---
slug: gemessen-zugeordnet-geschaetzt
title: "What do “measured” and “attributed” mean?"
category: grundlagen
locale: en
updated: 2026-10-12
keywords: ["measured","attributed","set","estimated","acquisition value","self-reported","post-purchase question","reported","modelling","layers"]
questions: ["Why does Metrunio separate measured from attributed figures?","What is the difference between measurement and attribution?","Why are there no estimated figures?","What is the “estimated” layer?","What does “set” mean?","What does “self-reported” mean?","What does “reported” mean?"]
url: https://bench.metrunio.com/en/help/gemessen-zugeordnet-geschaetzt
---

# What do “measured” and “attributed” mean?

**Why does Metrunio separate measured from attributed figures?**

Measured means directly observed: an impression, a viewable impression, a click, a conversion. Attributed means a share distributed by a model; the product keeps both layers apart and never blends them. Alongside them are values you decide yourself (“set”), answers from your customers (“self-reported”) and figures an ad platform reports about itself (“reported”); there is no “estimated” layer.

| Layer | Meaning | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Measured | directly observed signal with timestamp and origin | 1,240 viewable impressions |
| Attributed | share from a disclosed model | 18.4 conversions under “position based” |
| Set | a value you decided yourself | acquisition value of €20 per sign-up |
| Self-reported | what a customer said themselves | 31 answers “podcast or radio” to the post-purchase question |
| Reported | what an ad platform says about its own ads | 42 conversions according to the ad account, in the platform reconciliation |
| Estimated | modelled effect without evidence | does not exist here |

The “estimated” layer is missing on purpose. As soon as an interface shows measured and extrapolated values in the same column, it is no longer possible to tell which part of a figure rests on a signal. That blending is exactly what makes platform reports hard to audit.

One figure comes from you: the acquisition value, meaning what a reached funnel step is worth to you. Whether a customer reached the step is measured; what that is worth, you decided in the portal. That is why this figure is called “set”. It has columns of its own and never appears in revenue or ROAS. When a model distributes it across channels, the share is attributed, but it remains a share of a set value.

One figure comes from your customers: the answer to the post-purchase question “How did you hear about us?”. That someone answered is measured; what they say is their own account. This figure is therefore called “self-reported”. It sits next to what is measured, never in revenue and never in an attribution, and it is not extrapolated to the customers who did not answer.

One figure comes from the ad platforms: what Meta, Google and others report about their own ads, such as the conversions in the ad account. This figure is called “reported”. It follows the platform’s rules, sits next to what is measured under “Platform reconciliation” and never replaces it.

> **Note:** Attributed shares are decimals. If a model finds matching touchpoints, it distributes the conversion across them in full; if it finds none, the conversion stays “unattributed”. Attributed and unattributed together add up to all conversions the model calculates. This is verified automatically. The same holds for revenue after refunds; the chat, MCP and the read API state the unattributed part as a figure of its own.

## Also asked

- What is the difference between measurement and attribution?
- Why are there no estimated figures?
- What is the “estimated” layer?
- What does “set” mean?
- What does “self-reported” mean?
- What does “reported” mean?

## Related

- https://bench.metrunio.com/en/help/attributionsmodelle
- https://bench.metrunio.com/en/help/conversion-nicht-zugeordnet
- https://bench.metrunio.com/en/help/messgrenzen
- https://bench.metrunio.com/en/help/wert-je-schritt
- https://bench.metrunio.com/en/help/nachkauf-frage