An Overview: Post-view & Post-click Attribution

What Is Post-Click Conversion?

A post-click conversion occurs after a user has clicked on an ad. This goal action could be a sign-up, subscription, purchase, etc. Each touchpoint, or click, will receive a part of the conversion credit if the action occurs within the defined lookback window if attribution is done on a post-click basis rather than a last-click basis.

Because the user was clearly attracted to your ad on a website, clicked on it, and then converted, the value of a conversion occurring after a click is instantly obvious. In other words, there is no concern with awarding conversion credit to ads that generate clicks.
Example: You've decided to subscribe to a streaming service but haven't done any research into which one is best for you. So you inquire about your teammate's preference before making your purchase. The key motivator of your purchase is a conversation with a teammate, not any previous actions. This is similar to a post-click conversion, in which the major driver of your conversion is your click.

What Is Post-View Conversion?

A post-view conversion occurs when a user has previously received an impression but has not yet clicked on it. The key distinction between post-click and post-view conversions is that post-view conversions are focused on impressions rather than clicks.

When attempting to ascribe conversion credit to an ad after a user has been delivered one of your creatives but has not clicked, there is some difficulty. Post-view conversions account for over 90% of all conversions.
Example: You spend weeks researching streaming services online. When meeting your teammate, you skip over inquiring about his preferences and go straight to making a purchase. This is similar to a post-view conversion when your previous brand exposure is the primary driver of your conversion.
Advertisers often ignore the importance of post-view conversions. They frequently solely look at direct (post-click) conversions when evaluating the effectiveness of various digital marketing channels. Programmatic display acts further up the marketing funnel, directing traffic to other channels. This means that display gets a lot of post-view conversions, but if these aren't taken into consideration, their importance in the digital marketing landscape can be overlooked.

What Is a Lookback Window?

The lookback window is a period of time before conversion. It collects all of a user's actions, including all of the channels with which they interacted before converting. If the user converts within the lookback window, credit should be given to all marketing channels they interacted with.

Final Thoughts

The number of ad dollars spent on the number of conversions gained is calculated using attribution, and it is used to measure the success of ad campaigns. Advertisers wouldn't know how much they spend on each ad or how much a successful conversion pays out if they didn't have precise attribution.
In addition, attribution is necessary for all types of optimization. You can adjust and optimize almost every part of your product, your creatives, and your ad spend by tracking user actions and learning how consumers react to ads. Another reason attribution is such an important part of marketing efforts is that it influences the entire ad ecosystem, from calculating how much ad space costs to evaluating how well a campaign succeeded.