<b>Q: How long should my attribution window be?</b>

<b>Q: How long should my attribution window be?</b>

Match it to your actual buying cycle, not to what sounds generous. The window is the period after a click during which a conversion still credits the affiliate. Too short and you under-credit real influence; too long and you pay on sales the affiliate barely touched.

A practical approach:

— Look at your real lag from first touch to purchase. Impulse products convert in hours; considered purchases take days or weeks
— Set the window just past where most of your conversions land (often 30 days for ecommerce, longer for high-consideration or B2B)
— Decide your model: last-click is simplest, but consider first-click or split credit if affiliates do top-of-funnel introduction

Longer windows attract content affiliates who build durable assets; short windows favor last-click closers. You're choosing which behavior to reward.

Caveat: a very long window plus last-click means a coupon site can hijack credit weeks after a content partner did the introducing. Pair window length with your attribution rules deliberately.

Got a question? Send it in.