Understanding the effectiveness of your TikTok ads goes beyond simply tallying clicks and views. It’s about immersing yourself in the user’s journey and how they engage with your ads. This is precisely where the TikTok attribution window enters the picture.
The TikTok attribution window is the timeframe from a user’s interaction with your ad to their eventual conversion. Understanding this will be a pivotal game-changer in crafting highly effective ads for your business. So, let’s delve deeper into how the TikTok attribution window operates, how you can tap into its potential, and the advantages it brings to your ads.
Table of Contents
What is the TikTok attribution window?
The TikTok attribution window is the time duration in which users’ actions attribute to a particular ad on TikTok. You can think of the TikTok attribution window as a timer that starts when someone clicks or watches your ad. If customers do something like filling in your form within that time, it gives credit to your ad.
This credit helps you figure out how your ad is affecting your customer behavior, and what you can do to improve it. Identifying the TikTok attribution window is really vital for various processes during crafting the ad, including bidding, targeting, and optimization.
An overview of TikTok Attribution Manager
TikTok gets how crucial the attribution window is for seeing how well your ads are doing. So, they’ve got this awesome tool called “TikTok Attribution Manager” that lets you take charge of it. It’s right there in TikTok Ads Manager, and tweaking the time limit to check your ad results is a breeze. Just set up web events using a TikTok Pixel or Events API, and this feature is ready to use!
In TikTok Attribution Manager, keep in mind these 2 main types of attribution:
- Click-Through Attribution (CTA): This is when someone clicks on a TikTok ad and then does something, like getting a new app or buying something in the app. TikTok sees this as a click-through conversion, giving credit to the ad.
- View-Through Attribution (VTA): If someone sees your ad but doesn’t click it, and later on they do something like buying stuff in the app, TikTok still gives credit. This is a view-through conversion. But if someone clicks the ad and then takes action, the credit goes to the click as the primary factor.
How to use TikTok Attribution Manager?
Step 1: Within your TikTok Ads Manager screen, click on Tools. In the Management section, choose Events to access your web events control window.
Step 2: Then, proceed to choose Manage in the Web Events
Step 3: Click on the blue link Performance comparison across windows located in the top-right corner of your screen.
Step 4: Navigate to View settings to open your Attribution settings.
Step 5: In this section, you’ll notice an edit icon next to the numbers in the click-through attribution window and view-through attribution window columns. Simply click on it, and you’ll be able to adjust your attribution window according to your desired time limit.
TikTok Attribution Window Option
Your TikTok attribution window will default to 7-day click-through attribution and 1-day view-through attribution. This is also the minimum number of days that TikTok recommends you to set your attribution window. However, you can always change your window to some of the other options that TikTok provides you:
- Click-through attribution: 1, 7, 14, 28 days
- View-through attribution: Off, 1, 7 days.
Absolutely, you have the option to disable your view-through attribution. Nevertheless, we strongly advise enabling it, as it offers you a more comprehensive perspective of how your advertising is affecting TikTok. Additionally, this action provides TikTok with extra conversion data, which in turn enhances the potential for optimizations, ultimately leading to enhanced results for your campaign.
FAQ about TikTok attribution window
Attribution is a complex concept for businesses engaged in advertising, not just on TikTok but across various platforms. Therefore, have compiled a list of frequently asked questions to address all your queries:
What is the difference between click-through attribution and view-through attribution?
Click-through attribution refers to attributing conversions to users who click on an ad and then take a desired action. View-through attribution attributes conversions to users who don’t click the ad but still convert after seeing it. Both types provide insights into the impact of your ads.
Why does TikTok provide me with so many attribution window options like that?
TikTok offers businesses a range of attribution window lengths to accommodate diverse advertising objectives and industries. For instance, if you operate a software company, it’s unlikely that your ads will result in conversions within just one day. Your potential customers typically require time to consider various factors before making a purchase decision. As a result, opting for a 7-day view-through attribution might be a more reasonable approach in this scenario.
Why should I use a VTA when it’s almost the same as a CTA?
TikTok is mostly about videos. So, what happens is, users on TikTok often watch an ad without actually tapping on it. But later, they might swing by your website and actually do what you want them to do. Hence, if you’re not using view-through attribution, chances are you’re not seeing how awesome TikTok ads can be. And you’re sort of limiting the info that helps out those smart systems that do things like decide where to put your ads and who to show the ads.
So, the tip here is to go for view-through attribution. That extra conversion info helps TikTok get the hang of things faster and boosts how well your whole account performs. In the end, it lets TikTok send out ads more cleverly to folks who might actually do what you want, and that means more wins for you.
Can I change my attribution window settings after a campaign has started?
Yes, you can change your attribution window settings even after a campaign has started. This flexibility allows you to adjust your strategies based on campaign performance and user behavior. In fact, adjusting attribution windows can provide a clearer picture of how your ads contribute to conversions over different time periods. It helps you optimize your campaigns more effectively based on your desired outcomes.
Explore more about TikTok ads
TikTok ads have really become a game-changer for businesses looking to up their marketing game. Now that you’ve got the lowdown on TikTok’s attribution window, you can track how your ads are doing and totally rock this platform. TikTok Ads Manager has provided you with the fundamental things you need to create and track ads for your e-commerce business.
However, if you want to level up your understanding of your TikTok ads performance, we recommend using an assistant to make your journey more pleasant. Check out NestAds – our all-in-one ads management platform with all-in-one business intelligence to analyze, optimize and scale your winning ads faster.
