In a realm where data streams flowed like rivers and pixels painted the landscape, there was a digital marketer named Emily. Her passion for analytics was as vast as the cyberspace itself, and her quest was to master the art of attribution and conversion timing.
Emily’s journey began with the Conversion Window, a mystical portal through which the actions of potential customers transformed into measurable outcomes. She knew that if she set her window to 30 days, she would capture all the conversions that occurred within that period after an ad interaction, like a net catching stars from the night sky.
=AD_INTERACTION_DATE + 30
But the digital seas were ever-changing, and Emily had to navigate them with care. A shorter conversion window meant fewer stars in her net, fewer conversions recorded in her ledger of analytics.
=IF(CONVERSION_DATE <= AD_INTERACTION_DATE + CONVERSION_WINDOW, "Record Conversion", "Ignore")
As she sailed through campaigns and ad groups, Emily charted her course using the Days to Conversion metric. It was a map that showed her how long it took for the clicks to evolve into loyal customers. Some conversions were swift, like dolphins leaping out of the water, while others were slow, like majestic whales breaching the surface after a deep dive.
=CONVERSION_DATE - AD_INTERACTION_DATE
She observed patterns in the data, like constellations guiding her way:
- Immediate Conversions: Occurring within a day, shining brightly and briefly.
- Delayed Conversions: Taking up to 90 days, like comets trailing across the quarter.
Emily also encountered the enigma of Bid Simulator Estimates. These were like mirages, sometimes visible, sometimes not, depending on the length of the customer’s journey to conversion.
And then there were the Conversion and Conversion Value Estimates, numbers that whispered promises of future success. They were calculated using historical data and performance, displayed like treasures on the “Bid Strategy” report and campaign tables.
=FORECAST(CONVERSION, HISTORICAL_DATA, PERFORMANCE)
But Emily’s tale was not just about numbers and formulas. It was about the adventure, the pursuit of knowledge, and the thrill of discovery. With each click and conversion, she wove her story, a tapestry of data and dreams.
And so, with a heart full of wonder and a mind sharp as a tack, Emily continued to navigate the enchanting world of Google Ads, where every click was a promise, and every conversion was a fulfilled dream.
Find out how long it takes for your customers to convert
Once you’ve set up conversion tracking, it’s important to understand how long it takes customers who see and click your ad to complete the conversion, and how that impacts the data you see in your account. Sometimes the conversion happens rapidly, within a day of the click, but conversions can be reported up to 90 days after the click, depending on the conversion window you’ve chosen.
The time between impression and conversion affects which values you see in your account. Here are some examples where this conversion delay might affect what you see:
- Comparing performance: If you compare recent performance with past performance, your recent performance might not look as strong, because some of the people who clicked your ad haven’t converted yet. Since you’re missing these conversions that will come later on but your spend is fully reported, it may appear that you have fewer conversions, a higher cost per conversion, and so on.
- Missing bid simulator estimates: If your customers take a long time to convert, conversion estimates in the bid simulator may not appear. Learn more about the bid simulator
Conversion and Conversion Value estimates: What they are and where to view them
Conversion estimates help you understand the number of conversions your ads are estimated to receive based on historical data and performance for the time period selected. If you’ve assigned values to your conversions, conversion value estimates give an idea of the conversion value you might receive on that bid strategy.
These values, conversion estimates and conversion value estimates, are calculated and displayed on the “Bid Strategy” report and the campaign tables.
Below are some scenarios to keep in mind:
Combination of delays and adjustments: Conversion estimate and conversion value estimate may not always be aligned as described in the scenario above. For example, if you have a number of small value returns, we may estimate that you will receive fewer conversions, but you may still receive a higher conversion value estimate if there were high value conversions that were delayed in the same time period.
Conversion Delay: If the time period selected includes a conversion delay where not all conversions have actually been reported, the estimate will reflect how many more conversions or conversion value you might get.
Conversion adjustment: Sometimes you may use conversion adjustments. For example, you may want to account for returns and adjust conversions accordingly. If the selected period is impacted by the conversion delay, and you have historically used conversion adjustments, there may be a lower number of conversions or conversion value estimate.