The Best Explanation: Facebook Attribution Model
Author: Ad Hacks December 23 | Blog
[Inside this article, we break down what facebook attribution is in a consumable way.]
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Most Facebook Media Buyers simply don’t consider this.
The ‘this’ in question being. . .
. . . Facebook Attribution.
Have you ever been in this scenario?
You have a goal of 3 x ROAS for an ad campaign…
After 7 days of running it, ROAS sit at a head-scratching 2.4…
You decide to pause the ad – cos, ain’t nobody got time to waste money…
And then. . . Miraculously, while staring at your ad account, wondering what gives, you notice that the ROAS on the paused ad account bumped up from 2.4 to 3…
That, friend, is just a long-winded explanation to say that Facebook is still giving your ads credit where credit is due. . . Even 7 days later.
Let’s dig a little deeper. . .
1. What the heck is Facebook Attribution – and why is it delayed?
To explain this properly we need to understand the journey your potential customers follow.
Consider this…
In a hypothetical world, you’re only running ONE ad.
Jane sees that ad today but doesn’t take any action.
About 7 days later, the same ad is served to her, she decides to click on the ad BUT. . . doesn’t end up making a purchase.
The ‘’view’’ and ‘’click’’ trigger Facebook to “observe” Jane across Facebook, Instagram, Audience Network, and Messenger over one or all of the next few periods;
1 day after viewing the ad
7 days after viewing and clicking the ad
28 days after viewing, clicking the ad, and making a purchase
Note: Those periods are also known as “attribution windows”.
So if Jane decides to make a purchase anywhere between 1 and 28 days after viewing and clicking the ad, Facebook will give credit to that ad that sparked her customer journey.
This may be why when you look at your ad insights, you might think that your ads aren’t performing as well as it should be but if you look back on the performance 7 or 28 days later, the report could tell you a different story.
And as Facebook puts it; “this can help you understand when people most often take action after interacting with your ads.”
Not only does it help you understand, but it also helps Facebook understand how best to optimize your ads, and they (or the algorithm) do this by collecting data from your Facebook Pixel and attribution windows.
But just to throw a little spanner in the works, if you were to look at the Jane scenario again but this time, you’re running about 3 ads, then Facebook will track every action Jane makes after viewing and clicking EVERY ad served to her.
If, for example, Jane finally converts after viewing and clicking ad #3, then that’s the ad that Facebook will give credit to.
As you can see, it’s not a foolproof method but it is one of the best attribution models in the digital marketing world.
2. So which Facebook Attribution window should you use and how to set it up
Digital Distillery Pro Coach and blog contributor, Eddy Gaur explains that; “deciding which attribution window to report on depends on a lot of factors such as price point of product or offer.”
He goes on to share that the most common attribution window selected is 1 day view and 7 days click because people usually convert within 7 days of clicking an ad – this action could be completing a purchase, booking a strategy call, or submitting their email address to download a lead magnet.
Another way to think about this is by the value of your product or service offering. If less than $100, then most people will make a purchase within 7 days whereas people generally make a $300+ purchase between 10-14 days.
For example, Eddy has found that when a jewelry eCommerce store sells inventory that’s more than $380, then it takes their potential customers an average of 12 days to convert with 8-12 touchpoints and ad impressions.
This is why Eddy recommends you first understand when people most likely convert and then choose your attribution window to suit.
3. How to make sure you’re NOT turning off ads early that has the potential to scale. . . and scale BIG!
By now, you might have realized that you may have been turning off potentially great ad campaigns too early or wasting ad spend on those that have NO potential to scale.
But for Digital Distillery Pro Guest Coach, Jason Portnoy, this isn’t a norm in his agency – JPORT Media.
The reason for the above is because he selects the correct attribution window for his ad campaigns, then uses his calculator (as pictured in the video below) to understand which ads should be turned off or left to work their magic.
Watch an extract from Jason’s call below.
If you liked our explanation of Facebook’s Attribution Model then you might like Digital Distillery Pro. It’s the World’s #1 Facebook Ads Training and Support Program designed to help you master the skill commanding the dollars. Check it out today.
Meet Our Blog Contributors
Jason Portnoy
Jason is known as the digital marketer who is able to scale eCommerce stores to 7+ figures inside his agency, JPORT Media. 🤑
He also hosts an epic podcast called Perfectly Mentored where has sat down with the likes of Gary Vaynerchuk, Daymond John, and Ryan Deiss (to name but a few).
And he was recently a Digital Distillery Pro guest coach (every month we host guest coaches).
Eddy Gaur
Web Developer turned eCommerce Facebook Ads guru, Eddy Gaur is a resident Digital Distillery Pro coach.
Most of Eddy’s day is spent coaching fellow Facebook Ads Marketers on weekly campaign support calls and our private Facebook group using his real-world experience.
When he isn’t coaching, you’ll find Eddy running ad campaigns for Eight Loop’s (our sister brand) clients.
