How long does Google keep track of a line of visits for first-touch attribution?

[haekel]

I now know that first-touch attribution will enable me to track the actual source of a sale - regardless of various websites visited by a client prior to making a purchase on our website. The system takes note of the very first site that introduced a client to our website - hence we have a more accurate tracking here.

However, how long does Google keep track of that first visit so it can successfully attribute any sale to our site, to that first site visited, regardless of various websites visited in between. Like, for example, I found site A via FaceBook. After this, I kept visiting other sites which also led me to site A. After a week, I finally purchased from site A.

Will first-touch attribution credit FaceBook for the sale? What if it's been more than a week from the first visit to the sale? Up to how big should the gap be in order for the system to keep track of these things properly?

[Marcus_Miller]

Hey, the guys over at Distilled have some great posts on first touch tracking, give this one a go, it should get you going in the right direction: http://www.distilled.co.uk/blog/seo/first-touch-tracking-in-google-analytics/

Cheers!
Marcus

[haekel]

Thanks Marcus! I have yet to absorb and digest the details of that article. But many thanks for sharing a great post on the topic.