Attribution window reference
An attribution window is how long after an interaction a platform will still credit itself for a conversion, and every platform has its own defaults and its own view-through rules. That's most of why your dashboards disagree. Windows are worth setting deliberately and documenting, because two platforms with different windows are answering different questions — and the only way to compare them fairly is against a third reference that has no window at all: your own records.
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Attribution windows · what breaks
Where teams get this wrong — Attribution windows
- 01
Comparing platforms without checking their windows
Different windows produce different numbers from identical reality.
- 02
Assuming defaults are appropriate
The default suits an average business. Yours has a specific consideration length.
- 03
Changing windows to make numbers agree
That's fitting the measurement to the answer you wanted.
Attribution windows · the fix
What a correct implementation looks like — Attribution windows
Windows set against your actual consideration length
Measured, not assumed.
The setting documented per platform
So disagreements are explainable.
View-through handled explicitly
It's a large part of the difference and often overlooked.
Comparison against your own records
Which have no window at all.
Attribution windows · architecture
What a window governs
The concepts are shared; the defaults and options differ per platform and change. Read each platform's current settings rather than trusting a table.
- 1
Click-through window
How long after a click the platform will still credit a conversion. The main lever.
- 2
View-through window
How long after an impression, with no click. Meta counts it by default; treating it as equivalent to a click overstates.
- 3
Engaged-view
Video platforms may count a substantial view as an interaction. Worth knowing whether yours does.
- 4
Date basis
Whether the conversion is reported on the click date or the conversion date. This alone makes platforms disagree permanently.
- 5
Default versus configured
Most accounts run defaults nobody chose. Read yours.
- 6
Your own records
No window, no attribution model. The only fair reference for comparing platforms.
Attribution windows · diagnose
Common mistakes and how to validate each — Attribution windows
Ordered by how often we find them. Each one has a specific check rather than a general instruction to be careful.
- 01
Windows never read
Open each platform and write down the current setting. Most teams can't state them.
- 02
View-through counted as equivalent to a click
Check whether your platform includes it and whether you want it to.
- 03
Window shorter than the sales cycle
Measure the median click-to-conversion time. If the window is shorter, you're systematically undercounting.
- 04
Changed without recording the date
Any trend spanning the change is comparing two definitions.
- 05
Platforms compared without normalizing
Compare each to your own records instead. Making them agree with each other isn't achievable.
Attribution windows · prove
How to prove your implementation is right — Attribution windows
Against your own records and a live payload, not against a preview screen.
Source of truth
your own order or CRM records, which have no attribution window
- Current window settings documented for every platform.
- Median click-to-conversion time measured from your own records.
- View-through behaviour noted per platform.
- Each platform reconciled against your own records for a closed window.
- Checked on a live conversion, not in preview mode.
- Reconciled over a fully closed window, matched per record.
- Re-checked 30 days later.
Attribution windows · free audit
What we check in the free audit
- Windows never read
- View-through counted as equivalent to a click
- Window shorter than the sales cycle
- Changed without recording the date
- Platforms compared without normalizing
Checked against
your own order or CRM records, which have no attribution window
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Attribution windows · when not to buy
What this reference deliberately leaves out — Attribution windows
Stated openly, because a reference that's silent about its own gaps is the dangerous kind.
- Platform defaults and available options change. We've deliberately not published a table of current settings that would go stale.
- Attribution model selection interacts with windows and is covered separately.
- Modelled conversions behave differently within windows and each platform documents that itself.
- Vendor documentation is the authority, not this page. Where the two disagree, the vendor is right and we'd like to know so we can correct it.
- Parameter names and behaviour change. Anything here is accurate as we last verified it; verify against the current documentation before you rely on it for a build.
Attribution windows · what we deliver
The checklist — Attribution windows
The current window recorded for every platform
Read it; don't assume the default.
Median time from click to conversion measured
That's what the window should reflect.
View-through settings noted
Especially where a platform counts it by default.
Window changes dated
So trend comparisons across the change make sense.
Reconciliation done against your own records
The only window-free reference.
Pricing
Pick the package that fits your ad spend
Browser-side starter
$400One-time fee · lifetime ownership
Repairs and verifies your existing browser-side setup against this reference, on a live conversion.
- Implementation checked against the spec
- Verified on a live conversion
- Reconciled against your own records
- Written handover
1st-party server-side
Recommended$800One-time fee · most popular
Money events sent from your own records through a first-party container on your subdomain, built to this specification.
- First-party server container on your own subdomain
- Events from your records, not the browser
- Deduplicated on a shared event ID at every destination
- First-party cookies beyond Safari's 7-day cap
- 95%+ accuracy and 8+ Meta EMQ, guaranteed in writing
Full 1st-party stack
$1,800One-time fee · lifetime ownership
Every paid channel server-side plus the offline loop, documented to this standard.
- Everything in 1st-party server-side
- Pinterest, Snapchat, Reddit and LinkedIn CAPI
- CRM and offline conversion loop
- Refunds and cancellations corrected wherever each platform allows it
- Monitoring so the next break surfaces in days
FAQ
Attribution windows questions, answered
Different attribution windows, different view-through rules, and different date bases. The gap is by design, and expecting agreement is the mistake.
If your median click-to-conversion time is longer than the current window, you're undercounting. Measure it first rather than guessing.
It depends what you're using the number for. Just don't treat a view as equivalent to a click, and know whether your platform includes it by default.
You don't compare them to each other. Compare each against your own records, which have no window and no model.
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Set windows against your real sales cycle
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