution: Clicks + Deterministic Views

Clicks + Deterministic Views is Northbeam’s next-generation multi-touch attribution (MTA) model. It builds on our Clicks-Only model by layering in verified impression & view data directly from participating ad platforms.

These platform events are combined with Northbeam’s industry-leading, first-party pixel and order data to provide a complete and accurate view of how marketing actually drives conversions. Unlike traditional “view-through” attribution, Northbeam links views deterministically, meaning every impression tied to a conversion is verified, not inferred.

Deterministic? What's that?

Attribution models differ in how they connect ads to conversions:

Deterministic attribution: Matches conversions to ads using exact identifiers (like order ID, hashed email, or phone). Every link is verified and certain.
Probabilistic attribution: Uses models and assumptions (like device type, IP, or behavior patterns) to guess which ad drove a conversion.

How does Clicks + Deterministic Views work?

Thanks to Northbeam's direct integration with each ad platform included in this model, Northbeam can do true in-app "impression matching". This means that conversions can be matched with impressions that helped generate that conversions.

Core Measurement Principles:

Represent the full customer journey: Clicks (1P) and views (3P) share credit for driving a purchase.
Platforms are incentivized to share: More shared data leads to more credit.
Safe and relevant: Safeguards to block against dilution, unfair credit shifts, and bad data.

Jump to the "How CDV Attributes Credit" section to see the logic.

Why is Clicks + Deterministic Views useful?

See beyond clicks. Capture both verified views and clicks to understand the full impact of your ads.
True upper-funnel visibility. Quantify how awareness and prospecting campaigns actually influence downstream purchases.
Deterministic accuracy. Every impression tied to a conversion is proven—not modeled—so attribution is grounded in reality.
Smarter budget allocation. Know which campaigns drive downstream revenue and confidently scale what works.
Cross-platform clarity. Combine verified impression data with Northbeam’s pixel + order data for a single source of truth.
Privacy-preserving measurement. Data is processed in Northbeam’s clean room, ensuring compliance and security.
Reduce wasted spend. Eliminate over-crediting of last clicks and avoid underspending on top-of-funnel channels.

How does Clicks + Deterministic Views attribute credit?

C+DV unifies click and view data across platforms to give the most complete measurement of marketing performance.

How we divide credit for a single purchase
- Paid clicks and paid views take full precedence over touchpoints with the following Category (Northbeam) labels:
  - Direct
  - Organic
  - Organic Search
  - Paid - Branded Search
  - Email
  - SMS
- Credit between paid clicks and paid views is split as follows:
  - Each first-party (i.e. Northbeam observed) paid click touchpoint receives a share of credit.
  - For each participating C+DV partner platform, the remaining share of credit is distributed equally across all view touchpoints from that platform using the following methodology:
    - Views are grouped by platform and credit is divided within each platform “pool.” For example, if there is 1 view on Platform A and 10 views on Platform B, Platform B will receive more total credit, but each individual view will have less weight than the 1 view on Platform A.
    - We do not weight views from different platforms differently; the amount of credit assigned to each platform is dependent on how many views are in that platform’s “pool.”
    - Credit is not assigned based on where each touchpoint falls in the funnel; for example, if a customer views an ad on Snap, and later views an ad on Pinterest, the Pinterest ad does not earn less credit.

Examples

Example 1

Example 2

C+DV Demo

Watch below for a full demo of Clicks + Deterministic Views, including how to enable it and how to interpret the data.

Enabling Clicks + Deterministic Views in your account

Go to Account settings > Model settings > Attribution models.
Select Clicks + Deterministic Views, checking each platform you want to track.
1. Note: By selecting a platform, you are consenting to share impression data from the platform to Northbeam. For this reason, only admins are able to change these settings.
Wait 24-48 hours until we have processed your data. It could be shorter, so stay tuned to your dashboard.

⚠️ Pinterest opt-in instructions

Step 1:

The account owner will need to log into Northbeam’s dashboard
Go to the Settings page
Click on APEX
Select Pinterest from the list of platforms
Note: Enabling APEX for Pinterest is necessary for optimal data quality–it does NOT affect your Pinterest campaigns.

Step 2:

Head to the Model Settings page
Select Pinterest under the Clicks + Deterministic Views section

Step 3 (Important):

Please disconnect and reconnect your Pinterest account in Northbeam.

⚠️ MNTN opt-in instructions

MNTN customers will need to follow additional steps to properly opt in to C+DV.
Instructions here

FAQs

Why does Clicks + Deterministic Views data not match up to my Clicks + Modeled Views data?

C+MV is probabilistic and does not observe the ad platform events directly. C+DV is deterministic the same way that CO is deterministic. It is a model based on events that we or the ad platform KNOWS have happened.

Why are certain ad channels not getting C+DV credit for conversions?

Clicks + Deterministic Views is deterministic, so if an ad platform is not participating in the program they will not receive any additional view credit.

Are all views weighted equally?

Views are grouped by platform and credit is divided within each platform “pool.” We do not weight views from different platforms differently; the amount of credit assigned to each platform is dependent on how many views are in that platform’s pool.
Currently, we do not specifically use the platform of the view, or the type of ad that displayed the view, as factors in determining credit. This is consistent with the behavior of our current Clicks-Only attribution model.

Why can't I see in-app views on the order details page?

This level of tracking is not permitted under privacy law.

How often is C+DV data refreshed?

Currently, once per day.

How should I compare C+DV performance to Clicks + Modeled Views or Clicks-Only?

Look for directional differences between C+DV vs. Platform reporting, C+DV vs. Clicks-Only data. These differences will show you where C+DV is unlocking value, and new insights.

How should I use C+DV?

Make better optimization decisions within each channel. For example, when gauging “what campaigns/audience/ads are impactful?" it should give you a more precise signal than Modeled Views or Clicks-Only.
Get directional data points for cross-channel investment. For example, is this channel having an impact beyond what we see on a last-click basis?

Since clicks are always preceded by views, how do you de-dupe between clicks and views?

Views + click pairs that happen within 30 seconds of each other are deduplicated.

Why don't I have access to C+DV?

Most likely, we do not enough order IDs to match with impression data. This is often the case for advertisers who fall into ‘sensitive’ categories, such as health & wellness. For questions around this, please reach out to your Media Strategist, Customer Success Manager, or contact Support.

I've turned on C+DV, but I'm not seeing any data. Why?

It can take up to 48 hours after providing consent to see C+DV data in the dashboard. If you are still not seeing data after 48 hours, reach out to your Northbeam rep or contact Support.

I'm not seeing C+DV data for Meta specifically.

Here are the most common reasons why you may not be seeing C+DV data for Meta:

Event setup issues If your Meta account doesn’t use the Purchase event, Northbeam has no way to connect impressions to conversions. In this case, C+DV can’t be applied.
Missing or limited order IDs Advertisers may lose C+DV access if order IDs aren’t passed correctly due to pixel setup issues or if they’re part of a restricted category.

How to fix common setup issues:
- If you’re using CAPI:
  - Make sure order IDs are passed directly through the CAPI “order_id” field.
  - Learn more in Meta’s CAPI documentation.
- If you’re using Meta Pixel:
  - Shopify users: Order IDs are automatically captured — no changes needed.
  - Manual integrations: Order ID isn’t a standard Purchase parameter, but you can include it as a custom property. Example: "order_id": "123"
- ✅ Recommendation: Use CAPI or Shopify’s native Pixel integration to ensure high-quality purchase event data and maintain C+DV eligibility.

Please reach out to your Media Strategist, Customer Success Manager, or contact Support if you have any additonal questions.