View-Through Conversions (VTC)
A view-through conversion credits an ad that was seen but not clicked. Meta's March 3, 2026 attribution change reshaped how it is counted — here is the new default window.
Updated July 2026.
A view-through conversion (VTC) credits an ad a user saw — an impression — but did not click, before later converting. It captures the assist value of awareness ads, but it overstates impact without incrementality testing, so treat it as directional influence, not proven causation.
What changed with Meta’s March 2026 attribution update?
On March 3, 2026, Meta changed how conversions are counted. Click-through attribution now requires an actual link click, and Meta added a new 1-day engage-through bucket that credits a conversion after ad engagement — for video, after a 5-second view (down from 10). One-day view-through attribution itself is unchanged. These definitional shifts moved reported numbers without any real change in performance.
What is the new default attribution window?
| Bucket | Window | Trigger |
|---|---|---|
| Click | 7-day | Actual link click |
| Engage-through | 1-day | Ad engagement (5s video view) |
| View | 1-day | Impression, no interaction |
Source: Meta attribution changes, March 3, 2026.
Why does it matter?
VTC captures awareness ads that drive conversions without a click, but it is easy to over-credit. Validate it with holdout or incrementality tests, and recalibrate dashboards to the new definitions before comparing 2026 results to prior periods.
Where it applies
- All platforms (definitions vary by platform)