What is the average time-to-convert period for online marketing conversions?

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On average, how long does it take for an Online Marketing conversion to take place?

I have performed several time-to-convert analysis for many different clients (based on cookie-level data) and in my experience most of the conversions occur within the first two weeks. For those of you who are new to online display advertising, there are two types of conversions: view-based and click-based. View-based occurs when a display impressions was served, but the ad was not clicked on (the user saw the ad, but did not click on it). A click-based conversion occurs when an internet user actually clicked on the ad.

How can a conversion occur days or even weeks later?

Well think of a tv ad, when you see a commercial for a product or service you want to purchase, most of the time you purchase the product the next day or a few days later. The same can be said for online display ads. Atlas regularly conducts time-to-convert analysis for hundreds of advertisers and have consistently found that the vast majority of conversions, generally 70%-90%, occur within a 24-hour window of the corresponding click or impression.

Why is time-to-convert online conversions important?

It is useful for knowing what to set your ‘conversion window’ to (1 day, 7 days, 14 days, 30 days, 60 days, etc). In my opinion, a conversion window should be set to 14 days. Afterall, how much credict can you give to a display ad that happened more than 2 weeks ago and was likely not even clicked on?