Scope: This is a quick analysis of selected accounts that we manage, not all accounts or the whole market.
Analysis period: 90 days of analysis. Year-on-year comparisons use the same 90-day period in the previous year. Conversions use a 7-day click basis unless labelled 1-day view. Purchase value is Meta-attributed, not GA4 or accounting revenue.
The story in one paragraph
Start with a simple question: of all the purchases Meta took credit for in 90 days, how many came from someone who actually clicked the ad? The honest answer surprised everyone. On the accounts that return purchase value, Meta credited 1,300 purchases to clicks, and 2,040 purchases to people who had only seen an ad and never clicked it. The bigger half of the success story belonged to people who may not even remember the ad. That does not make those purchases fake. It makes the story you tell about them very different.
Act one: the report that looked too good
Blended Meta reporting adds click and view results into one friendly total. The total is big, the cost per result looks low, and the monthly meeting goes well.
The trouble is that a click and a view are not the same act. A click is a person choosing your ad over everything else on their screen. A view is your ad crossing their screen while they were doing something else. Both can lead to a sale. They do not deserve the same credit, and they must never be added together without saying so.
Act two: what the data showed when we split it
In 90 days of analysis, across the selected accounts, on a 7-day click basis:
- 2,450 leads
- 1,300 purchases
- 2,390 messaging conversations
Shown separately, on a 1-day view basis:
- 3,450 leads
- 2,040 purchases
- 73 conversations
Read that again slowly. There were more view-attributed leads than click-attributed leads, and more view-attributed purchases than click-attributed purchases. If we had published the blended totals, we would have claimed 5,900 leads and 3,340 purchases, and every one of those numbers would have carried an asterisk the size of the page.
The conversations tell the opposite story, and that is interesting too. Almost all messaging conversations, 2,390 of them, came from clicks, with only 73 from views. People do not drift into a WhatsApp conversation because an ad passed their eyes. They click with intent. Some actions are click actions, and the data proves it.
Act three: what we changed because of it
Our results reporting now runs on a rule with no exceptions: 7-day click is the headline basis, 1-day view is shown separately, and the two are never added together into one result.
That rule makes our reported numbers smaller. It also makes them defensible in the one room where it matters, the room where the client compares the report with their own sales. A smaller true number beats a bigger blended one every time, because the bigger one eventually gets found out, and when it does, every other number you ever reported gets questioned with it.
Seria Analytics enforces this split for us. It checks the Meta data before we act on it and keeps click and view results in separate columns, so the temptation to blend them never reaches a report.
What this means for your account
Ask your agency, or yourself, one question: what attribution basis is this report on? If nobody can answer, the numbers in it are decoration.
Then split your own results for one month and look at the shape. If view results dwarf click results, your ads may be taking credit for demand that your brand, your stores and your other marketing created. That is still useful information. It is just a different story from "the ads drove these sales", and the budget decisions that follow from the two stories are completely different.
Frequently asked questions
Are view-through conversions fake?
No. A view-through conversion means someone saw the ad and bought within the view window without clicking. The purchase is real. The credit claimed for the ad is weaker than for a click, which is why the two must be reported separately.
What does 7-day click and 1-day view mean?
7-day click credits a result if the person clicked the ad in the previous 7 days. 1-day view credits a result if the person only saw the ad in the previous day. The view window is shorter because the evidence is weaker.
Which basis should I report on?
Report click results as your headline and show view results separately, labelled. Pick one basis, state it on the report, and keep it fixed month after month so comparisons mean something.
Why do agencies blend them?
Because blended totals look better. That is the whole reason, and it is not a good enough one.
Talk to Wassp
Want your Meta results split honestly, click from view, before your next budget decision? WASSP reports on Seria-checked data only. Email wasspsolutions@wassp.co.za or call +27 11 450 4634. 5 Riley Rd, Bedfordview, Gauteng.
Related services: Seria Analytics, Paid Media.