Attribution marketing is all about knowing what channels a user interacted with before becoming a customer, what channels or platforms influenced the purchase decision, and how much time passed between the interaction and conversion.
This is known as the attribution window.
The attribution window is the time that elapses between when a user interacts with an ad and when he or she converts. Typically, this window is measured by days. For example, for a 30-day attribution window, you will record the number of conversions that occurred within 30 days of a user's first click.
Conversions are typically attributed to the last ad that the user clicked on or viewed. This means that if the conversion took place on day 10 and the interaction was on day 1, it will automatically be assigned to day 1, even if there were subsequent impressions in that time. In other words, what is valid is the click, not the number of impressions.
Another aspect to take into account is that different attribution windows can be configured. For example, you can have one attribution model for Facebook advertising and another for Google Ads. You can also change them as often as you'd like.
Ideally, the attribution window should be set to about 30 days to obtain clear data on the number of conversions generated per click. The shorter the window, the more confusing and inaccurate the data may be, as it could take days for a user to become a customer after the interaction.
For example, for a 7-day campaign attribution window, a user who interacts with an ad on day 1 and becomes a customer on day 8 will not be recorded. This could lead you to believe that you have fewer conversions on the platform.
Attribution windows provide data to help brands determine the success of their social media advertising campaigns, but they only provide an accurate picture if the period is long enough.