What attribution model does Bing Ads use for view-through conversions?

For view-through conversions, Bing Ads (now Microsoft Advertising) uses a Last Click Attribution model by default, but it offers other attribution models that you can apply to your campaigns, depending on your needs.

1. Last Click Attribution Model:
Default for View-Through Conversions: In the Last Click Attribution model, the view-through conversion is attributed to the ad impression only if the user does not click the ad but later converts (such as making a purchase or completing a form) within the selected attribution window.

Key Insight: This model gives full credit for the conversion to the ad impression that was last viewed by the user before the conversion, even if there were other touchpoints or ads involved in the path to conversion.

2. Other Attribution Models Available:
Microsoft Ads provides several alternative attribution models that you can use, but they typically do not directly apply to view-through conversions in the same way they do to click-through conversions. However, these models may influence your broader campaign analysis, including view-through impacts:

First Click Attribution: This model attributes all credit for the conversion to the first ad interaction (the first click or view). For view-through conversions, it will consider the first ad the user viewed as the primary influencer, even if the conversion occurred much later.

Linear Attribution: In this model, equal credit is given to every touchpoint in the customer journey that contributed to the conversion, including the view-through interaction. So, if multiple impressions or clicks were involved before a conversion, each touchpoint (including the view-through) would receive the same weight.

Time Decay Attribution: This model assigns more credit to the touchpoints that happened closer to the conversion. For view-through conversions, it would give higher credit to the ad that was viewed closer to the actual conversion, with progressively less credit given to earlier ad exposures.

Position-Based Attribution: In this model, a larger portion of the credit is given to the first and last interactions, with the middle interactions receiving a smaller share. For view-through conversions, the first and last viewed ads are likely to receive more attribution, but this would apply differently than in the case of a direct click-through conversion.

3. Impact of Attribution Model on View-Through Conversions:
Last Click Attribution is often the most straightforward for measuring view-through conversions, especially for campaigns focused on direct conversion actions.

Other attribution models like Linear or Time Decay can be useful if you want a broader understanding of the customer journey and the impact of multiple ad touchpoints on conversions.

4. How Attribution Models Influence View-Through Conversions:
While view-through conversions are generally attributed using the Last Click model, advertisers can shift their attribution model for click-through conversions in the platform settings.

It's important to note that view-through conversions are generally more difficult to attribute accurately since they rely on the user's decision-making process after viewing an ad without direct interaction (such as clicking).

Conclusion:
For view-through conversions, Microsoft Advertising (Bing Ads) primarily uses the Last Click Attribution model, but other models like First Click, Linear, Time Decay, and Position-Based are available for click-through conversions and could provide broader insights into campaign performance. Understanding the attribution model used is important because it directly influences how conversions are attributed to ad impressions, giving insight into the effectiveness of your campaign.