What is View-Through Attribution?

View-through attribution gives credit for a conversion to an ad that was seen but not clicked. If a customer views a display or video ad and later makes a purchase within a set attribution window, that ad gets partial or full credit—even if they never interacted with it.

This model is widely used in display advertising, programmatic media, and platforms like Meta and YouTube, where visual impressions may influence behavior indirectly.

How View-Through Attribution Works

Let’s say:

1. A customer sees your YouTube pre-roll ad.

2. They don’t click, but remember your brand.

3. Two days later, they Google you and convert.

If you’re using a 7-day view-through window, the YouTube ad may get full or partial credit, even though there was no click.

This is helpful for understanding upper-funnel performance—but it’s also controversial.

Why Marketers Use View-Through Attribution

• Captures passive influence from visual ads that spark awareness

• Useful for brand-building channels where clicks are rare (e.g. CTV, YouTube, programmatic display)

• Fills gaps in the clickstream, especially in a cookieless world

For awareness campaigns, it gives credit where clicks don’t exist—but it can also inflate performance when not handled carefully.

View-Through Attribution vs. Click-Based Attribution

The Risks of Relying on View-Through Attribution

• Inflated performance metrics—especially with high-frequency or low-quality impressions

• Ad fraud potential—bots or invisible ads still count as views

• Over-crediting—viewed ads may not have influenced the decision at all

• Bias toward display and video networks that reward themselves aggressively

Marketers must vet view-through data and cross-check it against other signals before making spend decisions.

When View-Through Attribution is Useful

• Running top-of-funnel campaigns with low click-through rates but brand lift potential

• Measuring impact of CTV, YouTube, or programmatic display on conversions

• Evaluating retargeting performance when customers are unlikely to click again

Even if imperfect, it can help gauge directional impact—as long as it's used in context.

Why Fairing Helps

Fairing’s post-purchase surveys provide independent validation of what actually influenced a purchase—whether or not it generated a click or view.

• Ask: “How did you hear about us?” at the moment of conversion

• Identify when view-through credit aligns (or doesn’t) with customer-reported influence

• See how often channels like YouTube or CTV show up in open-text responses

• Flag inflated view-through performance and reallocate budget based on real attribution

Fairing gives you qualitative clarity—so view-through metrics don’t lead you astray.

How to Combine View-Through + Fairing

1. Track conversions with view-through windows in ad platforms.

2. Compare with Fairing responses that reference those same channels.

3. Identify which impressions actually made an impact, and which were ignored.

4. Use both quantitative and qualitative data to guide budget decisions.

This hybrid approach protects you from misleading results while unlocking real insights from your branding efforts.

FAQs

Is view-through attribution accurate?

It’s directional at best. It shows potential influence—but not causality. That’s why it should be paired with tools like Fairing.

Can Fairing replace view-through attribution?

Fairing doesn’t replace it—it validates it. If customers say YouTube influenced them, that’s a stronger signal than a tracked impression alone.

What’s a safe view-through window to use?

Many brands use 1-day or 7-day windows. Longer windows increase the risk of over-crediting passive impressions.

TL;DR: View-Through Sees the Impression—Fairing Confirms the Impact

View-through attribution helps track unclicked influence—but it’s easy to misuse. Fairing gives you the customer’s perspective, helping you separate brand lift from wasted impressions.

👉 Validate your view-through data with Fairing. Get started now