Attribution

How it works

The attribution model decides how credit is split between touchpoints. Google Ads and GA4 use data-driven attribution by default, which shares a conversion between clicks according to how much each one contributed. The attribution window sets how many days after a click or a view an ad can still be credited. In Meta Ads, the standard is 7 days after a click and 1 day after a view. In January 2026, Meta removed the 7-day and 28-day view windows from reporting, and some accounts showed fewer conversions overnight with sales unchanged.

Example: the same sales in three reportsExample

Orders in the shop

60

Meta Ads

42 purchases

Google Ads

38 purchases

GA4: Meta / Google

18 / 27

Each platform claims every purchase it played a part in, so the platform totals add up to more than the shop actually sold. Figures are illustrative.

What it means for you

Attribution decides which campaign you see as profitable. Every ad platform counts in its own favour, so when we move budget between platforms, we rely on one shared source and on the sales recorded in your own system.

From our accounts

After Meta changed its attribution windows in January, clients asked us why campaign results had suddenly dropped when orders hadn’t. The yardstick had changed, while sales stayed where they were. Whenever something like this happens, we note in the Decision Log the date from which figures can no longer be compared with earlier ones.