Conversion windows & Counting Setting
What are conversion windows?
A conversion window is the period of time after an ad interaction (such as an ad click or video view) during which a conversion, such as a purchase, is recorded in the ad platforms.
There are two types of actions you can customize the conversion window for:
- click-through
- view-through
- engaged-view* (for video ads, definitions vary by platforms)
Benefits
The conversion window setting is ideal for businesses that want more control when measuring their conversions, particularly businesses that sell products with a buying cycle that doesn't fit the default 30-day conversion window.
Example
Let's say you're advertising a weeklong promotion, and your customer needs to use the promotion within a week of clicking on an ad. You'd like to measure conversions for this promotion, so you adjust your conversion window to 1 day. By doing this, you have a better sense of your advertising's value within that shorter time frame.
Keep in mind: If you set your conversion window to 1 day, any conversion that happens more than 1 day after the ad interaction won't be recorded. This means it won't appear in your reports.
100% of the conversion is attributed to Google Ads.
100% of the conversion is attributed to E-mail.
How do I select the best conversion window?
The best attribution window to use when checking your campaigns may depend on various factors, such as the type of campaign, the channel you're using, and the goal of your campaign. Generally, attribution windows between 7 and 30 days have been commonly used as technology was limited to these time frames.
For example, a 7-day attribution window may be sufficient for campaigns with short conversion cycles, while a 30-day window may be more suitable for campaigns with longer conversion cycles. Also, attribution windows can vary depending on the platform you're using, and some platforms may offer more or fewer options for customizing attribution windows.
Any DTC and e-commerce business should carefully analyze the performance of their campaigns and make informed decisions about which attribution window to use. Analyzing the outputs of your attribution models for different attribution windows can help determine the best window for each use-case.
View the different conversion windows yourself in Google Ads!
- In your Google Ads account, click the Goals icon .
- Click the Conversions drop down in the section menu.
- Click Summary.
- Find the conversion action you'd like to edit. Click Edit settings. Click on Click-through conversion window. Select how long it takes to track conversions after an ad interaction from the drop-down. You can set it anywhere from 1 to 30, 60, or 90 days for Search and Display campaigns depending on the conversion source. Note that windows of at least 7 days are recommended, because they provide a richer set of conversion data. For view-through conversions, click Settings from the Conversions drop down in the section menu. click View-through conversion window and select an option from the drop-down. Click Save.
- Click Done.
More information: https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/3123169?hl=en
When conversions are created, they use the default attribution setting across all platforms. It is up to the Performance team members to ensure this setting is accurate.
What is the conversion counting setting?
With conversion tracking, you have the flexibility to count conversions according to your business needs. For any conversion action, you can choose to count every conversion that happens after an interaction, or only one conversion that happens after an interaction.
These counting choices can give you a better sense of your campaign performance and help you refine your bids. Your conversion counting choices will be reflected in the "Conversion" columns, the "All conversions" columns, and the "View-through conversion (VTC)" column.
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Counting options
To figure out which conversion counting option is best for each conversion action you track, let's take a closer look at the 2 counting settings:
Every conversion
With this setting, Google Ads counts every conversion (per tracked conversion action) that happens after an ad interaction. This is a good choice if you'd like to track and improve your sales, because every sale likely adds value for your business.
One conversion With this setting, Google Ads counts only one conversion per ad click. This is a good choice if you're not interested in the number of sales, but instead whether or not a certain kind of lead was generated. This is because usually only one, unique lead per ad click likely adds value for your business.