What Meta says
In Meta's own words: “The standard attribution setting allows advertisers to choose whether to credit a conversion based on ad impressions, clicks and/or engagements.” (Meta help center)
Why the window changes the number
The same campaign will report more conversions on a 7-day-click window than a 1-day one, simply because it captures more of the delayed conversions common in considered purchases. Comparing two platforms, or two date ranges, without matching windows produces differences that look like performance changes but are just accounting.
Click vs view-through
A click window credits conversions after someone clicked the ad; a view-through window credits them after someone merely saw it (it is why Meta's default window flatters its own numbers). Since March 2026, Meta counts only link clicks as click-through and credits likes, shares, saves, and 5-second video plays separately under a 1-day engage-through window, so a Meta report now has three columns to read, not two. View-through inflates apparent performance and is the first thing we separate out when a channel's numbers look too good. As with every platform count, we reconcile back to the CRM's first-touch record rather than trusting the window-based number outright. Why one conversion ends up with three different counts is the subject of Google, Meta, and your CRM disagree on conversions.
A worked example
Say a Meta ad set reports 40 purchases on 7-day click and 1-day view: 25 came within a day of a click, 9 came 2 to 7 days after a click, and 6 came within a day of someone only seeing the ad. Switch the same data to 1-day click and it reports 25, a 37.5% drop with no change in actual sales.
Common questions
What is an attribution window?
It is the length of time after seeing or clicking an ad during which a conversion is still credited to that ad. Meta's default is 7-day click and 1-day view; Google and other platforms offer their own settings.
What is Meta's default attribution window?
Meta's default for new ad sets is 7-day click and 1-day view, set at the ad set level: a conversion is credited if the person clicked a link in the ad within seven days or saw it within one day. Since March 2026, non-link interactions such as likes, shares, and 5-second video plays are credited separately under a 1-day engage-through window.
What is the default conversion window in Google Ads?
For a new conversion action, Google defaults to a 30-day click-through window, a 3-day engaged-view window and a 1-day view-through window. You can set the click-through window from 1 up to 30, 60 or 90 days depending on the conversion source, and Google recommends at least 7 days.
What is LinkedIn's default attribution window?
LinkedIn's Campaign Manager defaults to a 90-day click and 90-day view window. You can set 1, 7, 30 or 90 days, and for Conversions API or CSV uploads some conversion types allow 180 or 365 days.
Does changing the attribution window change past conversions?
Not on Google Ads or LinkedIn: both apply a window change only to conversions recorded from that point forward. On Meta you can still view past results under other windows (1-day view, 1-day click, 7-day click and 28-day click) with Compare attribution settings in Ads Manager.