How Facebook Attributes Conversions

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Conversion Attribution Date
First, both Facebook and Google attribute conversion dates differently. Of course they do.

Here's how...


Facebook displays conversions based on the ad impression time, not the conversion time. Let's say someone receives an ad on October 6th (n.b. This date is random and has no meaning. And, of course, it's not my birthday). The person makes a purchase on October 10th. Facebook attributes this purchase in its reports to October 6th (i.e., the day the ad was served).With this in mind, it's worth noting that any time you pull Facebook statistics for a certain date or a period less than 28 days ago, the data will likely continue to change over time. No, it's not dentist data magic. It's because as more and more people convert, up to 28 days from the ad view/click, the data will change for the impression date. But this is a good thing: it means you're getting conversions later. It also indicates that there's a consideration period for buyers of your products. Useful stuff.

How Google Analytics attributes conversions
In contrast, Google Analytics handles conversions differently. For the same Facebook campaign above, for the person who purchased on October 10th, in Google Analytics the conversion would be attributed to October 10th (i.e., the day of the purchase, not the day the ad was served).