Facebook To Remove 28-Day Attribution Window

Facebook recently announced that starting on October 12, the long-time standard 28-day attribution model will be removed from ad reporting, and the 7-day lookback window will become the new default.

So what does this mean for marketers?

This means that Facebook will only take credit for clicks and conversions that take place over a one-week period, as opposed to a month. Advertisers who previously used the default 28-day window can expect to see a significant drop in conversion performance once the switch happens. But should be careful to note that this likely does not signal a drop in performance – rather, just an evolution in how Facebook takes credit.

Facebook explained that “Upcoming digital privacy initiatives affecting multiple browsers will limit business’s ability to measure people’s interactions across domains and devices. Among those limitations is the ability for businesses to attribute conversion events back to an ad over longer attribution windows.” This change could be a step to prepare for the phasing out of third-party cookies, as Chrome and Safari limits first-party cookies to seven days.

How should you prepare for this change?

While this change is coming up quickly, to ensure a seamless transition with this platform evolution, it’s recommended that you begin including the 7-day lookback reporting alongside the 28-day window to gauge the likely impact of the change. Additionally, campaigns that use automated rules should be updated before October 12 to ensure no disruption to performance.