Campaign timeout window effects
A campaign or acquisition timeout controls how long the source that brought a visitor keeps getting credit for their later sessions. When that window expires before the visitor returns, the next session is no longer attributed to the original source and often falls to Direct. Changing the window moves attribution between channels. This page explains the campaign timeout and its effect on source reports.
What the campaign timeout does
Acquisition attribution remembers the source that brought a visitor and can credit their subsequent sessions to it for a configured period — the campaign or acquisition timeout. Once that window lapses without a new identifiable source, the next session is treated as having no carried-over source, and with no fresh referrer it typically lands in Direct.
The timeout therefore sets the memory length of your acquisition attribution.
- A source can keep crediting later sessions for a set period
- When the window expires, carried-over credit ends
- Expired sessions with no referrer often fall to Direct
Effects of changing the window
Lengthen the campaign timeout and sources retain credit for longer return visits, shrinking Direct; shorten it and credit expires sooner, growing Direct. A change applies going forward and leaves a seam where channel mix steps on the effective date.
Note this interacts with, but is distinct from, the attribution look-back window. When comparing tools or periods, confirm both windows match before treating a channel shift as real.
How it appears in analytics and logs
Returning visitors crediting Direct rather than their original source can mean the campaign timeout expired between visits.
Diagnostic use case
Understand how the campaign-timeout window governs how long a source keeps credit, and read shifts between a channel and Direct accordingly.
What WebmasterID can help detect
WebmasterID retains each session's raw source, so you can analyse how long sources realistically influence return visits rather than relying on one fixed window.
Common mistakes
- Confusing the campaign timeout with the attribution look-back window.
- Reading timeout-driven Direct growth as lost attribution.
- Comparing channel mix across a timeout change without noting the seam.
Privacy and accuracy notes
The campaign timeout is an attribution setting based on elapsed time, not visitor identity. It carries no privacy implication.
Related pages
- Session timeout customization
A session ends after a period of inactivity, and that timeout is configurable. Lengthen it and long pauses no longer split a visit into two sessions; shorten it and they do. Either change moves session counts, sessions-per-user, and engagement, and it makes your data diverge from any tool on a different timeout. This page explains how customising the session timeout reshapes metrics.
- Attribution window mismatch across tools
Attribution look-back windows define how far back a tool searches for the touchpoints that earn conversion credit. When two tools use different window lengths or models, the same conversion is credited differently — or to a touchpoint one tool can see and the other cannot. This page explains how attribution-window mismatches across tools produce diverging conversion and channel numbers, and how to compare fairly.
- Direct traffic as a catch-all bucket
Direct traffic is often misread as 'people who typed the URL'. In practice it is a catch-all for any session with no usable referrer or campaign: untagged links, stripped referrers, app and messaging clicks, and redirects that lose data. When other attribution fails, direct swells. This page explains what really lands in the direct bucket and how to shrink it.
- Attribution analytics
Analyse how long sources influence return visits.
Sources and verification notes
Last reviewed 2026-06-24. Facts are checked against primary/official sources where available; uncertain specifics are marked “Data not yet verified” rather than guessed.