# What is an attribution window?

> An attribution window is the number of days after a click or view in which a sale still counts for your ad. Meta and Google options, plus a worked example.
- **Author**: Marxx
- **Published**: 2026-11-10
- **Category**: Measurement
- **URL**: https://marxx.ai/library-glossary/attribution-window

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An attribution window is the number of days after someone clicks or views your ad in which a sale still counts for that ad. With a 7-day click window, a purchase on day 5 after a click is credited to the ad. A purchase on day 9 is not.

## What Meta offers

Meta's standard attribution lists these settings for website and in-store conversions (checked 2026-10-20):

| Setting | Counts events within |
|---|---|
| Click-through | 1 day or 7 days after a link click |
| View-through | 1 day after an impression |
| Engage-through | 1 day after a click that is not a link click, or a 5-second video play |

Some accounts may still see older versions while Meta rolls this out ([Meta Help Center](https://www.facebook.com/business/help/460276478298895)).

## What Google Ads offers

Google Ads has a click-through window with a 30-day default. You can set it from 1 to 90 days, depending on the conversion source. The view-through default is 1 day ([Google Ads Help](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/3123169), checked 2026-10-20).

## A worked example

Say you spend INR 50,000. Buyers who clicked your ad spend INR 1,000 each. They buy like this:

- 40 buy within 1 day of the click.
- 20 more buy between day 2 and day 7.

**ROAS = revenue / ad spend**

| Window | Purchases counted | Revenue | ROAS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-day click | 40 | INR 40,000 | 0.8 |
| 7-day click | 60 | INR 60,000 | 1.2 |

Same ads, same buyers. The window changed the number from 0.8 to 1.2. A longer window does not create sales. It credits more of them.

## How to choose

Match the window to how long your buyers think. A INR 399 impulse buy often closes fast. A INR 40,000 sofa takes longer. Keep one window when you compare weeks, or the trend lies.

Platform windows also count sales that happened anyway. See [incrementality](/glossary/incrementality) for a stricter test, and [GA4 vs Meta Ads Manager numbers](/compare/ga4-vs-meta-ads-manager-numbers) for why totals differ. Meta's iOS privacy method matters too. See [Aggregated Event Measurement](/glossary/aggregated-event-measurement).

## FAQ

### Does Meta still offer a 7-day view window?

Meta's help page lists view-through as 1 day after an impression, and click-through as 1 or 7 days (checked 2026-10-20). Older guides may show other windows, so check the setting on your ad set.

### Does a longer window mean more sales?

No. It means Meta credits more sales to your ads. The same people buy either way.

### How do I compare ads fairly?

Use the same window and model for every ad set you compare. Meta says results cannot be compared across ad sets with different attribution models, and points to its Compare Attribution Settings feature for that.

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