The short answer
An attribution window is how long after a click or view a sale can still be credited to an ad. Defaults differ by platform: Google 30 days for clicks, TikTok 7 days, LinkedIn 30 days, Meta 7 days with new engage-through and view settings. The window that matters most for CRM sales is the upload limit: Google 90 days from the click, Meta 7 days, LinkedIn 90 days. Set windows longer than your sales cycle.
DataCops is the tracking solution for ad-funded businesses: it keeps the click, filters junk visits, matches the sale and sends it back to Meta, Google Ads, TikTok and LinkedIn, so your ads learn from real outcomes and not just from what a browser managed to report.
How DataCops covers the attribution chain:
- It keeps the click. One script and one DNS record collect on your own domain. Click IDs (gclid, wbraid, gbraid, fbclid, ttclid, li_fat_id) stay on the server for up to 90 days, and a signed server-set cookie lasts up to 400 days where enabled.
- It checks the visit. Every visit gets a bot verdict against an IP database covering 360+ billion IPs, with a Real people only switch per ad platform (off by default), and form emails are checked.
- It matches the sale. By click ID, or by hashed email and phone, from Shopify orders, HighLevel, any CRM by webhook, or a CSV.
- It sends the sale back. To Meta, Google Ads, TikTok and LinkedIn, counted once against the pixel, with every send in a delivery log.
- It sends the stages that happen later. Booked, showed, won and paid, so the ad platform learns who becomes a customer.
- Ads Warmup. Upload past customers (only email is required, up to 20,000 rows), see a 0 to 10 match score, and send them to Meta, Google Ads and TikTok so a new campaign starts with real buyers.
Best for: stores and lead-gen businesses that want the ad platforms themselves to learn from real sales. It is not a reporting dashboard.
The windows, platform by platform
| Platform | Default | What you can change | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meta | 7-day click, 1-day engage-through, 1-day view (per coverage of the 2026 changes) | Per ad set; 7- and 28-day view stopped being returned in January 2026 | Check your account |
| Google Ads | Click 30 days, view 1 day, engaged-view 3 days | Click 1 to 30, 60 or 90; view 1 to 30; engaged-view 1 to 30 | Google Ads Help |
| TikTok | 7-day click, 1-day view | Click 1, 7, 14 or 28 days; view off, 1 or 7 days | In-app actions default longer |
| 30-day click, 7-day view (API defaults) | 1, 7, 30 or 90 days; 365 for some types via the Conversions API or CSV | Rules vary by conversion | |
| GA4 | Data-driven; 30-day lookback for acquisition events, 90 days for others (defaults) | Adjustable per property | Per-conversion settings added in 2026 |
Sources: Google Ads Help for Google, TikTok's help centre, LinkedIn's Conversions API reference and help centre, and coverage of Meta's changes. Platforms change defaults, so confirm in your own account.
How to choose a window
- Measure your real time to buy. From first click to sale, for your last 100 customers. Note the median and the 90th percentile.
- Set the click window to cover the 90th percentile where the platform allows, or the nearest option above it.
- Treat view-through carefully. A one-day view window credits people who saw an ad and bought anyway. Keep it short, and read it separately.
- Use the same window when comparing platforms, or compare each against your own revenue instead.
- Record changes. Note the date you change a window on every chart.
A purchase that happens after ten days looks different under each window. With a seven-day click window, it is not credited at all. With a 30-day window, it is. That is not a change in your advertising. It is a change in the ruler.
Upload windows for CRM sales
For deals that close in a CRM, the limit that bites is not the attribution window but the upload window: how late the platform will accept the sale.
| Platform | Limit | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Google Ads | Click ID import within 90 days of the click | 63 days for enhanced conversions for leads |
| Meta | Events older than 7 days are rejected | Offline Conversions upload was shut down in May 2025; send through the Conversions API |
| Up to 90 days | Up to 365 days for some types through the Conversions API or CSV |
If your deals take longer, send checkpoints: a smaller value at "qualified" or "booked", while the click is fresh. See which ad brought the closed deal.
