Not every sale starts with a click. Someone sees a creator’s video as an ad, does not tap, and buys the next day after searching the brand’s name. View-through attribution is the rule that gives the ad credit for that sale. Meta’s default attribution setting for new ad sets includes a 1-day view window alongside 7-day click (Meta), so a purchase within a day of seeing an ad counts as a result of it even without a click.
Click-through attribution is the opposite rule: only clicks count. Most affiliate and creator programs use click or code attribution because the brand cannot see who viewed a creator’s organic post, only who clicked or typed a code.
Example. A partnership ad gets 100,000 impressions and 800 clicks. The ad platform reports 60 purchases: 42 within 7 days of a click and 18 within a day of a view with no click. A brand paying the creator on platform-attributed sales pays on 60. A brand paying on code redemptions pays on the 25 orders that used the code. Same video, three numbers. Example numbers.
When brands use it. The pain this answers: “I have no idea which creator actually drove sales.” View-through makes ads look better and is the platform’s default, so brands that pay creators on platform-reported sales should say so and expect a higher count than code-based attribution gives. Brands that want a conservative number use click or code only.
The creator’s view. If the brand counts sales on the ad platform, ask whether view-through is included and what the windows are. If the brand counts sales with codes, view-through does not exist, and the creator’s income depends on the code being said and shown.
On HourlyUGC. Sales can be counted by the ad platform (Meta, with its own windows) or by HourlyUGC, which uses last touch within 7 days with creator links and codes.