Google killed the preset attribution limits. Set custom lookback windows up to 30 days for view-throughs and 90 days for clicks to match how your customers actually buy.
Google Analytics just gave you back control over a decision the platform used to make for you. Starting now, you can set custom lookback windows that match how your customers actually buy instead of working around preset limits that were never built for your business.
Until now, Google locked you into fixed attribution windows. Engaged-view conversions (a customer saw an ad but didn't click it, then converted anyway) stuck to 3 days. Click-through conversions had preset options of 1, 7, or 30 days. That's it.
The new setup tears down those walls. You can now set engaged-view windows anywhere from 1 to 30 days, and click-through windows from 1 to 90 days. Pick the integer that fits your business.
If your customers spend two weeks researching before they buy, Google's old 3-day engaged-view window was lying to you. It was erasing conversions that actually happened because they fell outside the count. Your analytics showed a lower ROI than reality. Your budget moved away from channels that were actually working. Bad decisions piled up.
For longer sales cycles, a contractor closing a remodel job, a manufacturer selling equipment, an e-commerce site competing in a category with real research time, that gap between Google's window and your actual cycle has been expensive. Now you can fix it.
Changing your attribution window will reprocess old data. Your historical reports will shift, sometimes dramatically, because Google will retroactively credit conversions to campaigns and keywords that looked worse under the old window. You need a hard line: before-and-after snapshot on the day you make the change. Everything before that date is under the old rules. Everything after uses the new window. Don't mix them in one report or you'll confuse yourself.
Also, this is Google Analytics native functionality. If you're using third-party attribution or relying on offline conversion imports, those still have their own rules and won't automatically sync to your new window. Check your other tools to make sure the picture stays consistent.
How WebKing runs this
We reconfigure your conversion attribution to capture the full customer journey. If your sales cycle is 60 days, your analytics window should be too, so budget decisions and performance reports stay honest.
If Google's old 3-day window was too short, you were only counting conversions that happened fast and missing the ones that took a week or two to close. Custom windows let you match reality, so your ROI math is actually correct.
Set it to match your sales cycle. If customers typically take 14 days to buy, use 14 days. Click-through lets you go up to 90 days, so even longer decision cycles are now trackable.
Historical data will be reprocessed under the new window, so yes, old numbers will shift. Plan to baseline your performance from the date you make the change.
Absolutely. Longer windows often surface conversions you weren't crediting before, which can shift which campaigns and keywords look profitable. Review performance after the change settles.
Sources
The Lab is original analysis by WebKing. We summarize and interpret developments from the sources above for industrial, commercial, and small business owners. Figures are reported as published by their sources.
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