View-Through Attribution (VTR) calculates the number of users that downloaded an app after seeing an ad without actually clicking on it. Impressions are attributed within a given window, typically within 24hrs-7days. Though clicks have more engagements than impressions, View through Attribution will help to track which impression might lead to the app installs.
View-through attribution is different from Click-through attribution. Mobile app developers typically use a combination of both to get better insights on their return on ad spend (ROAS). It is also a reliable tool for measuring the performance of user acquisition campaigns and further reduces the risk of attribution manipulation. View-through attribution gives an accurate overview of the performance of mobile app campaigns.
For example, suppose you are browsing through Instagram, and you see an ad for a new game. You close the app and later on decide to download the game. With Click-through attribution, this action would have remained unattributed.
But in reality, the ad might have influenced you to download the game just by seeing the ad. With View-through attribution, Instagram would record that you viewed the ad prior to downloading the game, giving the advertisers a much better idea of which ad inspired you to download the app.
The attribution window on a View-Through Attribution is short. At times, there is a gap in between when a user spots an ad and when they install the app. In such cases, one wouldn’t be able to say if the ad caused the installation. However, same-day install of an app could suggest that the ad had something to do with it.
