View-Through Conversions

A view-through conversion is a conversion from someone who saw your ad, did not click it, and later converted within a set time. In Google Ads, the view-through conversion window is a setting on each conversion action. Google's help page says the default is 1 day, and you can set it from 1 to 30 days, or any custom number of days. Meta reports the same idea through view windows, with 1-day view still available, while Meta's October 2025 developer announcement said 7-day view and 28-day view would stop being returned by its Ads Insights API from January 12, 2026. Views are common in display, video, and social campaigns. Both Google and Meta separate them in reporting, so you can show click-based results alone, view-based results alone, or the combination.

Mechanically, the platform logs each impression against a browser or account, and when a conversion arrives it checks whether that person had a recent impression. If an impression falls inside the view window, the conversion can be reported as view-through. Google's page says the window sets the longest time after a view during which a conversion is counted, and that changes apply only going forward. It does not describe how multiple impressions are credited, so avoid assuming a specific rule. The default view window is deliberately short, because an impression is a weak link and the longer the gap the less likely the ad mattered.

These conversions interact with measurement and bidding in ways that matter. Both platforms report view-through separately from click-through, and the columns can be included or excluded from the main conversion figure. If they are included, Smart Bidding sees them as successes and may chase the audiences who see your ads most, even if those people would have bought anyway. For formats designed to be seen rather than clicked, such as video, they are a fair signal, but still a signal of association rather than cause. These conversions are the most debated number in paid media. Some teams ignore them, some count them in full, and the better teams test them.

The persistent mistake is adding view-through conversions to a blended return on ad spend and presenting the result as the ad's performance. A retargeting audience of past buyers will see your ad, then buy, regardless. Another mistake is dropping them completely: for a brand video campaign with few clicks, ignoring views shows nothing at all. A third is setting a long view window for a high-frequency campaign, which credits an ad that merely sat on the screen weeks earlier. If you run both retargeting and prospecting, split the view-through numbers by campaign type. Retargeting views are the most likely to be non-incremental. Also remember that browsers, ad blockers, and privacy settings limit how well platforms can link an impression to a later purchase, so view-through counts are incomplete as well as uncertain. Treat the figure as a rough signal, never as an invoice.

To read them, separate click and view columns in every report, and never total them without saying so. Ask how big the view share is: a small share is a footnote, a large share is a warning. The proper test is a holdout or lift study, where part of the audience is not shown the ads and the sales are compared. This week, pull one display or video campaign, list click and view conversions separately, and if views dominate, plan a two-week holdout rather than trusting the number. Keep a rule of thumb for your team: view-through counts as a lead indicator until a holdout says otherwise.