Attribution Window

Concept

An attribution window is the allowable timeframe between when a user interacts with an ad and when a resulting purchase is credited to that ad.

Layman Explanation & Analogy

Think of an attribution window like an expiration date on a store coupon. If a customer clicks your Google ad on Monday and finally buys your product on Friday (4 days later), a 7-day attribution window says: "Yes, that ad caused the sale, give Google credit!" But a 1-day window says: "Too much time has passed, treat this sale as direct/unattributed."

Worked real-world example

Meta defaults to a 7-day click / 1-day view window. If someone clicks your Instagram ad on Day 1 and purchases on Day 6, Meta reports 1 conversion. If your CRM only looks at same-day clicks, your CRM will report 0 ad conversions for that purchase.

What people get wrong & common traps

Google Ads (30-day click default), Meta (7-day click default), and your internal database each use completely different windows. This is the #1 reason ad dashboard numbers never match your bank or database revenue.

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