About Google Ads conversion windows

 This article applies only to Google Ads accounts in the new Search Ads 360.

A conversion window is the period of time after a customer clicks your ad during which a conversion, such as a purchase, is recorded.

You can edit the conversion window setting for any of the Google Ads webpage, import, in-app action, or phone call conversions you're tracking.

Benefits

The conversion window setting is ideal for businesses that want more control when measuring their conversions, particularly businesses that sell products with a buying cycle that doesn't fit the default 30-day conversion window. If you set a longer conversion window, you'll also be able to see keywords early in the path to a conversion in Attribution reports in Google Ads.

Currently, Attribution reports are available only in Google Ads.

Example

Let's say you're advertising a weeklong promotion, and your customer needs to use the promotion within a week of clicking on an ad. You'd like to measure conversions for this promotion, so you adjust your conversion window to 7 days. By doing this, you have a better sense of your advertising's value within that shorter time frame.

Keep in mind: If you set your conversion window to 7 days, any conversion that happens more than 7 days after the click won't be recorded. This means it won't appear in your reports. The time lag report in attribution reports will also be capped at 7 days, so you won't see how many conversions helped by Google Ads happened during the next 7 days.

How it works

You can set different conversion windows for each of your client account conversion actions when you first create the conversion during setup or anytime after.

 

Currently, you can create conversion actions only in the previous Search Ads 360 experience or in Google Ads.

"Client account conversion value” is visible under “Client account conversion value” for Google Ads specific client accounts.

Check the Experience hub to stay up to date on your available features, including bidding. 

 

You also can change the conversion window as often as you'd like. Just remember that any changes apply to all conversions going forward. So, if you're using a 30-day conversion window and you change it to 10 days, the 10-day window will only apply to conversions recorded from that day forward.

Example

Here's an example of how a conversion window would work if someone interacted with your ad on March 1:

• March 1: Your conversion window is set to 30 days. Conversions between now and March 30 will be counted for this interaction.
• March 7: You change your conversion window to 10 days. Conversions before March 10 will be counted for the March 1 interaction.
• March 16: You change the conversion window again to 20 days. A March 13 conversion from this interaction, which wasn't counted within the last window, won't be retroactively counted. But future conversions before March 20 will be counted for the March 1 interaction.

Choose your window

Not sure what conversion window to choose? Check out the time lag report in your attribution reports in Google Ads. This shows you how the time between people's ad interactions and conversions varies. Knowing this, you'll have a better idea of how long your conversion window should be.

Example

If 75% of conversions happen between the 25th and 30th day after an ad interaction, you'll want to make sure you set a window for at least this long, or you might miss recording conversions.

Keep in mind that the "Attribution time lag" report reflects the time lag only for ad interactions on google.com that lead to conversions. It doesn't show time lag for conversions attributed to ad interactions on Google Display Network or other search partners.

Effect on Google Ads Attribution reports

Attribution reports will show the path to conversions within any window you choose. Here's how Attribution reports will show last-click conversions and assisted conversions:

• Only last-click conversions that are within the conversion window you choose will be shown.
• Assisted conversions will be shown for 30-, 60-, and 90-day conversion windows, regardless of your conversion window setting. But the click that converted needs to be within the conversion window for these kinds of clicks to be shown.

About view-through conversion windows

You can also select a different window for view-through conversions. This lets you choose how long to track conversions after an impression of an ad.

If you don’t customize the view-through conversion window when you create a new conversion, the default window is 1 day.

Instructions

You'll be given the opportunity to choose a conversion window whenever you create a new conversion. If you'd like to edit an existing conversion, follow these steps:

Keep in mind

• You can set the conversion window anywhere from 1 to 90 days, depending on the source of conversions.
• For Search and Display campaigns, if you don't customize the conversion window, a 30-day default window will be applied to your conversions.
• Google Ads Smart Bidding strategies, like Target CPA, ECPC, and Target ROAS will count and optimize conversions for any window you choose.

1. Sign in to your new Search Ads 360.
2. Navigate to a Google Ads client account.
3. On the toolbar, click the tools and settings icon , then under "Measurement", click Conversions.
4. In the table, click the name of the Google Ads conversion action you want to edit. 
5. On the "Details" page, click Edit settings.
6. Click to expand the Click-through conversion window section. 
   For view-through conversions, expand the View-through conversion window.
7. Select how long to track conversions after an ad interaction, then click Save. 
   • You can set this anywhere from 1 to 30, 60, or 90 days, depending on the conversion source. Note that windows of at least 7 days are recommended because they provide a richer set of conversion data. 
8. Click Done.