Custom Attribution First Touch

Learn how to use the instructional query, Custom Attribution First Touch, on Intentwise Explore (AMC)

Custom Attribution First Touch

Learn how to use the "Custom Attribution - First Touch" instructional query in Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC) to identify the initial touchpoints that drive user acquisition and campaign awareness.

This query attributes each conversion entirely to the first ad interaction in a user’s journey. It helps marketers:

• Understand which campaigns or ad types are attracting new users

• Evaluate top-of-funnel performance

• Optimize awareness and acquisition strategies

How It Works

1. Navigate to Intentwise Explore

2. Go to Queries > Query Library

3. Search for and add "Custom Attribution - First Touch" to your saved queries

4. Fill in the required parameters and run the query (see this article for detailed settings)

5. Once executed, access the results under the Insights section for campaign-level metrics and visualizations.

The query provides detailed metrics for each campaign, such as impressions, clicks, user reach, conversions, conversion rate, total units sold, and total product sales. 

To use this query effectively, you'll need data from multiple ad campaigns, including tables like dsp_impressions, dsp_clicks, sponsored_ads_traffic, and conversions_with_relevance. You can customize the dashboard based on your campaign types, ad type, lookback windows, and more to tailor the insights to your specific needs.

For more information, refer to our data model.

Key Use Cases

• Top-of-Funnel Attribution: Measure which channels are most effective in capturing attention

• Awareness Campaign Planning: Prioritize channels that consistently drive first touches

• Acquisition Benchmarking: Evaluate early-funnel impact across Sponsored Products, Brands, and Display

Dashboard Walkthrough & Examples

1. Compare Awareness Performance by Ad Product Type (CTR vs CVR)

📊 Example Insight:

• SB has the highest CTR (0.31%) and a modest CVR (0.09%)—great for discovery

• SP maintains a strong CTR (0.28%) with a higher CVR (0.16%)—more balanced

💡 How to use this:

• Use SB to drive initial brand discovery

• Use SP to transition users from awareness to purchase

2. Identify First-Touch Campaign Stars

📋 Example Insight:

• SP-M-PT-Offensive-Maverick 3 led with 6.24% CTR, 4.09% CVR, and over $245K in sales

• SD-Awareness-Drone had strong volume: 2.3M impressions, 4.8K clicks, 1,273 conversions

💡 How to use this:

• Double down on campaigns that initiate high-quality user journeys

• Clone high-performing targeting or creatives for scaling

3. Spot Campaigns That Bring Volume, Not Value

🔎 Example Insight:

• SP-M_PT_Product Targeting - Drones 6 drove 25K clicks, but only 0.06% CVR

💡 How to use this:

• Re-evaluate targeting or ad placement strategy

• Use A/B testing to improve downstream conversion impact

4. Assess Ad Type Share in User Reach

📈 Example Insight:

• 86% of user reach is driven by SP campaigns

• SB and SD combined contribute just 14%

💡 How to use this:

• Balance top-of-funnel mix by adjusting budgets

• Consider expanding SB/SD for broader visibility

5. Tie First Touch to Sales

💰 Example Insight:

• First-touch campaign SP-M-KT-NonBrand-Drone Decals 20 generated $12.6K, while SP-M-PT-Offensive-Maverick 3 led with $245K

💡 How to use this:

• Prioritize campaigns that start journeys and lead to strong outcomes

• Consider higher spend or re-use across other geographies or brands

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What are instructional queries?

Amazon Marketing Cloud's (AMC) instructional queries provide pre-written SQL code that AMC users can use as is or modify for common measurement and analytics tasks.