Window mistakes
- A 7-day window on a 30-day sales cycle.
- Comparing a platform with a 30-day window to one with a 7-day window.
- Reading a January or March 2026 drop in Meta as a performance change. See Meta attribution in 2026.
- Trying to upload a deal after the platform's limit and not noticing the rejection.
- Changing a window mid-test.
How DataCops handles the clock
DataCops keeps click IDs on the server for up to 90 days, which covers the Google and LinkedIn upload limits, and shows each send in a delivery log as sent, held, skipped or failed with the reason. A stage held because the click is outside a platform's window appears there, so a missing sale has an explanation. Meta's seven-day limit still applies, which is why earlier checkpoint stages matter. Read the complete attribution guide.
Tools you will meet
Each row says what the type does and where it stops. We checked the named tools' own pages in October 2026; vendors change features, so confirm before you choose.
| Type | What it does | Best for | Limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| The ad platform's own reporting | Credits sales by its own rules and window | Ranking ads against each other | Overstates across platforms; sees only what it was sent |
| GA4 or first-party analytics | Sessions and paths on your site | Behaviour and funnels | Browser-only tools miss blocked and non-consented events |
| Attribution dashboards, such as Hyros, Triple Whale, Northbeam and Cometly | Journeys and revenue by channel; several also send conversions back | Cross-channel budget decisions | Check what each sends, to which platforms, and whether bots are filtered |
| Call tracking, such as CallRail and WhatConverts | Ties a call to a source | Phone-led sales | The call is one stage, not the sale |
| DataCops | Keeps the click, filters junk, matches and sends sales and CRM stages, with a delivery log | Making the ad platforms learn from real outcomes | Not a reporting dashboard |
What else the same install does
The attribution chain is one part of a wider setup. Collection runs on your own domain with one script and one DNS record; with your DNS on Cloudflare, the free, optional DataCops Cloudflare Worker reads click IDs and UTMs at the edge before the page runs, and it captures without blocking. On Shopify, the DataCops Shopify app sends every paid order from Shopify's server. A first-party consent manager built on IAB TCF v2.2 and first-party analytics, a GA4 alternative, come from the same script. Each form email is checked for disposable providers and domains with no mail server, and LeadCops can enforce those rules on a form. Every send appears in a delivery log with the reason it was sent, held, skipped or failed.
Sources
- support.google.com/google-ads/answer/3123169
- support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2998031
- ads.tiktok.com/help/article/attribution-manager?lang=en
- learn.microsoft.com/en-us/linkedin/marketing/integrations/ads-reporting/conversions-api
- www.linkedin.com/help/lms/answer/a426359
- ppc.land/meta-rewrites-click-attribution-rules-finally-aligning-with-google-analytics/
FAQ
What is the default attribution window on Meta?
Coverage of Meta's 2026 changes describes 7-day click, 1-day engage-through and 1-day view. Older guides show 7-day click and 1-day view. Check what your ad sets show.
What is the default conversion window in Google Ads?
30 days for click-through conversions, 1 day for view-through and 3 days for engaged-view, per Google's help page.
What are the default windows on TikTok and LinkedIn?
TikTok defaults to 7-day click and 1-day view. LinkedIn's API reference lists a 30-day post-click and a 7-day view-through default, with 1, 7, 30 or 90 allowed.
How long can I send a sale back after the click?
Google Ads accepts a click ID import within 90 days of the click, and 63 days for enhanced conversions for leads. Meta rejects events older than 7 days. LinkedIn accepts up to 90 days, and up to 365 for some conversion types through the Conversions API or a CSV.
Should my window match my sales cycle?
Yes. Set it longer than your normal time from first click to sale, or real sales fall outside it and the platform never learns they were yours.
Why do my reports change when I change the window?
Because the same sales are credited differently. Never compare two reports with different windows and call the difference performance.
What if my sales cycle is longer than the upload window?
Send an earlier stage, such as qualified or booked, with a smaller value while the click is fresh, and send the final sale where the platform still accepts it.
