Attribution window
The time limit for credit: how long after an ad, email, or link a conversion can happen and still count toward that touchpoint.
See it
What it is
An attribution window is the maximum time allowed between a touchpoint and a conversion for that touchpoint to receive credit. With a 7-day click window, a purchase six days after the click is eligible and one eight days later is not. Clicks and ad impressions can have different windows. Meta defaults to 7-day click plus 1-day view, cut down from the old 28-day settings in 2021 when Apple's App Tracking Transparency arrived.
Reach for it whenever you define an attribution report, because the model cannot run until the eligible path has a boundary. Short windows fit quick decisions such as food delivery. Longer windows may fit considered purchases such as annual software contracts. Compare a few fixed windows to see how sensitive the answer is.
Gotcha: a longer window does not uncover more truth; it simply lets more touchpoints claim credit. A short window misses slow decisions, while a long one credits stale contact that may have had little influence. Reports from two tools will not reconcile if their click, view, timezone, or window settings differ.
Ask AI for it
Add an attribution-window comparison in BigQuery using TIMESTAMP_DIFF. For every conversion, compute eligible click touchpoints under 1-day, 7-day, and 30-day windows and eligible impression touchpoints under 1-day and 7-day windows. Use event timestamps in UTC, reject touches after the conversion, and report attributed conversions and revenue by channel for each window. Include a sensitivity table showing the absolute and percentage change when the window expands.