Exclusive Reach describes the observed path, not every influence

Singular defines Exclusive Reach around installs where one channel is the only advertising touchpoint in the recorded path. Its product documentation also specifies configured attribution windows and touchpoint handling.Index definition; Product detail.

Read “only” inside the measurement boundary

The observed journey is not the whole of a person’s experience. An analyst should ask which exposures can enter the system and which cannot. That question is especially important when comparing channels with different measurement coverage.

Our recommendation is to attach an observation map to any exclusive-reach comparison. Identify eligible click and view events, windows, supported devices and deduplication. A source’s apparently distinct audience may partly reflect how the system sees it; that possibility should remain visible without being asserted as the explanation.

Turn the metric into a research question

Exclusive paths can help a team identify a potential source of differentiated reach. They do not establish how many installs would disappear if that source stopped advertising. Treat that as a separate causal question.

The card is designed to travel with the number into planning discussions. It labels the measured object as a path property and the unobserved object as a counterfactual. That distinction allows a buyer to value the diagnostic signal while still requiring appropriate evidence before claiming that every exclusively attributed install was incremental.

Inspect the evidence

Download the source-population and comparability card. The extraction separates documented facts from our analysis and unknowns.

Further reading in the existing archive: Attribution windows: the lookback debate; Attribution is an allocation rule, not a truth. These links provide background; this check does not independently verify their full contents.

Frequently asked questions

How should UA teams read Exclusive Reach when it describes the observed path, not every influence?

Treat Exclusive Reach as a path property inside Singular’s measurement boundary, not as proof that a channel was the only cause of an install. Singular defines Exclusive Reach around installs where one channel is the only advertising touchpoint in the recorded path; product documentation also specifies configured attribution windows and touchpoint handling. The observed journey is not the whole of a person’s experience — ask which exposures can enter the system and which cannot, especially when comparing channels with different measurement coverage. Attach an observation map to any exclusive-reach comparison: eligible click and view events, windows, supported devices and deduplication. A source’s apparently distinct audience may partly reflect how the system sees it; keep that possibility visible without asserting it as the explanation. Exclusive paths can help identify a potential source of differentiated reach; they do not establish how many installs would disappear if that source stopped advertising. Label the measured object as a path property and the unobserved object as a counterfactual, and require separately justified causal evidence before claiming that every exclusively attributed install was incremental.