What is a view-through conversion?
How does a view-through conversion work?
An ad platform records that a person was shown your ad. The person does not click. Later they buy. If the purchase falls inside the view window, the platform credits the ad.
A click-through conversion needs a click. A view-through conversion needs only an impression, which is a showing of the ad, not proof anyone looked at it.
Why do platform and analytics numbers differ?
A vendor guide on Meta and Google Analytics 4 mismatches says Meta also counts view-through conversions, which GA4 cannot see1. If one tool counts views and the other does not, the totals will not match. Neither is lying. They are counting different things.
This is why one platform report is not the whole story. Read it next to your shop's own order data.
Does a view-through conversion prove the ad worked?
No. Attribution is a rule for sharing credit. It does not show what caused the sale. Someone who saw the ad may well have bought anyway.
The question that settles it is incrementality: how many extra sales did the ads cause? A test answers that. For how the measurement methods compare, see MMM vs MTA vs incrementality tests.
Our view: read a report that leans on view-throughs next to a click-only version of the same report.
Worked example
Easily confused with
View-through conversion vs Click-through conversion
Credited after a click on the ad.
View-through conversion vs Attribution window
The whole period in which a conversion can be credited. The view window is the part that applies to views.
View-through conversion vs Incrementality
Sales the ads caused. A view-through is only a sale the ads were near.
View-through conversion vs ROAS
A ROAS figure that includes view-throughs carries more credit than a click-only one. Ask which one you are looking at.
FAQ
Is a view-through conversion a real sale?
The sale is real. The credit is the question. The order happened, but the ad may not have caused it.
Should I switch view-throughs off?
Not by default. Report results with and without them, and name the window. Then you can see how much of the number depends on views.
Why does Meta show more conversions than my analytics tool?
According to a vendor guide on the Meta and GA4 gap, Meta also counts view-through conversions and GA4 cannot see them1. Different windows and counting rules are other things to check.
Let’s find what’s actually working.
Next step. See what your numbers look like on explicit assumptions. Use the Is your ROAS real? calculator.