Should You Count View Through Conversions?

View-through conversions are both misunderstood and controversial. The truth is that they have value, but the context matters.

What Are View-Through Conversions?

Meta’s default attribution setting is 7-day click and 1-day view. This is how Meta gives credit to your ads for conversions.

This means that an ad will get credit for a conversion if it happens within 7 days of clicking the ad or within 1 day of viewing it without clicking.

To clarify, a view-through conversion happens when someone sees your ad but never clicks it. If they convert within a day, it is reported in Ads Manager as a conversion.

The Problem with View-Through Conversions

Many advertisers completely ignore that some of their conversions are view-through. In some cases, it could be a significant percentage.

They see 100 conversions and stop there. They do not dig deeper. They report back to their client about the 100 conversions, the cost per conversion, and the return on ad spend, all of which may look amazing.

However, the context of view-through conversions is important, and many advertisers fail to mention it.

Why Are View-Through Conversions Controversial?

Some advertisers argue that Meta is stealing credit and that view-through conversions should be completely ignored.

I would not go that far, but view-through conversions are rarely as valuable as click-through conversions.

We cannot always say for sure that the ad contributed to the conversion. There is no proof the user even saw the ad. We only know that:

• They were served the ad.
• They converted later.

It is possible that the conversion had nothing to do with the ad.

When View-Through Conversions Have Value

Consider a scenario where a user is shown your ad and is interested but does not click.

If what you are promoting requires a big commitment, such as an expensive purchase, they may need time to think about it.

• They discuss it with a business partner or significant other.
• Within 24 hours, they search for your brand or product.
• They visit your website directly and complete the purchase.

In this case, your ad clearly played a role in the purchase, even though the user never clicked it. While difficult to prove, it deserves some credit.

When View-Through Conversions Are Most Questionable

The value of view-through conversions is most questionable when running remarketing campaigns.

For example, let’s say you are targeting your email list.

• A user is shown your ad but does not click.
• A few hours later, they receive an email from you.
• They click the email and make a purchase.

In this case, the ad had no impact on the buying decision, but it still gets credit.

This can also happen if the user visits your website regularly or is influenced by another marketing effort.

This does not mean remarketing cannot lead to valuable view-through conversions, but this scenario is very common.

What Should You Do About This?

Do not completely ignore view-through conversions. Instead, focus on understanding the context, getting the full picture, and preventing misleading results.

Sales Campaigns

• In most cases, use the default 7-day click and 1-day view attribution setting.
• Use the Compare Attribution Settings feature to analyze how conversions are distributed.
• If you have defined your audience segments, you can break down conversions by existing customers and new users.
• Scrutinize view-through conversions from remarketing campaigns, especially those targeting existing customers.

Lead Generation Campaigns

• Use a 1-day click attribution setting.
• If a user did not click and convert within a day, it is highly questionable whether the ad had any influence.
• If you did not set your attribution this way, use the Compare Attribution Settings feature and ignore view-through conversions, if not 7-day click conversions as well.

Remarketing Campaigns

• Throw out all view-through conversions.
• Set the attribution in the ad set as 7-day click for purchases and 1-day click for non-purchases.
• If you do not want the algorithm inflating results by chasing easy view-through conversions, this is the best approach.
• If you fail to set your attribution this way, use the Compare Attribution Settings feature and ignore all 1-day view conversions.

The Bottom Line

Context is necessary when analyzing view-through conversions. They do not hold the same value as click-through conversions, but there are situations where they have some value.

Completely ignore view-through conversions for non-purchase events and remarketing campaigns.

This will impact your reported results, including:

• The number of conversions
• The cost per conversion
• The return on ad spend

You may not be as proud of your results once view-through conversions are removed, but this is the responsible way to evaluate performance. It shows a basic understanding that not all conversions are created equal.