Become an affiliateStart your program

Technology and tracking

View-through conversion

Also called view-through conversion, VTC, impression conversion.

Short answer

A view-through conversion is a purchase attributed to an ad impression without a click: the user saw the ad, did not click, but bought later within a view window. The model is used in display advertising – in click-based affiliate marketing it does not count, because attribution requires a click.

Definition of View-through conversion.

The mechanics come from display advertising. The ad system records an impression for the user, and if the user subsequently buys within a view window – for example 24 hours to 7 days – the sale is attributed to the impression. No interaction is required; the exposure alone is counted as the contribution.

The problem is the evidential value. A click is an active action that can be logged with a time and an ID. An impression only proves that the ad was loaded – not that the user saw it, and certainly not that it influenced the purchase. Large ad platforms can nevertheless match impressions to later purchases, because they recognise the user across sites – which requires exactly the cross-site identification that click-based affiliate tracking does not rely on.

In affiliate marketing, the payment model is built on measurable actions: clicks that become sales. Commission triggered by an impression would make it impossible to distinguish real influence from coincidence – the banner was on screen, but the purchase was on its way anyway. That is why click-based programs work with last click and a click ID, not with view windows.

How it goes wrong

  • 01

    The figure does not prove cause

    A view-through conversion shows coincidence, not effect. The user could have bought regardless. Without a control group – an incrementality test – the impression's contribution cannot be distinguished from zero.

  • 02

    Double counting across channels

    If one channel counts view-throughs and another counts clicks, the same order can appear as a success in 2 places. Never add up conversion figures from different attribution models.

  • 03

    The impression may have been invisible

    A recorded impression means the ad was loaded – not that it was in view. Banners below the fold and in background tabs also count as impressions.

At Affilyflow

View-through conversion in practice

Affilyflow records no view-through conversions – that is a deliberate choice. Attribution requires a click: the commission and the attribution window are locked at the moment of the click, and the conversion must carry a click ID to credit anyone. A sale without a click belongs to the store. That keeps the model provable for both sides – every tracking event is logged, including those that do not become sales.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between view-through and click-through conversion?

A click-through conversion happens after an active click on the ad; a view-through after an impression without a click. The click gives concrete, loggable proof of interaction – the impression only proves that the ad was loaded for the user.

Do view-through conversions count in affiliate marketing?

In click-based affiliate programs: no. Commission requires the conversion to be traceable back to a specific click. View-through attribution belongs in display advertising, where you pay for exposure and try to measure its after-effect.

Why does display advertising use view-through attribution?

Because banner ads have low click rates, and the effect of exposure would otherwise not show up in the reports. With a view window – for example 24 hours – the platform can attribute later purchases to the impression. The price is uncertainty: the model cannot distinguish influence from coincidence without an incrementality test.

Read on