Your Conversions Did Not Drop, Your Measurement Changed: How to Re-Baseline Reporting

Attribution definitions shifted on both major platforms. If your numbers moved without a campaign change, here's how to tell a measurement artefact from a real performance problem.

Why did my Meta conversions drop suddenly with no campaign changes?

Most likely a measurement change rather than a performance change. From the announcement dated 3 March 2026, click-through counts only link clicks, with other interactions moved to a one-day engage-through column, and the video engagement threshold fell from ten seconds to five.

How do I tell a tracking problem from a performance problem?

Check whether revenue in your own records moved. Then check whether impressions, clicks and click-through rate moved, or only conversions. Upstream metrics holding steady while conversions fall points to measurement rather than delivery.

Should I change my attribution window?

Not during an analysis. Pick a window appropriate to your purchase cycle and keep it fixed. Changing it mid-analysis makes before-and-after comparison meaningless, because you're asking two different questions.

What are offline conversion imports and why do they matter?

They send outcomes from your CRM, such as qualified or closed-won status, back to the ad platform. This lets optimisation target leads that become customers rather than leads that merely fill in a form, and the quality signal is unaffected by attribution changes.

What is the most reliable number in paid advertising?

Total revenue from your own commerce or accounting system, divided by total advertising spend. Both figures come from your records, so no platform revision can inflate or deflate the result.