Meta's New Attribution: First Conversion vs. All Conversions

Meta’s Ads Manager just got a serious upgrade! If you’re all about fine-tuning your ad reports, Meta’s new feature—First Conversion vs. All Conversions—gives you even more clarity on how your ads drive conversions. Here’s a breakdown of what’s new and why it matters for your ad strategy.

What’s the new feature?

Meta now allows advertisers to compare 'First conversion' and 'All conversions' in their reports, giving them the power to choose how they report conversions. The ‘First conversion’ reports only the initial qualifying instance of a conversion, ensuring a more accurate representation of your ad's impact. In contrast, the ‘All conversions’ view aggregates every qualifying action, which can inflate results, especially for events that occur frequently, like purchases.

This update lets you track the first conversion after a user interacts with your ad or view all conversions within your selected attribution window. 

To access it:

1. Open the ‘Columns’ dropdown menu in Meta Ads Manager and select the ‘Compare Attribution Settings’ tab.

2. Next, you’ll see a menu with five attribution window options: 1-day, 7-day, or 28-day click, and 1-day view and 1-day engaged view. You can choose to show:

→ All conversions:  Every conversion occurs after an ad view or click, regardless of how often the user converts. This metric provides a comprehensive view of the total impact of your ad campaign, capturing all subsequent actions users take.

→ First conversion: Only the first conversion after an ad view or click counts. This metric isolates the initial action taken by users, helping you understand the immediate effectiveness of your ad in driving conversions.

→ Both (shows both metrics for comparison)

Under the 'Third-Party Reporting' tab, you'll find two additional options—'View from SKAdNetwork' and 'Click from SKAdNetwork' but these are specific to apps. Click ‘Apply’ once you’ve selected your attribution window/s.

3. Once selected, the dashboard adds a column for each conversion metric. Like this:

You can now see the columns you added from the ‘Compare Attribution Settings.’

Why does it matter for your business?

Meta’s new attribution feature brings valuable clarity to advertisers by allowing them to:

• Assess performance accurately: Get a realistic view of how many unique conversions your ads are driving.
• Optimize campaigns effectively: Adjust your ad strategies based on more precise insights about the most common conversion types.

This feature highlights actual customer acquisition, cutting through the noise of repeated actions (like multiple ‘Add to Cart’ clicks) and focusing on the first conversion. It’s especially beneficial for eCommerce brands and businesses with frequent repeat engagement, helping you analyze what truly sparks the customer journey.

Rather than counting every interaction and inflating your success metrics, you can now identify which actions drive real ROAS and ROI. This separation between first-time and repeated interactions benefits businesses that rely on retargeting or multi-step conversion processes. By distinguishing between first-time actions and ongoing engagement, you can fine-tune your funnel and make smarter decisions about ad spending.

🛎️ Want to learn more about the factors affecting Facebook ad pricing? Check out our guide on Facebook ad costs.

How you can use it 🛠️

This update gives you more ways to make informed decisions. If you’re running Facebook retargeting ads, you’ll get a clearer sense of which interaction first hooks your audience. 

By distinguishing between First and All Conversions, you can better allocate your budget toward campaigns that drive new customer acquisition rather than just repeat engagements. 

But don’t stop at first conversions. Use both views—First and All—to get the complete picture of your ad performance. Using both views will help optimize your Facebook ad targeting strategies, giving you the edge to adjust bids and campaign structure accordingly. 

For instance, you might increase bids for campaigns that drive first conversions to attract new customers or lower bids where you see high repeat engagements but low new customer acquisition. It's all about optimizing how much you're willing to spend to achieve the best results.

This feature is also helpful for running lead-generation Facebook ads or driving conversions with multiple touchpoints. By comparing First and All Conversions, you can assess the effectiveness of specific campaigns or steps in the funnel, making it easier to refine your strategy and improve the overall customer journey.

Ready for more accurate conversion tracking?

It’s clear that there’s a constant need for refined, more accurate tracking that provides a comprehensive view of user behavior across websites. With Madgicx Cloud Tracking’s efficient first-party tracking, you can confidently measure your ad performance on Meta. This solution enhances your attribution capabilities, enabling you to see the true ROI of your campaigns and understand how your ads drive conversions.

Our expert team handles all the setup, ensuring your tracking is established correctly without any heavy lifting on your part. And don’t worry—no coding is required from you.

In just 1-2 days, you can have a robust tracking system that our team continuously fine-tunes for accuracy and effectiveness. 

Plus, you can experiment with our 7-Day Risk-Free Trial.