What is an attribution window?
An attribution window is the specific period of time — days, weeks, or months — during which eligible conversion events can be claimed by publishers or media partners. It occurs after a user sees or interacts with an ad before they convert. The conversion event can be an app install, added to cart, or purchase, and it helps advertisers understand how their ads are performing.
It is critical for attribution providers to allow certain flexibility in configuring the attribution window for a few reasons. First of all, most conversion events, such as an app install, don’t happen immediately after an ad click. Secondly, each ad platform and network performs differently in terms of the time range needed to result in a conversion event. Thirdly, having the ability to set attribution windows helps to weed out false “organic conversions.”
When it comes to setting the “best” attribution window, there really is no silver bullet for all. It is based on a number of factors such as the goal for each campaign (awareness vs. installs, for example), audience characteristic of each network, and so on.
With Branch’s flexible attribution engine, marketers can easily configure and adjust the attribution window for each ad network. Users can view and compare the performance of different networks on the dashboard and make adjustments accordingly.