Skip to main content

Facebook Attribution Settings

Facebook attribution settings allow you to control how conversions are credited to your Facebook ads. These settings directly impact your reported metrics and can significantly affect your understanding of campaign performance.

Attribution Windows​

Attribution windows define the timeframe during which a conversion can be attributed to an ad interaction. Our platform allows you to configure two types of attribution windows:

Click Attribution Window​

The click attribution window determines how long after someone clicks on your ad that their actions can be attributed to that advertisement.

Available options:

  • Default (Facebook's current default setting)
  • 1 Day (conversions within 1 day after clicking)
  • 7 Day (conversions within 7 days after clicking)
  • 28 Day (conversions within 28 days after clicking)
  • Disabled (click-based attribution is turned off)

View Attribution Window​

The view attribution window determines how long after someone views (but doesn't click) your ad that their actions can be attributed to that advertisement.

Available options:

  • Default (Facebook's current default setting)
  • 1 Day (conversions within 1 day after viewing)
  • 7 Day (conversions within 7 days after viewing)
  • Disabled (view-through attribution is turned off)

Click Type Settings​

Click type settings determine which types of clicks are counted in your attribution model.

Available options:

  • Default (All Clicks) - Counts all clicks on your ads
  • Unique Clicks - Only counts one click per unique user
  • Outbound Clicks - Only counts clicks that led users off Facebook/Instagram
  • Unique Outbound Clicks - Only counts one outbound click per unique user

Onsite Conversion Settings​

Exclude Onsite Conversions​

When enabled, this setting excludes conversions that occur directly on Facebook or Instagram (such as lead form completions) from your attribution reporting. This helps focus your metrics on conversions that happen on your own website or app.

  • Enabled - Onsite conversions are excluded from attribution
  • Disabled - Onsite conversions are included in attribution

How These Settings Affect Your Metrics​

Click Attribution Impact​

  • Longer windows (28-day) typically show more conversions attributed to Facebook ads
  • Shorter windows (1-day) provide a more conservative view of ad impact
  • Matching your attribution window to your typical customer journey provides the most accurate picture

View Attribution Impact​

  • Including view-through attribution will attribute more conversions to Facebook
  • View attribution is valuable for awareness and consideration campaigns
  • Disabling view attribution provides a more conservative view focused only on direct response

Click Type Impact​

  • All Clicks typically attributes the most conversions to ads
  • Unique Outbound Clicks provides the most conservative measure
  • Outbound Clicks focus on traffic actually directed to your site

Best Practices​

  1. Align with business objectives - Match attribution settings to your campaign goals and customer journey

  2. Be consistent - Use the same attribution settings when comparing campaign performance over time

  3. Consider your sales cycle - Products with longer consideration periods benefit from longer attribution windows

  4. Compare settings - Periodically review how different attribution settings affect your reported performance

  5. Stay updated - As Facebook updates their default attribution settings, ensure your custom settings still align with your needs

Advanced Considerations​

  • Platform changes - Facebook periodically updates their default attribution settings, so "Default" may change over time

  • Cross-device attribution - These settings apply across devices when users are logged into Facebook

  • Ad platform comparison - Consider aligning attribution settings across ad platforms for fair comparison

  • Privacy impacts - As privacy regulations and browser policies evolve, attribution capabilities may change

Technical Implementation​

The system stores your attribution preferences in your store settings:

  • Click attribution window as store.settings.attr.cl
  • View attribution window as store.settings.attr.v
  • Click type preference as store.settings.clickType
  • Onsite conversion exclusion as store.settings.attr.exclOnsite

Changes to these settings are applied to all future attribution calculations and reporting.