Conversion windows and view-through conversions in Google Ads

This guide is built from Google Ads Help: About conversion windows, About view-through conversions, About Engaged-view conversions and Understand your conversion tracking data. Setting up conversion actions is in our conversion tracking guide, why recent conversions keep arriving late in our conversion delay guide, and how credit is shared between touchpoints in our attribution models guide.

What a conversion window is

Google defines a conversion window as "the period of time after an ad interaction (such as an ad click or video view) during which a conversion, such as a purchase, is recorded in Google Ads". You can set it for website, imported, in-app and phone call conversions, separately for each conversion action, when you create the action or at any time afterwards.

Anything outside the window is simply not recorded. Google's example: with a 7-day window, "any conversion that happens more than 7 days after the ad interaction won't be recorded", and the time lag report is capped at 7 days too.

The three windows and their defaults

• Click-through window: how long after a click a conversion counts. Default 30 days; you can set 1 to 30, 60 or 90 days depending on the conversion source. Google recommends at least 7 days, "because they provide a richer set of conversion data".
• Engaged-view window: how long after a qualifying video engagement a conversion counts. Default 3 days for web conversions and offline imports; you can set 1 to 30 days or a custom number.
• View-through window: how long after an ad impression, with no click, a conversion counts. Default 1 day; you can set 1 to 30 days, 1 to 4 weeks or a custom number.

Changing a window

1. Click the Goals icon, open Conversions in the section menu and select Summary.
2. Find the conversion action and select Edit settings.
3. On the Settings tab, expand Click-through conversion window, Engaged-view conversion window or View-through conversion window and pick the length.
4. Click Save, then Done.

For Google Analytics conversions, Google says that with attribution set to Google paid channels you can change the window in Google Ads, while with Paid and organic channels the change must be made in Google Analytics.

Changes only apply going forward

Google is clear that window changes "apply to all conversions going forward". Its example: someone clicks on March 1 with a 30-day window. On March 7 you shorten it to 10 days, so only conversions before March 10 count for that click. On March 16 you lengthen it to 20 days; a conversion on March 13, which fell outside the 10-day window, is not added back, but conversions before March 20 now count. Past data is never recalculated, so a change shows up in reports as a step, not a rewrite of history.

Choosing the right length

Google points to the time lag report in attribution reports (see how long it takes customers to convert), which shows how long people take between ad interaction and conversion. Its example: if 75% of conversions happen between day 25 and day 30, set a window of at least 30 days. Two limits: the time lag report only covers ad interactions on google.com, not the Display Network or search partners, and it can't show anything beyond your current window.

Shorter windows suit short promotions; Google's example is a week-long offer measured with a 7-day window. Longer windows suit products with a long buying cycle, and also let attribution reports show keywords earlier in the path.

Windows, bidding and attribution reports

Google says Smart Bidding strategies such as Target CPA and Target ROAS "will count and optimize conversions for any window you choose". So the window is also what your bidding learns from: a 7-day window teaches bidding to ignore buyers who take two weeks.

In attribution reports, last-click conversions only show within your window, while assisted conversions show for 30, 60 and 90 days regardless of the setting, as long as the converting click is within the window. Because a conversion can be recorded until the window ends, figures for recent days keep filling in; that effect is covered in our conversion delay guide.

View-through conversions

A view-through conversion is when someone sees an ad, doesn't interact with it, and later converts on your site. Google says they help "track the full value of your display or video ad campaigns". The rules:

• The last impression before the conversion gets the credit. On the Display Network an impression must be viewable: at least 50% of the ad on screen for at least 1 second.
• Conversions from people who interacted with any of your other ads are excluded.
• They can't be reported from browsers that block cross-site cookies.
• Except for Performance Max for store goals and App and Demand Gen campaigns, they are reporting only: not in the Conversions column, only in View-through conversions and All conversions.

For YouTube-only Demand Gen campaigns, Google now offers view-through conversion optimisation, where view-through conversions are used in bidding; see our Demand Gen guide.

Engaged-view conversions

Engaged-view conversions sit between a click and a plain impression. They count when someone engages with a video ad and converts within the engaged-view window. Google's definitions:

• Skippable in-stream: watches at least 10 seconds, or the whole ad if it is shorter.
• In-feed: watches at least 5 seconds.
• Shorts: watches at least 5 seconds, clicks the call to action, or likes, comments or shares.
• Display Network video: watches a non-skippable rewarded ad, or at least 5 seconds after it becomes skippable.

They are tracked for Video, App, Display, Demand Gen and Performance Max campaigns. The formats themselves are in our YouTube video ads guide.

Where each type is reported

• Conversions: click-through and engaged-view conversions from primary actions. This is the column bidding uses.
• All conversions: everything in Conversions plus secondary actions and view-through conversions.
• View-through conversions: view-through only.

One trap with video: an impression is not a "view". Google counts a view when someone watches 30 seconds (or the whole ad if shorter) or clicks; a conversion after a view goes in the Conversions column, not view-through. The Conversions columns are also dated by the ad interaction, not the conversion; the "by conv. time" columns date them by when the conversion happened.

How we set windows

This is our own practice, not Google's guidance:

• We keep the 30-day click-through default for most lead and shop accounts, and check the time lag report after the first month.
• For high-value B2B leads with long sales cycles we lengthen it, and note the date of the change so the step in reporting is explained.
• We leave the view-through window at 1 day and read view-through numbers as a hint, not as results to report to clients.
• We don't change windows during a bidding learning period or just before comparing months.

If you want help setting up conversion tracking, see our services.

Frequently asked questions

What is the default conversion window in Google Ads?

30 days for click-through conversions, 3 days for engaged-view conversions (web and offline imports) and 1 day for view-through conversions.

What is the longest conversion window in Google Ads?

Up to 90 days for click-through conversions, depending on the conversion source.

Does changing the conversion window change past data?

No. Google says changes apply to conversions going forward; conversions already excluded are not added back.

Are view-through conversions included in the Conversions column?

Usually not. They appear in View-through conversions and All conversions, except for Performance Max for store goals, App and Demand Gen campaigns.

What is the difference between view-through and engaged-view conversions?

A view-through conversion follows an impression with no interaction. An engaged-view conversion follows a qualifying video engagement, such as 10 seconds of a skippable in-stream ad, and is counted in the Conversions column.

For more on Google Ads conversions, see our guides to cross-account conversion tracking and conversion value rules.