Attribution & Conversion Counting

7-Day Click Attribution vs View-Through Conversions: Click or Exposure Credit

In short: 7-day click is a specific, week-long click window and Meta's click default; view-through conversions is the broader category for crediting people who saw the ad, never clicked, and converted anyway. The two draw from different groups of people, since a click on record always outranks a view for the same person. Automated bidding leans on click-based signals like 7-day click far more than it leans on view-through data, which is usually reported as a supplementary, exposure-based line rather than a bidding target. Judge delivery and cost decisions on 7-day click; use view-through to understand exposure effects, and validate it with a lift test before acting on it.

By the AdFlint research team · Fact-checked against current Google and Meta platform behavior · Last reviewed July 2026

7-Day Click Attribution

Counts a conversion that happens within seven days of a click on the ad, credited back to the day of the click.

Meta's default click window, and the reason reported results for recent days keep rising: conversions are attributed to the date of the click, not the date of the purchase, so yesterday's numbers are still filling in a week later. Use it when the buying decision takes days rather than minutes. The common error is judging a campaign's first few days before the window has closed.

Full definition

View-Through Conversions

Counts people who were served your ad, never clicked it, and converted later within the view attribution window.

Both Google and Meta report these separately from click conversions, and both apply a shorter default window to views than to clicks. They matter most for display, video, and upper-funnel social, where the ad is seen far more often than it is clicked. The persistent error is adding view-through conversions straight into blended ROAS; without a holdout or lift test you have no evidence the impression caused anything.

Full definition

Side by side.

The differences that actually change what happens in your account.

 7-Day Click AttributionView-Through Conversions
What has to happen to earn creditA click on the ad within seven days.The ad being rendered and seen, with no click on record.
Default statusMeta's standard click default.Runs on whatever view window the account has set, typically the shortest option available.
Weight in automated biddingHeavily weighted - typically the primary signal bid strategies chase.Usually supplementary, reporting-oriented rather than the main lever.
How long the number keeps movingRevises upward for about a week after spend runs.Resolves much faster, since view windows are usually short.
Evidential strengthDocuments an actual click taken by the person.Documents exposure only, needs a lift test to support any causal claim.
Where it's reportedThe main click-conversion line feeding standard performance metrics.A separate line, typically kept apart from click conversions.
Failure modeJudging results before the seven-day window has actually closed.Treating the number as proof of causation without ever running a lift test.

What actually separates them.

01

7-day click requires an actual click within a week; view-through conversions require no click at all, just an ad rendered on screen, so the two draw from different, non-overlapping groups of people.

02

7-day click is Meta's click default and typically the primary number used for bidding and budget decisions; view-through conversions are usually reported separately as a supplementary, exposure-based line.

03

Click always wins when both exist for the same person, so any conversion where the person clicked within seven days is reported as a click-through conversion, never folded into view-through.

04

7-day click numbers keep revising upward for a week after spend runs, while view-through numbers on a short view window resolve much faster, so the two lines mature on very different schedules.

05

Automated bidding leans heavily on click signals like 7-day click, so delivery is shaped mostly by who is likely to click and convert, while view-through's passive nature keeps it from carrying the same weight in what the algorithm chases.

Which one should you use?

Use 7-Day Click Attribution when

  • You sell a considered purchase where people click, leave, and return within about a week.
  • You want the primary signal your bid strategy is actually built to chase.
  • You need a number that closely matches what your landing page's own click-tracking shows.
  • Your buyers typically decide over days rather than in the same session.
  • You are making a budget call and want the stronger, action-based evidence.

Use View-Through Conversions when

  • You are running display, video, or upper-funnel social where impressions vastly outnumber clicks.
  • You want to measure the effect on people who scrolled past your ad without tapping.
  • You are running a brand campaign where passive awareness, not a click, is the intended outcome.
  • You have, or plan to run, a holdout or lift test to validate whether the number is incremental.
  • You are reporting full-funnel impact to stakeholders alongside click numbers, not instead of them.

Common questions.

Should I optimize toward 7-day click or view-through conversions?

7-day click, in general - it is the stronger evidence and the signal most automated bid strategies are actually built to chase. Treat view-through as a supplementary number for understanding exposure effects, not as a bidding target on its own.

Why does my view-through conversions line look so small next to 7-day click?

Because click always outranks view for the same person, most people who genuinely convert after seeing an ad also click it at some point in the process, leaving only a small remainder with no click on record at all.

Can I add 7-day click and view-through numbers together for a total?

You can look at them side by side, but be careful treating the sum as one true return figure. View-through has no causal proof behind it without a lift test, so blending it straight into a blended ROAS can overstate what the campaign actually delivered.

Or stop choosing between them.

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