Process Flow
Animated overview of the full workflow
TL;DR
Attribution settings in Meta Ads determine how conversions are credited to your ads. The default is 7-day click and 1-day view. This means conversions are counted if they happen within 7 days of clicking your ad or within 1 day of viewing your ad (without clicking). You can change this per ad set. Options include 1-day click, 7-day click, 1-day click and 1-day view, or 7-day click and 1-day view. The setting affects both reporting and algorithm optimisation.
Step-by-Step Guide
Follow these 4 steps to complete this guide
- 1
Attribution Windows
**Click-through window:** How many days after a click a conversion is attributed. Options: 1 day or 7 days. **View-through window:** How many days after an ad view (without click) a conversion is attributed. Options: none or 1 day. **Default:** 7-day click, 1-day view. This means if someone sees your ad on Monday, does not click, but visits your site and converts on Tuesday, that conversion is attributed to your ad.
- 2
How Attribution Affects Optimisation
Your attribution setting does not just change reporting — it changes which conversions Meta's algorithm learns from. A 7-day click window gives the algorithm more signal to optimise with. A 1-day click window may reduce reported conversions, which can push the algorithm into a less effective learning state.
- 3
Choosing Your Settings
**Short sales cycle (impulse purchases):** 1-day click, 1-day view is appropriate. **Longer consideration (B2B, high-value purchases):** 7-day click, 1-day view captures the full decision journey. **Conservative reporting:** 1-day click only (no view-through) gives the most conservative conversion count.
- 4
iOS 14+ Impact
Apple's ATT framework limits tracking for iOS users who opt out. Meta's Aggregated Event Measurement and modelled conversions partially compensate, but attribution accuracy is lower for iOS traffic. The Conversions API (server-side tracking) helps recover some lost data.
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